Chairs Update and History

Thank you to the following for their support: Debbie Bridge, Riley Gilchrist, Lindsay Burns, Art Rush Gallery, History in the Making, Tess & Wendy, Gail & Ron Dunn, Jeffery Dunn, Dawson Dunn, Grayson Dunn, Pete Wright, Marie Nagel Gallery, Pearcy Studio, Neil Vant, Kriss Boggild, Elisa Aragon & Natashia McEwen, Murray Krause, Brian Lewis, Zeb Rummel, Lucy Reid, Collette Beaulieu, Julia Mackey & Dirk Van Stralen, Holly Jones, Kathy Landry, Shelley Eckstein, Chris Cooley, Arman Tarhan, Chester Mundl, Logan Mundl...

I want to help... download Chair Campaign Form

Over the last seven years, The Sunset Theatre has been lovingly restored (without government assistance) by Karen and David Jeffery. The roof has been replaced, a new foundation put in and includes accommodation for two dressing rooms with full bath/shower facilities, new lobby concession and washrooms have been installed, and the theatre has been re-wired to enable  a professional level control booth and lighting system competitive with regional theatres across the country. One of the largest projects has been the on-going restoration of the historic theatre chairs, given to the Sunset Theatre in the 1970’s by Harvey Bryant, former owner of the Lode Theatre.

This past spring through a series of unfortunate events, 30 seats went missing.  In the best of intentions,  friends of the Sunset  had offered to recover them. While  temporarily in storage in Prince George, they were inadvertently removed and taken to a transfer station.

Over 3 months later, a chance meeting at the Billy Barker Days Parade yielded the return of 12 historic chairs.  Carrie Johnston, a theatre supporter and long time resident of Wells, started chatting to two women after the parade. When asked if she knew anyone interested in old theatre seats in need of repair, Carrie was initially suspicious but then discovered that some of the chairs, also originally from the Lode Theatre in Wells, were given to the Baker Creek Community Hall more than 30 years ago. The two women, Sheila Gibbons, treasurer, and Christine Leroux, President of the Hall, were simply looking for a new and appropriate home for what they appreciated to be unique old chairs.

The transfer of this gracious gift has taken place along with an additional 24 chairs from the Rex Theatre in Quesnel. They will  become a permanent fixture in the Sunset Theatre.

Each chair has 14 components (excluding another 20 nuts, bolts and screws) and has been disassembled,  sandblasted and re spray-painted.  All of the Art-Deco ends have been powder-coated. The laborious task of recovering the seats and backs is underway after which each will await re-assembly and re-installation. The total material cost to refurbish the 100 chairs is approximately $12 000. In an effort to expedite their re-birth,  A Chair Campaign is being launched with  the intention of getting them back into the theatre as soon as possible where they can once again function for generations to come.

Those interested in sponsoring a chair for $100 will receive a plaque on a chair which will endure for the life of the Sunset Theatre.

I want to help... download Chair Campaign Form