Sherbrooke Children’s venue project moving forward
Côté Scène, the Sherbrooke-based company specializing in theatre and dance productions for children aged six months to seventeen years of age, announced on Tuesday morning that thanks to donations from two major partners, they have surpassed their fundraising goal for the construction of a performance venue dedicated to young audiences by $50,000. Attributing their success to contributions from the four local Caisses Desjardins and the François Bourgeois Family, Robert Lussier, Chair of Côté Scène’s Board of Directors explained that the company has now raised $550,000 of the $500,000 needed to move the project forward.
“I want all of the children of the region to be able to have access to the wonders of the performing arts,” said Esther Bourgeois of Hatley, daughter of former Lactantia President François Bourgeois and representative of the Bourgeois family and the François Bourgeois Foundation.
Bourgeois spoke not only to her own personal connection to the world of the arts, but also captivated the attention of those gathered for the announcement with a heartfelt reflection on the importance of giving young people a space dedicated to celebrating imagination, emotion, and creativity.
“All young people deserve direct contact with the living arts,” she said.
Among a list of recommendations made to Sherbrooke’s Toponymy committee at Monday night’s city council meeting was the name of Ruth Atto. Remembered as a dedicated member in all aspects of the local community, the committee suggested that Atto’s name grace one of the streets in the new housing development north of André-viger Park near Lionel-groulx Boulevard.
Atto, who died in the spring of 2016, was a nurse and teacher at the Sherbrooke Hospital before becoming its Director. Even after the hospital was
Raymond Fillion, representing the Caisses Desjardins of the Sherbrooke area, said that the credit union is happy to support the initiative and help to build cultural awareness in local youth. He also said that Desjardins members can look forward to a number of benefits associated with the new partnership, including discounted ticket prices when the theatre is up and running.
According to Lussier, Côté Scène expects the four finalists in the architecture competition for the design of the new building to be unveiled within the next few days.
“We are currently working with the city of Sherbrooke’s specialists on the bricks and mortar aspects that are not our field of expertise,” the chair of the board said, explaining that the final decision on the design should be made by the beginning of the summer. “If things go well we could see an opening in the fall of 2019, but being realistic we are probably looking at spring of 2020.”
On that timeline, Lussier said that activities in the 300 seat venue are likely to begin in the summer or fall of 2020, and that thanks to the fact that the $8 million project has seen “exceptional support” from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments in addition to the community support shown through partners like Desjardins and Bourgeois.
The new performance venue was highlighted as one of the gems of Sherbrooke’s downtown redevelopment plan, given its planned location on Wellington Street South. Asked about whether the recent withdrawal of major partners from the Well Inc. development would have an impact on the theatre development, Lussier said it would not.
“The other project would have been a plus, but this performance venue is really something else,” he said.