08/27/2020
We at the Armond Theatre would like to thank Morgan Turner for his coverage of our ongoing project. Please know that the hazmat abatement has been underway for the past month and that we are now working with BC Hydro and local electricians (Sommer Electric) to restore power to the building, which should be completed within the next two or three weeks. Once power is restored, we can continue the abatement - and the renovations and installations to follow - without interruption. Thank you all for your continuing support and encouragement of our endeavor. In the weeks to come we should be posting more frequently, now that we're over the mountainous paperwork hump and will have new things to say. Stay Safe, Everybody. Cranbrook Strong.
Today on Heart of the Community, I'd like to introduce Ferdy Belland. He's the Managing Director of the Armond Theatre here in Cranbrook, as a well as being talented as a musician, journeyman carpenter, and wordsmith. This write-up is a little longer than our usual, bur well worth the entertaining read. Thanks again Ferdy!
Spencer Kerr, Casey Wright and myself have partnered together to renovate and repurpose the defunct Armond Theatre in downtown Cranbrook into a mid-sized multi-purpose Performing Arts Center to benefit the culture and community of our beloved Cranbrook, and the East Kootenay region as a whole. This has been a longstanding dream of mine ever since my wife and I moved home to Cranbrook in 2012 after a decade living in Vancouver. Spencer and Casey approached me unexpectedly last November, stating how they'd been convinced by all my endless nattering about the potential of the Armond Theatre, and I felt like I won the bloody lottery. We've been running with the project full-bore ever since. I may be the forward public face of this project, but the people of Cranbrook need to know this never would have happened without Spencer and Casey believing in the vision.
There's been a very real positive upsurge in the arts and culture here since the turn of the century, and Cranbrook's slowly finding its feet in the post-industrial reality of modern life in the BC Interior. There are precious few Landmark Buildings left standing in the downtown core, and we got sick and tired of seeing the Armond rot away as King Tut's Tomb for twenty years straight. The Armond Theatre used to be the centerpoint of Cranbrook's downtown nightlife for fifty years, and thousands of Cranbrookers have fond and vivid memories of those times. And there's a young generation living in Cranbrook who've only known the Armond as a dead concrete vault. No more. We're doing our part to add to downtown revitalization, cultural nurturing, boosting the tourism economy, and re-energizing downtown nightlife in a clean and wholesome manner that will appeal to people from all walks of life.
We've been encouraged by similar bold projects that have sprung up in the downtown core over the past decade, with younger, imaginative mavericks completely reworking what downtown culture means - just look at the glowing success of the Heidout, and Soulfood, and the Fire Hall. All three of those businesses are now the hippest spots in town, and the fact that all three are encouraging and hosting of the performing arts is just wonderful. We're wishing the Armond Theatre to create a sibling vibe amongst those entities, and we're hoping they remain as ongoing institutions in downtown culture. The more of these colorful enterprises establish themselves in the downtown core, the more other imaginative entrepreneurs will be encouraged to spark off their own enterprises. We wish this trend to accelerate through the 2020s and beyond. Whatever we can do to help, we will.
Size-wise, the venue fits the missing Goldilocks Spot between the Studio Stage Door and the Key City Theatre, and we aim to accommodate various events that would attract 150-350 people: live music, live theatre, dance recitals, comedians, lectures, wedding receptions, conventions, and what have you. The interior design and decor will emulate the original Art Deco style the old Armond used to have when it first opened, and we're partnering with PB Pro Audio for state-of-the-art sound and light systems. There'll be an open balcony / mezzanine overlooking the main amphitheatre and the stage, and we'll be upgrading the lobby and concession area with a stately bar and such. In our minds, we're aiming to create Cranbrook's version of the Commodore Ballroom. We have the necessary artistic vision, the national performance-industry contacts, and the hands-on tradesmen's skills to bring our concept to life, for real. We have nothing to lose but our boredom. Same goes for Cranbrook as a whole.
How has your business, and the project with the Armond Theatre been affected by the outbreak of Covid-19?
Ironically enough, the pandemic hasn't slowed us down. Our first task is to perform a thorough hazmat-abatement of the building before the renovation phase can begin in earnest, so we've been tied up with taking our abatement courses, and slogging through a slow and complicated process of official paperwork and government bureaucracy to begin the clean-up. I believe the Hollywood producers call that sort of delay "Developmental Hell," but whatever - we need to jump through whatever official hoops we must. We're bundled up in full-face powered respirators and Tyvek coveralls, so we're already the safest people in Cranbrook, germs or no.
We finally got the go-ahead from the Powers That Be and began the abatement several weeks ago, and everything's going smoothly - knock on wood. We're now working with BC Hydro to restore power to the building, and then the abatement can continue uninterrupted. Once the building's been decontaminated, the true renovation process can begin in earnest. COVID-19 aside, our original timeframe for completion remains in place. The schedules for large commercial renovations like this one always flex due to one unforeseen circumstance or another, but if all goes well, we're hoping to be open to the public by the end of 2021, or early 2022. And hopefully by then the pandemic will be over, or at least winding down. We're not in a hurry to fail.
What positive or uplifting things have you seen or experienced during the pandemic?
