Vernon’s historic Towne Theatre set to reopen in April

The historic Vernon Towne Theatre is set to reopen in April.

Two months after damage from a fire caused the newly revamped Vernon Towne Theatre to close, the not-for-profit cinema is scheduled to open its doors again April 11. Throughout the months of April and May, the cinema will only be open on Mondays and for private rentals.

On Feb. 10, the historic cinema was damaged by a fire that took place at a neighbouring business.

READ MORE: 'Gut punch': Vernon's historic Towne Theatre struggles to reopen after fire

While the cinema has insurance it's been a slow process getting everything back together.

Volunteer organization the Okanagan Screen Arts Society runs the cinema and launched an online fundraising campaign to help cover the cost of the fire damage.

The fire came only months after the theatre had reopened after the society spent a considerable amount of money renovating the building.

The society took over the cinema after the former owner retired during the pandemic.

The building originally opened as a dance hall in 1929 and became a cinema a decade later. 

READ MORE: Saving Vernon's Towne Theatre focus of community effort


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Ben Bulmer

After a decade of globetrotting, U.K. native Ben Bulmer ended up settling in Canada in 2009. Calling Vancouver home he headed back to school and studied journalism at Langara College. From there he headed to Ottawa before winding up in a small anglophone village in Quebec, where he worked for three years at a feisty English language newspaper. Ben is always on the hunt for a good story, an interesting tale and to dig up what really matters to the community.

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