BONNYVILLE – Local performers hit the stage for a cause that is near and dear to their hearts.
There wasn’t an empty seat left at Notre Dame High School (NDHS) on Saturday, Jan. 18 for the second annual Rockin’ the Blues fundraiser.
Organizer Rose-Marie Cameron was blown away by the support for the new theatre fundraiser held by the Bonnyville and District Fine Arts Society.
“We had the first one in the Lyle Victor Albert Centre before we left, and it was mainly musicians that have played in the Lyle Victor for years,” Cameron explained. “A lot of them went to high schools here, so I got ahold of them and got the ball rolling.”
Seeing familiar faces on stage was one of the highlights of the night for attendee May Horyn.
“It’s nice that there’s local people and we get to see the local talent. I love that,” she expressed.
For performer Paige Bannerman, this was her first time stepping on stage since the last Bonnyville Live held at the old theatre.
“I like being up on stage, and getting to hear everybody else in town too. The local talent is amazing.”
Cameron told the Nouvelle she was confident they likely surpassed their $1,500 goal for the evening.
According to Pat Perry, president of the Bonnyville Fine Arts Society, roughly $50,000 has been raised through previous events for a new facility.
“We’ll continue to do shows to fundraise, and we expect it may be a while before we’ll be in a position where we can have a new theatre in Bonnyville,” she said. “We know a new theatre will be very costly, so we’re continuing to work hard and slug on to do it.”
Cameron added, “We hope to build a new theatre, or move into a new one someday, but it takes a lot of time and financial times are tough. But, we haven’t given up on that dream.”
For the foreseeable future, NDHS will be the home of fundraisers and other events hosted by the society.
“The Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) has generously offered this space to us, so we developed the theatre into a black box theatre. We’re using equipment from Bonnyville Live at the moment, and we’re continuing to do some development in here to make it more suitable for all times of the year,” detailed Cameron.
Perry offered her appreciation to everyone who’s assisted with their fundraising so far.
“We cannot thank people enough for how they’ve come out for the shows, they’ve made donations, and helped us. We’re very grateful to them, and we hope that they’ll be with us over the time that it takes us to get to the point where Bonnyville can have a new theatre and we hope they’ll support this beautiful space at NDHS while we’re using it.”
