There are hundreds of people in Dawson Creek who want the new Calvin Kruk Centre for the Arts! Let's start by counting the number of children and youth who attend weekly ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, baton, piano, guitar, beginner band, and karate classes at KPAC: 552. Then we should add the 148 adults who attend weekly dance, music, and fitness classes at KPAC. Add to that the 68 children who attend our daycare which, incidentally, is the only year-round, full-time daycare centre in Dawson Creek. And as the "Faces of KPAC" series has pointed out close to 100 guild members make quilts, pottery, and music several times a week at KPAC. Another 200 or so attend monthly meetings in our multi-purpose rooms. So far, that's over 1,000 people who want the new Arts Centre.
KPAC also coordinates a number of programs for school-age children, including the Peace River South Festival of the Arts, the Honours Concert, the Scholarship and Bursary Program and Concert, and Summer School of the Arts. Combined participation in these programs is over 500 children and draws an audience of 1,900 people to recitals and concerts. KPAC hosts a dozen annual performances and coffeehouses, too. We also rent our studio space and the auditorium for workshops, meetings, private events, and theatrical performances, drawing approximately 3,000 people to KPAC each year. And let's not forget the 30 people KPAC employs. That's who wants the new Arts Centre.
Who supports the new Arts Centre? The provincial and federal governments do. So do Encana, Shell, ARC Resources, Ferus, Murphy Oil, Huron Energy, Kiwanis Club of Dawson Creek, Canadian Utility Construction Corp., and hundreds of individuals who've made donations to KPAC and the Calvin Kruk Memorial Trust Fund.
Who will use the new Arts Centre? Everyone listed above, and many, many more.
