Inside The Civic This Week: Walls Are Going Up, New Theatres Are Emerging

November 13, 2026

For so long, we've been talking about plans, drawings, budgets, fundraising, and all the work required to bring our beloved theatre back to life. But this week, you can really begin to see the new Civic taking shape.

There are walls where there used to be open spaces. Our new projection rooms are taking shape. Drywall is going up, corridors are emerging, and the new theatre spaces are beginning to feel like actual rooms rather than lines on an architectural drawing.

It's exciting. And after everything it has taken to get here, it's also enormously gratifying.

What's happening inside?

Our construction partners at Chandos have had another busy week.

In Theatre 1 (this is the original theatre that we all know), drywall installation, taping and finishing are well underway. Work continues on the new raised floor platforms, wall framing, electrical systems and plumbing. The new projection rooms are looking remarkably different from just a few weeks ago.

Behind the scenes, the structural steel for our future elevator area is progressing, and work continues on the washrooms and connecting corridors.

We're also reaching another important milestone in the building's mechanical upgrades. The new rooftop heating and ventilation units are scheduled to arrive soon. These systems are a major part of making The Civic more comfortable, energy-efficient and sustainable for the decades ahead.

Working inside a 90-year-old building has brought its share of surprises. We've encountered challenges that weren't visible when the project began, and addressing them safely has required considerable additional work, time and money, but we're getting through them.

The road back to The Civic

We know how much everyone wants to know when we'll be able to open those doors again. The latest construction schedule points toward completion in May 2027. There's still a great deal to accomplish, and some important finishing work remains dependent on securing the funding to complete it. We'll keep sharing what we know as the schedule and remaining scope become clearer.

What I hope these photographs convey is that this project is real, it's moving forward, and the community's extraordinary investment is becoming something tangible.

We've spent years working toward this transformation. Together, we've secured millions of dollars in public investment and community support, navigated a pandemic, weathered extraordinary construction inflation, and kept finding ways to move forward when the path wasn't easy.

And all the while, our team and volunteers have kept cinema alive in Nelson - from the little Shoebox Theatre to our new venture at The Chapel (up at Selkirk College's 10th Street campus).

(Let's just say there's a tremendous amount of determination behind every new wall you see in these photographs!)

We still need your help to bring it home

We're making real progress, but we have two important fundraising challenges ahead of us.

Rising Strong - our $100,000 operating campaign

Our goal is to raise $100,000 by December 31st to help sustain the organization and the people working to keep cinema and community programming alive while The Civic is closed.

Construction grants build the theatre. They don't pay for the organizational work required to keep NCTS going through this extraordinary transition.

If you've already contributed to Rising Strong, thank you! Every gift is helping us bridge the distance between where we are today and the day we welcome you home.

If you haven't yet, we'd love you to join us.

A Home for Our Imaginations - completing our capital campaign

We've already secured millions of dollars toward rebuilding The Civic, an extraordinary achievement for a community our size. But we still have a substantial funding gap: currently estimated at approximately $3 Million for the full project.

We're actively seeking major gifts, philanthropic partners, foundations and businesses who want to help us finish what we've started.

Our Take Your Seat campaign is another wonderful way to be part of the theatre's future. Dedicate a seat to someone you love, celebrate a special memory, or put your family's name into the next chapter of The Civic's story. Seat contributions support the capital project.

And perhaps the most valuable thing you can do is start a conversation.

Do you know someone who cares about the arts, community life, accessibility, or the future of small towns? Someone who might be interested in making a significant gift, introducing us to a potential partner, or helping us open a door we haven't yet found?

Please connect us. We'd love to have that conversation.

We're building something worth fighting for.

A theatre is so much more than its walls, screens and seats. It's where we come together, discover new perspectives, celebrate stories, and make memories with people we love.

That's what we're working to bring back to Nelson, and to make even better than before.

Thank you for believing in it, for sticking with us through the hard parts, and for helping us get this far.

Take a look at this week's photographs. We hope they make you as excited about what's coming as they make me.

We're getting there, Nelson. And we're doing it together.

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Help bring The Civic home:

• Rising Strong: Support our operating campaign
• Take Your Seat: Dedicate a seat in the renovated theatre.
• Major gifts and partnerships: Reach out to NCTS Executive Director Eleanor Stacey directly at eleanor@civictheatre.ca to start a conversation.