The Summerland Community Arts Centre will officially open its new location on Saturday morning.
The grand re-opening will be on Saturday, July 12, from 9 to 11 a.m. It will include a pancake breakfast outside the building, served by the First Summerland Scouts. The breakfast is by donation.
The arts centre will occupy the former Willowbrook Lane building on Main Street.
The layout of the new facility is much more open than the municipal building.
Volunteers and contractors have worked to transform the former retail space into a gallery with space for workshops and programs.
The renovated location includes space for the Summer Art Program which began on Monday as well as space for workshops and space to paint banners.
Karan Bowyer, manager of the arts centre, said the gift shop area, at the front of the new location, is considerably larger. This allows the arts centre to feature more locally created items.
“We have a bigger selection that we weren’t able to show before,” Bowyer said.
The Frieze of the Arts, which was on the outside of the former arts centre location, is on display in the new Adams Room in the new centre.
The frieze had been created by the Summerland Potters’ Guild in May, 2000. It depicts various aspects of the arts. It was unveiled on Sept. 1, 2001.
The first show in the new gallery is Travels With My Sketchbook, by Summerland artist Dale Matthews. The show opens on Thursday, July 10.
For 16 years, the arts centre occupied the former municipal hall building on Main Street, but earlier this year, that building and the neighbouring property were acquired for the location of the new Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library.
Construction on the new library is expected to begin in September, with the completion date scheduled for spring.
