The Weyburn Theatre Community Service Cooperative is preparing for the next major phase of their project. The non-profit organization is now seeking expression of interest for a construction partner for the new movie theatre.

"We are super excited to announce the moment we've all been waiting for... we're looking for construction partners to actually build a new theatre here in Weyburn," said Ryan Janke. "We have our package ready to go out, and we're not going to put it out for general release, so if anyone is interested, please e-mail us at weyburntheatre@gmail.com, and we'll get that out to you as soon as possible." 

He said anyone with questions can feel free to reach out to him or anybody on the theatre board and they'll be happy to point you in the right direction. 

Responses need to be in by Friday, September 22nd, with plans for construction to begin early next year. 

"I've been talking timelines for a long time, but once there's shovels in the ground, I can make those comments with a lot more confidence," he shared. 

While the conceptual model presented in June of 2022 was designed by an expert theatre designer, they need to ensure that what they want to do can be built on the site that is available. 

"As you can imagine, when you actually get out there and survey, things aren't quite what you measured the tape measure, so I wouldn't say it's finalized. We do have the idea in mind, we would definitely need someone to just do some engineer-stamped drawings for us," Janke clarified.

He said they're hoping to work with a local company, but it all depends on who offers what services. 

Fundraising, however, is nearly complete.

"We're doing really well. We are currently at 1.2 million of our $1.6 million goal, but there's still plenty of sponsorship opportunities available and you can find those on our website at weyburntheatre.com," Janke said. "Some of the most exciting ones are just buying a square in the lobby with a star and your name on it, or sponsoring a seat in either of the two auditoriums."

"We're really excited to finally be moving forward on this. I want to thank the community for their support because this really is a community project. We wouldn't be where we are without the support of everybody in Weyburn." 

"We still have a lot of work to do in terms of our fundraising efforts but in anticipation that we will meet our goal, we want to hit the ground running in 2024," commented WTCSC board member, Sean Purdue. "One thing we have learned with this project is the importance of planning ahead. A lot of behind-the-scenes work has to be done before shovels can hit the ground so we want to select a construction partner as early as possible so we are prepared and ready."

Weyburn Theatre Community Service Cooperative is a non-profit organization, formed with the exclusive goal of bringing the movies back to the City of Weyburn, and led by a group of volunteer board members. The WTCSC has engaged industry experts to plan and design a state of the art two screen cinema. Once fundraising goals have been met, construction will begin on the site of the former Soo Theatre.

dThe prototype shown here was presented in June of 2022 when the WTCSC presented their plans for the demolition of the old Soo Theatre, which will be replaced by a two-screen theatre in the same location on Third Street.

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