The Tidemark Theatre is getting a makeover this season.
Elle Brovold, the city’s property services manager, said it’s time for an update and the city is using the scheduled maintenance as an opportunity to reinvigorate the theatre and surrounding area.
“The city-owned facilities that house both the Tidemark Theatre and the Campbell River branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library are scheduled for exterior painting this fall,” Brovold said.
“As part of refreshing the downtown core, the city is aiming for a modern, contemporary palette for both facilities – and potentially a fresh new pop of pink for the Tidemark.”
Last November, the former managing director of the Tidemark Theatre Society, Kim Emsley-Leik, said the society wanted to overhaul the theatre’s exterior in order to help the Tidemark carve out and solidify its identity.
Emsley-Leik estimated at that time that a new paint job would cost approximately $15,000.
Since then, Brovold said the city has worked with the Tidemark ociety to develop three different exterior paint job concepts.
All three incorporate the Tidemark’s iconic pink colour which the theatre society has indicated it would like to keep as it has become a key part of the theatre’s branding since it was built in 1946.
Even the theatre’s phone number – 250-287-PINK – incorporates the colour.
The three concepts include either painting the entire building a darker, brighter, almost fuchsia-coloured pink; painting just the middle piece a darker shaded pink with grey walls on either side; or painting the entire building grey but keeping the Tidemark letters on its sign pink.
In making a final decision, the city will take into consideration public feedback garnered through a survey on the three concepts on its website and in paper form at the Tidemark Theatre.
The city is expected to undertake painting at both the Tidemark and the library this fall.
Brovold said that “each building will be painted its own colour to create an identity for each use.
The library will be painted a new contemporary colour (with) crisp white trim.”
The library’s back wall is slated to be painted light grey.
As for the Tidemark, the paint job that is finally decided on will be just the latest on a long list of renovations and upgrades that the Tidemark has undergone in the past few years.
Recent improvements to the theatre include: stage lighting upgrades, a new projector and screen, a new DCP projector, online ticketing upgrades, box office renovations, new theatre seats, new flooring and new indoor painting.
Brovold said the most recent efforts to improve the Tidemark Theatre – painting the exterior of the building – will complement the city’s current Refresh Downtown initiative aimed at stimulating and beautifying the city’s downtown area.
“This required maintenance work provides us with a great opportunity to update the look of these facilities located in the cultural precinct and will play a key role in refreshing the look of our downtown core,” Brovold said.