Times Chronicle Staf
The following are Oliver town council briefs from the Jan. 9 meeting.
Theatre bouncing back
Venables Theatre has clawed its way through another pandemic year and is anticipating some good shows in 2023.
Manager Leah Foreman made a presentation to council on the budget and annual report.
She said despite the tumultuous ride through COVID 19, the theatre society triumphantly navigated through restrictions and experienced a successful year.
Foreman noted that new marketing efforts included reaching out to the schools to advertise shows. She also stated that theatre renters, including The Dance Studio returned for business.
“Even with some restrictions in place, we welcomed over 10,000 people through our doors.”
Foreman said they continue to allow drinks in seats, which has proven successful. She added they have seen an increase in liquor sales as well.
Looking ahead, the theatre will provide more opportunities for public engagement, she said.
Mayor Martin Johansen commented that it looks like Venables Theatre is recovering and he is looking forward to seeing more performances in 2023.
FOG not in jeopardy
For a minute there, it looked like the Festival of the Grape (FOG) was in jeopardy during an Oliver Tourism Association (OTA) budget discussion.
There was talk about reducing Area C’s contribution to the budget, which led Mayor Martin Johansen to speak out after it was suggested the fallout would be FOG may not be able to continue.
“This is very concerning . . . I can’t imagine losing FOG,” he said.
But it was later learned that Area C director Rick Knodel changed his original funding request reduction, meaning that funding for OTA will remain in place at the 2022 level.
“There will be no impact to the FOG moving forward,” Johansen told the Times Chronicle.
Ian Lobb, OTA executive director, confirmed that statement, saying the festival will be going forward this year.
He said there was a small misinterpretation of what each party was expected to contribute, but that was easily cleared up.
“All parties are excited to keep going,” Lobb said.
