A downtown theatre in Vernon will re-open this week after being closed more than a month for renovations.
Staff at the Towne Theatre at 2910 30th Ave. told Castanet they are set to show movies again Thursday. They say a month's work behind the scenes has led to upgrades in the auditorium.
“We finally got enough funds to replace all the acoustic treatments on the walls,” said operations manager Rebekah Beck. “It makes the room more ‘dead,’ which is actually a good thing for live events.”
In addition to improving the acoustics, staff at the theatre upgraded the sound-system. They added “arrays,” which project sound from elevated position to all corners of the room. The theatre also added speakers so that surround sound audio plays from seven directions.
“It helps every seat in this room be a good seat... It helps ensure we have a better picture and sound quality," said Beck.
Technical director Adam Chila said the changes will allow the theatre to host medium-sized events that may have previously skipped Vernon, making the auditorium a bigger service to the community.
With the renovations nearly complete, Chila said he looks forward to some big events this summer. However, they cannot be disclosed yet.
“They are definitely going to be a game-changer for a special theatre like this,” said Chila. “There’s just another demographic that’s going to benefit from this live event that we can’t announce just yet.”
The theatre in downtown Vernon is set to host opening day for the blockbuster film “If” featuring star actor Ryan Reynolds. Beck said it’s the first time in a decade an independent, single-screen theatre has negotiated this deal.
“We’re really excited,” she said. “This is a huge deal... We really want to knock it out of the park. We want everyone to come down.”
She added the theatre is sold out of tickets for Thursday. However, tickets are still available for the weekend showings.