Manitou Opera House Foundation
Preserving
a Symbol of our Community’s History!
A
Short History
Manitou
Opera House
The
present Manitou Opera House was built in the summer of 1930. A fire on
January 16, 1930 had destroyed the previous building. During the Opening
Ceremonies for the new building, held on Friday, December 10th, 1930, a minute
of silence remembered the fireman, Robert A. J. Brown, who had died while
fighting the fire.
The
new building was built on the foundation of the previous one by Blackburn
Construction at a cost of $15,000.
Funds for the building project were raised through insurance on the
previous building, through donation, and though the issuing of debentures.
Reeve
F. W. McIntosh, speaking at the opening ceremonies for the Opera House
“congratulated the citizens of Manitou on their courage and enterprise in
erecting such a splendid building.” He noted that such public buildings reflect
the character of the community.
Since
1930, the Opera House has served the community well, hosting dances, meetings
of local organizations, concerts, and celebrations.
The Manitou Opera House Foundation
The Manitou Opera
House Foundation was incorporated in 1995 to raise funds and to encourage volunteers
to help in the restoration and improvement of the Manitou Opera House.
The foundation’s
executive would welcome anyone who would like to assist with any of the
projects undertaken by or on behalf of the foundation for the enhancement of
this historic building.
Foundation Executive
President:
Thor Thorleifson 242 3284 donnathor@cici.mb.ca
Vice President:
Bill Howatt 242
2531 bhowatt@cici.mb.ca
Booking Agent:
Walter Mueller 242 2188 bmuelle2@cici.mb.ca
Secretary/Treasurer:
Laurie Simpson 242 2746 standrewsmanitou@hotmail.com
Web Secretary:
Al
Thorleifson 242 2794 athorleif@cici.mb.ca
Technical Advisor:
Garry Young 242 2359 **
Foundation Projects
Since Manitou’s Centennial was celebrated, the
Opera House Foundation has completed several projects. They include the curtain
project, the round table project, the geothermal heating project, the electrical
upgrade, the fire code upgrade, creation of a theatre lighting system,
refinishing of the auditorium floor, creation of dressing room space in the
‘long room’ in the basement, and the repair and upgrade of the exterior of the
building. The Green Room upgrade was
completed by one of the stakeholder groups – Oak Valley Productions. As well, through
the work of another stakeholder group, The
Borderline Singers, the Opera House now has an excellent grand piano on the
stage.
In the longer term, the Foundation is
considering plans for an addition to the Opera House which will provide
disability access to all levels of the building, washroom facilities at the
performance level, and a serving kitchenette at the performance level, as well.
We would like to invite you to donate to the
work of the Foundation. All donations
are welcome and tax-deductible.
If you claim a donation on your income tax, as
much as 29% of that donation is returned to you as a tax deduction.
The Foundation receives corporate support based
on its own fund raising locally. As a
result, if your were to donate $100, our actual gain would approximate $125.
As you can see, your support is important to us.
If
you would like to make a donation,
please print out the following form, fill it out, and send it to:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Laurie
Simpson, Treasurer
Manitou
Opera House Foundation
Box
321
Manitou
MB R0G 1G0
fax
242 2448
I
would like to make a donation to the Manitou Opera House Foundation:
Name
_______________________________________________
Address______________________________________________
Town________________________________________________
Province_____________________________________________
Postal
Code__________________________________________
Telephone___________________________________________
Fax__________________________________________________
I
would like to be placed on the Opera House e-mail list. Please inform me of events and projects associated
with the Manitou Opera House and its stakeholder groups.
e-mail
address _______________________________________
Thank
you for your support of the Foundation and its work!