There was a time when folks lined up to see the latest movie playing at the Garry Theatre and those lines returned recently when the city engaged the public to hear what they want the storied theatre’s future to be.
Some of the lines were actual, with people at the theatre for the open houses during Holiday Alley and some were virtual, with online completion of surveys, but either way, you made it clear the Garry is important to you.
“We were thrilled with the response rate, the impressive number of people who completed the survey,” said Jeff Palmer, a community planner with Urban Systems, part of the team responsible for developing the Garry’s business plan.
“The City of Selkirk did a great job with promoting everything and the take up of people in the community responding was through the roof and really positive.”
Theatre purchased with community in mind
The city purchased the Garry Theatre in 2021 with the intention of it becoming a community-run space.
Small single screen theatres have become increasingly unfeasible in recent years and countless numbers have closed their doors across the country. The Garry’s previous owner, Landmark Cinemas, accepted that reality and shuttered the Garry, along with three others, in May 2020.
From Day 1 the city’s intention was to gauge public opinion on possible future uses for the iconic movie house. The City of Selkirk has made it clear from the get go that the city would not be operating the Garry directly and that the community’s input and leadership would be sought.
Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol said he has confidence that if there’s a desire to reinvent the Garry Theatre, community members will come together with the gusto and enthusiasm needed to create something great.
“Running a theatre is outside of the city’s scope of practice. We are truly living our mission statement here by acting as a ‘catalyst for partnerships that enhance opportunity and quality of life for all citizens’. We’re acting as a hub for the community to come together and envision and take ownership over this asset. What we’ve seen in our scan is that the most successful projects of this kind are the result of community leadership,” said Nicol.
Survey responses overwhelmingly positive
A total of 1,158 people took the survey and their response to the city purchasing the Garry was overwhelmingly positive. Palmer said they were more than pleased with the response, as they had only anticipated receiving between 200 and 300 responses.
Palmer said when a survey moves such a high number of people to participate, it can mean one of two things.
“Usually it means that you feel very strongly about a project – either you love it or hate it. Most often in our line of work, it means you’re really opposed to a project. But in this case, it was the complete opposite. It was overwhelming support,” Palmer said.
“I don’t recall hearing from anyone that they thought buying the theatre was a bad idea. There was very strong support for purchasing the theatre, regardless of what it becomes, so that’s good. It was an ambitious move and so we applaud the city for taking that initiative.”
Palmer and Urban System’s Hillary Beattie even went to the Selkirk Comp high school and brought students in Global Issues teacher Kevin Lopuck’s class into the fray – and they had plenty to say as well.
Vanessa Figus, Marketing and Communications Coordinator with the city, said including young people in future plans is crucial.
“Not only did we engage the community in the form of a survey and the open house, we went to the high school and got the youth involved, because their opinion matters too,” Figus said.
Students were also hired to help out at the open house.
Love for the theatre was revealed in the survey which asked respondents for their favourite memory of the Garry. There were many responses, ranging from date night, seeing Jaws in the packed theatre and being among those screaming and camping out to watch Harry Potter.
“Lots of people talked about spending time there with family and friends, popcorn and affordable movies, and it just shows how important the Garry Theatre is to people in Selkirk, which was great to see,” Palmer said.
The survey, which was available from Nov. 22 to Dec. 9, 2022, was open to residents and non-residents of Selkirk.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents were city residents, 31 per cent said they work in Selkirk, 30 per cent visit regularly and 16 per cent said they used to call Selkirk home. Five per cent own a business and seven per cent checked the ‘other’ box.
Ellie Longbottom, Selkirk’s Culture coordinator, said the non-resident response to the survey showed the reach the theatre has.
“The respondents weren’t all from Selkirk,” Longbottom said.
“They were people who work in Selkirk, who visit here regularly. People from surrounding communities took an interest in doing this survey as well, because Selkirk is a hub, and those people feel the Garry is important too.”
Figus said the survey showed respondents believe there is a need for a space for arts and culture in the city.
Movies, concerts and theater performances top three most desired
The survey revealed that the top three most desired events to be hosted at the theatre were – movies, musical concerts and theatrical performances. The top three amenities were – a stage, licenced bar and dance room/coffee shop.
Beattie, herself a graduate of Selkirk’s high school, said among the impressive numbers gleaned from the survey was the percentage of respondents who were willing to help out at the theatre.
“It was great to see how many people who responded said that they would be willing to volunteer at the threatre in the future in some capacity,” Beattie said.
“Almost half of the respondents, 47 per cent, said they would be willing to volunteer either during construction or once the theatre is up and running. That was really remarkable to see.”
Urban Systems will now determine the feasibility of all realistic survey suggestions and will present a draft business plan to the city this spring. A second round of public consultation will take place shortly after.
