The Town of Whitecourt wants to snag more grant dollars for the new building, saving tax dollars

By Serena Lapointe

The Town of Whitecourt is seeking to add more grant dollars to the millions they’ve already

successfully obtained for the new Culture and Events Centre being built at the entrance of

Festival Park. The ginormous structure includes three separate functions: Town Office, Library

and the Arts, Culture & Convention Centre.

The municipality has already banked over 30 million in grants towards the project, a whopping

60 percent of the overall cost. In wanting to lower the building’s cost as much as possible, the

Town of Whitecourt has continued seeking other funding options to help cover the costs of

various segments of the building.

At the September 22 Regular Meeting of Town Council, Kelly Sadoway, Manager of Recreation,

Arts and Culture, provided details on the latest grant that the municipality hopes to successfully

gain. The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (CCSF) is a federally funded grant that focuses on

equitable funding opportunities reflecting cultural diversity in Canada. It is offered under the

Department of Canadian Heritage.

On the Canadian Government’s website (www.canada.ca), it details the grant as supporting “the

improvement of physical conditions for arts, heritage, culture and creative innovation. The CCSF

supports renovation projects, the acquisition of specialized equipment, and planning, design and

feasibility studies related to arts and heritage cultural spaces.”

It is listed as “highly competitive,” and special considerations may be given to funding

applications submitted by organizations in rural or remote areas, or for underrepresented or

equity communities and groups, including deaf people and those living with disabilities. It also

states that municipalities can apply, provided that they have historically demonstrated a

commitment to the arts or heritage-focused activities, which Whitecourt certainly has.

Town CAO Peter Smyl explained that the funding was 50/50 between the CCSF and approved

applicants, adding that the total funding would be around $200,000. “Everything helps for the

center. The grant application requires a motion from Council,” he said. Deputy Mayor Derek

Schlosser queried the funding. “So, this was money we were going to spend regardless, and

now we are doing a grant in place of that?”

Smyl and Sadoway said yes. “This is budgeted for the center. It’s part of the budget. We will

continue to do that, even with the sponsorship stuff rolling out. We will continue to apply for

grants, just like all the capital expenditures in town. If we can double down and free up some of

our money, then so be it,” said Smyl.

If successful, the grant would fund the specialized theatre equipment needed to enhance the

physical, technological and safety of the centre. As mentioned, the equipment was already

budgeted, so gaining grant dollars towards it allows those dollars to go towards something else.

The agenda package provided at the meeting outlined that the space inside the Arts, Culture

and Convention Centre would be the “first fully equipped performance space of its kind in our

region.”

The specialty lighting, control system and high-quality sound equipment will “transform a multi-

purpose space into a professionally outfitted theatre venue, with essential infrastructure such as

lighting grids, rigging systems and quality sound.” It continued to say that the equipment would

accommodate “a larger range of artistic disciplines from community theatre, dance, cultural and

heritage events, live music performances and touring productions.” Lastly, it stated that the high-

quality equipment would “bring the Centre in line with Canadian industry standards, enabling

local artists and visiting performers to deliver polished, professional work.”

When asked which facility closest to Whitecourt had similar equipment, Sadoway said St. Albert

or larger venues in the city. “It has a wide range to host a variety of different shows, with

different lighting, sound, and options for different types of set-ups. It’s a more versatile space

that can offer more alternatives, and different types of artists will be able to come,” she said. “It’s

all stuff recommended by the theatre consultant (Schick, Shiner, and Associates). It’s things we

would want to have for the range of shows that we want to be able to present,” she added.

The grant administrator asked that the application be submitted before September 30, 2025.

Following the discussion, Whitecourt Town Council voted in favour of approving the grant

submission to the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund in hopes of garnering funds towards the

specialized theatre equipment already scheduled to be purchased for the centre. It’s not known

when the Town of Whitecourt can expect to hear back on whether they were successful.

TAGLINE:

The building of the Culture and Events Centre is well underway and slated for completion in one

year’s time. With an extensive portion of the project already covered by grants, the Town of

Whitecourt has continued to seek out opportunities to save tax dollars.