Letter to the Editor
Editor,
On Saturday, May 6, many of us attended a special evening at our beautiful Meaford Hall. It was to celebrate the ‘Balcony Grand Re-opening Ceremony’.
I want to thank and compliment the Meaford Hall and Cultural Foundation for completing this balcony seating project. It is well done and is a real asset to our hall. If I have any complaints about that evening, it would be that every time something was mentioned about ‘The Hall’ it was as if the conversion of the old ‘Opera House’ was strictly due to the efforts of the Meaford Hall and Cultural Foundation. That is very disappointing for a lot of people in Meaford and vicinity who successfully helped to run the Georgian Theatre Festival in repertory for a total of ten years… and then not receive even an ‘honourable mention’ at the final completion of this project!
We need to remember that this whole project STARTED with the efforts of ALL the VOLUNTEERS who helped raise the FIRST funds to BEGIN these hall renovations and make it accessible (elevator) for everyone. This was a project of love and hard work accomplished through ten successful years with wonderful LIVE theatre called ‘The Georgian Theatre Festival’. The Canadian government agreed to give us a grant for this project if we successfully raised the required total and this was done!!… even before there was a ‘Cultural Foundation’ (which started in 2006).
As a matter of fact, the tenth year of the festival was actually nicknamed the “TENTh” year because it took place in a TENT while the renovations on the HALL started! We all believed that the 11th year would find us back in our beautiful new theatre, with comfortable main floor theatre seats, wonderful stage and now fully accessible, thanks to our elevator! Everyone was looking forward to more years of live theatre.
Unfortunately, thanks to personality problems and some politicians, this did not happen and we haven’t had SUMMER theatre since.
A step in the right direction was taken by the Grey County Historical Society who hosted a Canada 150th Variety Show on May 17, and we were entertained by Meaford Theatre Company, Osprey Theatre, Owen Sound Little Theatre, and the Rocklyn Country Theatre, with the added bonus of musical entertainment by the Merrifields and Brian Wood.
Now at last we have a glimmer of hope!! On June 24 at 7:30 p.m. and June 25 at 2 p.m., the Meaford Theatre Company is presenting The Fly Fisher’s Companion! Live theatre!!
Come and enjoy some ‘theatre’ again in our fully completed Meaford Hall, begun so long ago by so many willing, enthusiastic Meaford folks.
Thank you.
Carole Edgar, Meaford