We've had it very lucky here in British Columbia with the pandemic situation, and that should not be taken for granted. I believe most of the residents around Cranbrook and area are taking this seriously and acting accordingly. Most people realize that we're all forced to play the same Good Citizen game, so most people are playing by the same rules. It bothers me to see all the arrogance and selfishness being unflatteringly displayed by the occasional uptight deniers who define common-sense public-health protocols as fascist oppression, or Illuminati puppeteering, or some other nonsense - the whole "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death" crap that will not age well, especially in a small town where everybody knows each other. This situation is certainly showing off people's true colors, for better or for worse. Despite that, I see more people than not setting good examples around here, so I'm remaining hopeful that the pandemic will finally come to a close without excess mortality or injury, and we can all get back to what the world was before March 16th - hopefully sooner than later.
Most Cranbrookers I encounter in my daily shufflings around the downtown core are respectful and try to be kind to everybody else and give everybody social-distancing space. I try and reciprocate in kind. I have an elderly mother to be mindful of, as well as a wife I adore, and I can't be selfish about what's happening around me, for their sake if not for my own. I can't escape it. Nobody can. Nobody's liking the situation, of course. None of us are - who in their right mind would? Most of my friends and acquaintances are adopting a "Life During Wartime" attitude. Keep Calm and Carry On, as Winston Churchill used to say. Who would've thought that we all would have lived to see what a Global Pandemic looks like? Thankfully, this isn't the Black Death of the 14th Century - but this is not just a normal round of the flu, either. We must be cautious.
I see smiling young mothers pushing their babies in strollers through Rotary Park on a bright sunny day. I see young couples walking hand in hand up and down Baker Street. I see uplifting messages scrawled on sidewalks in chalk, or on the sides of garages, or on fences, all across town. I see kids respectfully holding storefront doors open for old folks with walkers. I hear the honking of horns as long strings of decorated vehicles roll past certain houses to give somebody a Birthday Parade. Despite all the seemingly endless bad news, the determined positivity I see all around me is the larger part of the Cranbrook community I know and love. Too many times I allow myself to get bitter and cynical about things, but when I see everyone coping as best they can with sincere smiles and heartfelt warmth, it only confirms that we're all going to get through this alright.
What have you been doing during this unusual, socially-distanced time to create some joy or have some fun?
During the height of the Spring Lockdown, now with nothing to do and nowhere to go, I shrugged my shoulders in dejected resignation and got into the day-drinking / TV-bingeing fad that was all the self-isolation rage across North America. But after burning my way through the original 1960s "Star Trek," "The Mandalorian," "Cobra Kai," "The Expanse," "The Man in the High Castle," and "Vikings," it got to the point where my poor back was killing me in my IKEA chair, and my eyes would just glaze over and melt dripping down my face. And sure, I like beer and all, but drinking is more of a social condiment for me, as opposed to me trying to emulate Charles Bukowski and just skulling myself blind, alone in my house, night after night. That's not fun. Beer should be fun. TV should be fun, too, but I think I've gotten all the binge-watching out of my system.
Then I remembered that I'm a Journeyman Carpenter, so I happily buckled on my toolbelt and spent the better part of a month in a Bob Vila frenzy around my house, building a big backyard deck, rebuilding a laundry deck under our clothesline, and rebuilding the main front entrance. I was catching up on a long Honeydew List that I never had the time for, until the pandemic appeared. The triumph and satisfaction I felt was enormous. Most people I know are going through waves of helplessness while they're coping with the pandemic, as do I - it's a normal reaction to all this. It felt so good to have control over something. It felt good to accomplish something and feel the glow of pride again. Now I've got the building itch. Luckily, with the pace of progress on the Armond Theatre picking up, I'll now have something bigger and grander to get my hands dirty with.
As a lifelong musician and performer, the temporary cancellation of all public events worldwide is beyond frustrating, and it hurts deeply. I'm a people person and an extrovert, so it's been an emotional challenge to keep myself on a level beam and not just fall apart in despair. I'm a bassist, and I'm good at it, but the bass is a team instrument. And with social distancing in effect everywhere, that mostly rules out group practice and rehearsal. Before the pandemic arrived, I would occasionally perform solo acoustic shows in pubs and cafes where I'd sing and play guitar, so with the current restrictions in place I decided I'd piece together a simple home-studio system to see whether I've got an inner Ed Sheeran in me somewhere. I've played a few podcasts, which feels like playing live on the radio, and it feels good to be self-sufficient and self-contained as an artist and performer. Who knows? Perhaps I'll write a grand concept album about 'life under siege' while all this is ongoing. It's certainly a challenge to stay positive and productive as a creative person, no matter what your personal artistic discipline happens to be, but this whole situation is forcing all of us to use our imaginations and think outside the box. I'm up for that challenge.
Luckily, my wife owns a bookstore, so I've been amping up the bookworm in me, which is never a bummer. Never a dull moment!
Is there anything else that you’d like to share, or wish people were aware of right now?
I want to thank Cranbrook City Council, the Downtown Business Association, our Chamber of Commerce - and the good people of Cranbrook as a whole - for their unified support of the Armond Theatre project. We shall not flag or fail. We look forward to the day when we open to the public, and we look forward to the days beyond that as we do our utmost to add to the cultural color of our fair Key City.
In the meantime: please, everyone - hang in there. The pandemic will end, and if we all do our part as Good Citizens and look out for each other, the pandemic will end sooner than later, and we can all get back to our real lives and the real world. Please be patient and kind with each other. Keep the love alive.
