The ghosts in the glorious historic downtown Vernon theatre have given their approval to renovations made inside the old girl.
No chocolate bars 鈥� well, actually, a specific brand of bar 鈥� have been thrown out of their concession stall as seven weeks of revamping the Towne Theatre on 30th Avenue draw to a close.
鈥淭he ghosts don鈥檛 seem to be angry. They appreciate the upgrades,鈥� smiled Robyn Thurston, executive director of the Towne after managing director of the Okanagan Screen Arts Society.
Scott John shared a story of being alone in his office at the theatre one night, and a chocolate bar went flying onto the floor.
鈥淭he ghosts know we love the space as much as they do.鈥�
Besides the concession, the women鈥檚 washroom, an upstairs storage space, and the projection booth are said to be well-visited by apparitions.
None of those spaces, however, were touched during the recent seven-week theatre closure which saw the auditorium completely revamped and cleaned.
Walls were taken down. New sound baffling was put up. A new curtain is hoped to be in place by opening night Thursday, May 16. The auditorium has been repainted. There鈥檚 a new system for live acts and for the cinema side of the Towne, which opened as a dance hall in 1929, and was converted to a theatre in 1938.
鈥淭his is going to be a pretty dynamic space,鈥� said Thurston, adding the theatre will be announcing its summer concert series with some 鈥渂ig name鈥� acts on Friday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be in 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound. I鈥檝e already heard it. It鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
Old surround sound speakers from the 1960s were found behind the wall fabric as renovations were being carried out.
The re-opening event Thursday is a preview night of the movie IF, which is sold-out. IF, starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Blunt, and Steve Carell, is the story of a young girl who goes through a difficult experience, but then begins to see everyone鈥檚 imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.
IF will run for two weeks straight at the Towne, and that includes five showings a day all long weekend.
鈥淲e are excited to host everybody again,鈥� said Thurston.
Getting a first-release movie like IF is, well, a first for the Towne Theatre. As an independent theatre, they are not allowed to receive first-run movies.
鈥淭he big chain theatres always get them. We find out Mondays what鈥檚 left over that we can get,鈥� said John. 鈥淭his is the first time ever an indie theatre has been allowed to get a first-run movie Canada-wide. We asked for a chance to compete on a level playing field.
鈥淲e鈥檙e super excited and hope to get a bunch of people in the seats.鈥�
More information and theatre show times can be found at .
