New Westminster Record August 12 2015

Page 1

5

UP FRONT 3

Irving House turns 150 PEOPLE 11

Firefighter breaking ground ARTS 23

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

Cultural Crawl a success WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 2015

There’s more online at

Y O U R

SEE PAGE 21

NewWestRecord.ca

LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS

H O M E T O W N

N E W S P A P E R

Pride off to ‘amazing’ start

Bring back our Burr: petition

Tereza Verenca

editorial@newwestrecord.ca

“Amazing” is one word Pride Week organizers are using to describe the festivities so far. The 70 tickets to the kickoff party at The Hub and the Whitecaps’ Pride night game on Aug. 8 sold out, according to Hayley Sinclair, a New West Pride Society board member. “It was really well attended,” she said. “The game was good. I think we brought a good vibe there.” The next day was even busier, Sinclair added.The community brunch at Coming Home Café was packed with a lineup out the door, while the patio party at Terminal Pub attracted a crowd of about 100. “Everyone was outside in the sun, there were games, there was dancing. It was a really good time,” said Sinclair. Some 20 people, meanwhile, were at Board Game Warriors on Clarkson Street.The Call and Response event at the River Market later that evening was also a huge success, she added, with 20 performers. Then there was the drag show at Heritage Grill. “The drag show had 58 reservations and couldn’t take anymore. People were outside watching from the street in big groups,” according to Sinclair. “It was a really interesting thing to walk up to and see all this stuff happening.” Coming activities include Rainbow Night karaoke at Fireside Grill, the double down dance party at Starlight Casino and the Street Party, featuring Bif Naked. For all the details, visit www.newwestpride.ca.

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Former artistic director wants to see the city buy back the historic Columbia Theatre Tereza Verenca

editorial@newwestrecord.ca

The former artistic director of the Burr Theatre – now The Columbia – has started an online petition to save the 88-year-old building. Owner Barry Buckland has listed the heritage site for $3.3 million, looking for either a “strategic partner” or someone to buy it whole, according to a July 22 interview with the Record. But Ellie King wants the City of New Westminster to either buy it back fully or partially. “In order to persuade the city to do that, we need to show them that there is a grassroots movement of people who want the Burr back,” King said of the petition, which has garnered nearly 200 signatures so far. The theatre opened in 1927 and We need to show was later them that there named after is a grassroots local actor movement Raymond Burr, who was known for his roles in the TV dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. In 2000, the city purchased the building for $700,000 from the New Westminster Fraternal Order of Eagles and leased it to the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society until 2006, when it decided not to renew the lease. City reports at that time said the building needed millions of dollars in repair work, and given the high price tag, council decided to look in the private sector for a buyer. The society also came to the table during the request-for-proposal process and put in a $1-million bid for the theatre but lost to Buckland’s $850,000 bid. Why that happened has left King puzzled to this day, she said. Continued on page 8

SHOWING THEIR COLOURS Top, New West Pride founder Vance McFadyen shares a few words at a flag-

raising ceremony at city hall Monday. Above, New Westminster school trustee Kelly Slade-Kerr, board chair Jonina Campbell, acting secretary-treasurer Kevin Lorenz and superintendent John Gaiptman flash a rainbow flag. New West Pride recognized the district Monday for its gender and sexual diversity inclusion policy. PHOTOS CORNELIA NAYLOR

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