Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre won't fully open until March in wake of flood

Photo: File photo

The Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre will resume full operations in March after December's flood.

The Snowed In Comedy Tour will go ahead Jan. 28 and the rescheduled Banff Mountain Film Festival fundraiser for Vernon Search and Rescue will take place Feb. 3 and 4.

But, another event has had to be moved and the venue will remain closed for most of February.

“These two events only use the front of the stage and can go ahead prior to full stage replacement,” says executive director Jim Harding. “Audiences ... will not see any difference now that the front row carpet has been replaced, and the mid-stage damage to the floor will be masked by drapery and not visible.”

After the film festival, the venue will close for the remainder of February for removal and reconstruction of the stage floor. It will resume full operations in March.

That means the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra won't be able to perform as originally planned.

Instead, the Vernon performance of Musical Giants, featuring pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko as well as the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra, will be held at Trinity United Church, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.

Early on Dec. 22, centre staff were alerted to a flood on the theatre’s main stage. Extreme cold temperatures caused a mechanical failure that accidentally triggered the theatre’s deluge curtain, a fire suppression system that releases a large volume of water between the audience and the stage in the event of a fire during a performance.

Water damaged carpet, audio and lighting equipment, and the theatre’s main curtain. The stage floor was also compromised and requires replacement.

Impacted performances include:

• Spotlight Theatre Series: VOOM X on Jan. 14 has been postponed with a future date to be announced.
• Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s Round Dance Jan. 22 has been cancelled.
• Spotlight Kids Series: Karima Essa’s Body Positive Bollywood Dance Show Jan. 29 has been moved to the Priest Valley Gym.
• Ballet Jörgen’s masterclass for local dance students Feb. 10 has been moved to the Okanagan School of Ballet.
• Spotlight Dance Series: Ballet Jörgen’s Cinderella planned for Feb. 11 has been rescheduled to March 25.
• NOCCA’s Marc Atkinson Trio plus Cam Wilson on Feb. 17 has been moved to the Trinity United Church.
• Tunes for Teeth fundraiser planned for Feb. 24 has been postponed with a new date to be announced.