I was at 702 last Wednesday with an electrician while the Weslyan Church was being demolished. 

It was a powerful contrast - hearing what it will take to create a useable community space at 702 and seeing what the consquences will likely be if we fail to mobilize enough support.  It was very sad to see the old church go, but extremely motivating.  There is no doubt in my mind it will take a whole community to make the 702 dream a reality.

So far, we've had a plumber, electrician, engineer, building supplies man, energy efficiency crew and foundation examiner in to have a look.  Although the building is old, it has very good bones and the engineer commented that he had never seen a rock wall basement in such good condition.  So far, so good.

Now we are waiting for the quotes to come in so we can determine precisely what "Phase I" of renovations will include.  Tracy has prepared a great promotional video that will be uploaded here and to youtube soon.  It will take you on a walk-through and get you fired up to help out.  Cheers!

 

How You Can Help

Here are five ways you can make 702 into a home for the arts:

1. Make a donation to our parking campaign (see below).  We need $18k
2. Donate your Canadian Tire money for house supplies.
3. Become a RiVa member - memberships are $10 at Fusion
4. Volunteer your time!
5. Donate used office furniture - we have a desk and chair, now we could use a couple of filing cabinets, shelving, a fax machine, printer, paper.

June 1

With so much going on in the world, one has to look at the positive.

We are now rezoned. This is really happening. What was the pipe dream of three artists and a handy napkin-note taker who happened upon them (that's me!) one year ago is swiftly becoming reality. We've traded red tape for measuring tapes - and Sunday - the RiVA board of directors laid out a timeline and a vision. The marathon meeting (which conveniently concluded with dinner prepared by a pretty pianist)allowed us to establish a date where temporary renters (four members of the board) will move in and begin paying rent to RiVA.

This week we will be calling plumbers, electricians and energy auditors. We intend to do all of the grunt work ourselves with the much-needed help from lovely volunteers in the community.

And we're off and running!!!

Parking

Woodstock Arts Council has graciously agreed to accept donations to help pay for the parking expense of $18 000.  This means you can get a tax receipt for your contribution.  We will be starting a larger public fundraising campaign this winter, but why wait?  You can send your donation to:

Woodstock Arts Council
108 South Ave.
Woodstock,N.B. E7M 2S2

Just write RiVA or "parking campaign" on the envelope so their wonderful treasurer will know to pass it on. 

Thanks for your support - we anticipate a busy spring with fundraising and preparations for next year's Dooryard Arts Festival.  Happy 2010, see you at 702!

Paying the Piper

After months of research, wrangling, and soul-searching, we have come to the conclusion that we are going to submit terms to Woodstock Town Council to pay the $18 000 due to our lack of onsite parking.

Usually when I tell people this, they start with questions....

Them: What do you mean, no parking, the Courthouse is there, the Weslyan Church is there, why can't you use that?

Me: The by-law says we have to have our own dedicated parking. We had a deal with the Presbyterian church but it wasn't within 500 feet of 702, and they don't have enough parking under the by-law either.

Them: So, why is it $18 000?
Me: We are required to have 10 onsite parking spaces due to the square footage of our building. We have one at the house, so we have to pay $2000 per space that we don't have.

Them: What about the houses next door? They don't have enough parking.
Me: They were built before this bylaw took effect last August, and are exempt from these rules.

Them: So, what does the $18 000 do? Get you the parking spaces?
Me: No, it goes into a fund for the Town of Woodstock to create more parking in town.

Them: How are you going to pay for this?
Me: Fundraise our butts off. And try to pay over the course of many years.

Won't you be my neighbour?

Across the street from 702 is the Weslyan Church. The congregation is moving to the former co-op grocery store in Jacksonville, and next Monday night, Woodstock Town Council will begin voting on the rezoning. It takes three readings to approve the rezoning, which will allow a developer to tear down the front part of the church and replace it with vinyl aparments.

Neighbourhood residents are opposed - they are asking for support at the Council meeting next Monday at 7pm. Please come and show your support, even if you're from out of town. We need to speak up on these issues or there will be no historic buildings left. More to come on our parking issues in a few weeks.

Good things come to those who wait

Just wanted to let you all know that 702 will not be a gallery space in time for the Dooryard Festival. We've run into more red tape than we anticipated and need to put the brakes on in order to manage everything properly. Although we are a little disappointed about this, it does give us more time to have a super awesome gallery in time for Dooryard 2010, which promises to be excellente!

We will continue to update you in September after we recover from the festival. We're a bunch of busy bees at the moment and sincerely hope you will check out Woodstock's first ever mixed arts festival, downtown, August 12-16th. See you there!