Showing love for The Westdale
Arts venue in west Hamilton is celebrating 90 years and kicking off a capital campaign to eliminate its $1.7-million debt with an anniversary gala on Valentine's Day.
A 90th anniversary gala for The Westdale will be both a celebration of the past and a call to action for the future.
The repertory cinema and arts venue in west Hamilton is embarking on a capital campaign to pay off its $1.7-million mortgage.
This year’s gala marks the sixth anniversary of the reopening of theatre as a not-for-profit enterprise after an extensive refurbishment. It is a signature and critical event, says Alysha Main, executive director of The Westdale.
Past galas have raised funds for programming or operational costs, and for the last several years, to make up for losses during the pandemic shutdown. This year’s focus is to eliminate the mortgage.
“All the debt that was taken on during the restoration process has been hanging over the theatre. The focus now is to try to get rid of that so that we can ensure the sustainability of the theatre moving forward,” says Main.
“The theatre has been fortunate to operate successfully in terms of revenues and covering our costs, but we have not been able to tackle any of that principal. So we have just been paying interest payments, and that's obviously not ideal to carry that much debt. So this is the opportunity to be able to clear that and get the community involved in that final push so we can invest in programming.”
Amid growing attendance numbers, a long-term supporter of The Westdale – who is remaining anonymous – has committed to matching donations dollar for dollar this year.
“We are very grateful. There is just so much generosity out there,” says Bernadette Curtis, who became chair of The Westdale a year ago.
“I'm very optimistic that there's a really bright future ahead, mortgage free, because operationally, we're working very nicely. So let's just slay this mortgage, at least make it of such an amount that it's very doable instead of being strapped to interest payments.”
Social enterprise
The Westdale showcases independent and classic films, and Canadian content, along with talks and readings, live music, comedy, exhibitions and performances and a variety of special and community events.
The model is that of a social enterprise where revenues from films, memberships, food and beverage sales help fund community, cultural and arts programming. Many not-for-profit organizations in Hamilton have benefited from affordable rental access to the theatre.
There is a strong team of staff, volunteers and directors in place that are building on momentum and leading The Westdale forward, says Curtis, and the secret of success so far is providing a wide range of arts and cultural experiences in a venue that is open 364 days a year.
“The broad appeal is something we've taken a lot of effort to think about and to take action on so that all age groups and interests can feel welcome and comfortable.”
The Westdale: A history
The historic venue opened as a movie theatre in 1935 in the heart of Canada’s first planned neighbourhood. It was the first theatre in Hamilton built expressly to show “talkies” – motion pictures with sound.
The Art Deco single-screen cinema became a respite during World War II, and was the location of plenty of first dates, family outings, Saturday double bills and film premieres. But at the beginning of the 21st century, the theatre fell into disrepair.
In 2016, The Westdale was up for sale and it was feared it could be lost as a venue and maybe even torn down, a fate of many of the city’s other historic theatres. But a group of concerned citizens banded together and formed the Westdale Cinema Group, a charitable corporation with a vision to operate the theatre as a cinematic, artistic, and community arts hub. It submitted an offer to purchase the heritage-designated building that was accepted in January 2017.
Two years later, on Feb. 14, 2019, The Westdale reopened after an ambitious fundraising campaign, including crowdfunding and even an appeal from Hamilton native Martin Short, followed by an extensive restoration and modernization of the building that included washrooms, wheelchair access, heating and air conditioning.
The entire purchase and restoration budget was raised in Hamilton, through donations from residents, arts groups, and the City of Hamilton. There was no funding from upper levels of government.
In its first year of operation, more than 50,000 people attended events at The Westdale. But then the pandemic forced the curtain down on live events for the better part of two years.
‘Magical musical moments’
Hamilton guitarist and singer-songwriter Jacob Moon and Juno-nominated singer Suzie McNeil will team up for a concert at the Feb. 14 gala featuring love songs of the decades.
The night will also feature a performance by the Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band, a live auction and raffles.
Moon cautions that audiences shouldn’t expect only romance or sentimentality.
“I can't help myself. My contrarian nature comes through. And there are some songs that are love gone wrong, songs of forlorn love, you know?”
Those tunes include “Just What I Needed” by The Cars and “Alison” by Elvis Costello, alongside “cheesy ’80s stuff” like “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister, and R&B classics like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and Natural Woman.”
“So it's kind of an unbeatable playlist, really. It's the kind of thing you put together to listen to yourself around the House on Valentine's Day but we're going to bring it live,” says Moon, who has released 12 albums of original material and gained international attention for his inventive covers.
Since performing in a Hamilton Originals show, which began as a series of concerts that were live-streamed from The Westdale during the pandemic, Moon has done five or six such shows a year at the theatre.
He’s now in the driver’s seat of the highly successful Hamilton Originals series, which he uses to “pay tribute to my heroes with local musicians and form bands out of people I respect and have either worked with or wanted to work with over the years.”
Moon is thrilled that the shows, which have included the music of Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Robbie Robertson and The Band, sell well and serve as great fundraisers for The Westdale.
‘A place of joy’
Moon, who has lived in Hamilton since 1995, has witnessed the disappearance of a number of live music venues.
“I think any city's music scene really depends on its venues to be robust and strong and adequately funded and staffed. Oftentimes, venues are actually just holding on by the skin of their teeth. We need to have everybody in a position of strength if we're going to continue to have a music scene in Hamilton.”
Moon says he is “blown away by the leadership” at The Westdale, so his goal at the gala is to “create magical music moments” that allows the venue to continue to support Hamilton’s arts scene.
The gala’s host, Lohifa Pogoson Acker, a business developer, volunteer, and the owner of a hair studio, says she almost immediately fell for The Westdale after arriving in Hamilton in 2012.
“My early years in Hamilton, I was exploring the city and figuring out where the beautiful community connection hubs were. And I really love going in that space and enjoying the vintage aura that the space provides, and the homey-ness of it and the smell of popcorn and the feel of being in the ’60s and ’50s.”
She’s witnessed the theatre host a play by refugee claimants and asylum seekers telling their story of settlement in Hamilton, among many other acts of community creation, engagement and connection.
“The Westdale has been a place of joy for me … and seeing that this is a significant year, the 90th year, I feel so blessed to be able to support them.”
More information and tickets here for the 90th anniversary gala on Feb. 14. You can also support The Westdale through buying a membership (available in three levels), investing in a sponsorship, making a one-time or ongoing donation, or renting the space for a meeting, community event or party. Check out thewestdale.ca.
