Birthday Week for Prince Rupert's Artistic Showcase of the Lester Centre of the Arts

An artists rendition of what the Lester Centre for the Arts would look like 
prior to the construction of the city's arts and cultural centre 35 years ago
(From the Lester Centre FB page)

We almost let an important milestone slip by us this week, but as we browse the Safeway Card aisle for our sorry we missed your birthday card, we offer up a Happy 35th to the Lester Centre of the Arts.  

A facility that has brought countless hours of entertainment both from places afar and those as close as your next door neighbours for those three and half decades.

And while we may perhaps take for granted the spectacular setting along Highway 16 with the mountains in the background, the centre of Prince Rupert's Social, Entertainment and Cultural activities has long been praised by visiting artists and those from out of town who come to the city to view performances here.

The facility originally known as the Prince Rupert Performing Arts Centre was later renamed after Mary Lester, the wife of long time Mayor Peter Lester, Mrs. Lester a strong advocate in the community of the arts in Prince Rupert.

The path to the current location just off of Highway 16 at Wantage road made for a lengthy period of sometime passionate discussion at the City Council sessions of the mid nineteen eighties. 

With a large number of residents at the time advocating for the renovation of the Capital theatre on Third to serve as the home for the arts in the city.

In the mid 1980's the council of the day had two options 
for consideration for an Arts Centre, the Wantage Road location
of the current Lester Centre, or a renovation for the Capitol
Theatre in the heart of the downtown core

After lengthy debate and no shortage of opinions from councillors and public alike, the Council of the day selected the Wantage Road option that now serves as the destination place for the Arts on the North Coast and Northwest.

Since the Lester Centre of the Arts opened in 1987,  the 700 seat facility has hosted an array of events that have become part of the fabric of the community and with ongoing improvements through the years, it remains a vibrant home for the Arts and is still one of the best venues to be found in northern British Columbia, if not beyond.

The Lester Centre made note of the significance of May 9th with a short notice to their Social media page on Monday, with the preview that a full scale celebration for Birthday 35 is set to come later this year.

You can follow the Lester Centre of the Arts Facebook page for an update on that celebration as well as to keep up on the range of artists set to chart their course to Prince Rupert for their chance to step out onto the stage of the City's Showcase venue.

More items of note on the Arts and Entertainment scene in the community can be explored through our archive page here.