I was very disappointed to hear last week that the Grande Parlour will be closing their doors in 2020.
When I first started working for the Nouvelle, I heard about the Grande Parlour when I was assigned a story about the first Verge Arts Festival last year.
When my publisher told me about the arts festival and the location, I was surprised to learn Cold Lake had a theatre where productions were put on. I know of much larger areas that don’t have that type of facility, but was pleased for what it meant to the arts in the community.
While I didn’t attend the first Verge Fest, I ended up covering it this August. It was my first time going to the building, and I immediately fell in love with the facility. It was exactly what I thought of when I pictured a local theatre, and slipped into watch two plays called Stardust and It’s a Dead Body.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I walked into the Verge Fest, but it wasn’t what I found. I was blown away by not only the productions and the musical acts, but by the passion of everyone involved. I wasn’t standing in a building in downtown Cold Lake, I had been transported to a festival that could rival one in Edmonton or Toronto.
I laughed along with the other audience members during Stardust and It’s a Dead Body, and felt like I was part of a community I didn’t realize existed in the Lakeland. I saw the passion of the actors on stage, and enjoyed the music by local bands and singers. When I moved to Bonnyville, I never could have imagined covering an event with that kind of atmosphere.
That’s one of the major reasons why I was upset to hear the news that the Grande Parlour would have its final curtain call before the end of the year. Not only because it was yet another facility that wouldn’t be able to serve the community anymore, but what it could do for the arts in Cold Lake.
In rural areas, I don’t see there being many opportunities for people to participate in theatrical productions. That’s one of the reasons why I think the local school plays and musicals are such a success, because there’s lots of talent in the Lakeland and it needs places to grow. It might just be a local theatre production, but for those involved it’s a chance to share their passion and talents with their friends, family, and the community.
I really hope this isn’t the end for the Grande Parlour, and something is done to start it back up or something similar in Cold Lake.
