Ken Walker recoils at a suggestion that the ideal location for the proposed Jasper Performing Arts Centre is the greensward occupied for most of the last 100 years by the rococo assemblage of river rock that houses the park information centre.  

The information centre has imprinted its antique style throughout Jasper, and to suggest that it be knocked down and its function incorporated in a modern building is clearly viewed as tantamount to turning Stonehenge into a parking lot.   

The proposal for a performing arts centre grew out of a facilities review by the town administration, Walker said in a recent interview, and a piece of ground next to the old fire hall on Patricia Street has tentatively been set aside to receive it. 

“They assembled the community players to discuss how effective are the existing facilities and what the community would like in the future.

“There was the photo club, artists guild, a defunct music festival and heritage theatre which also no longer exists. The folk festival society was active in the beginning, and the museum, the potters club - also defunct, and the quilters guild. 

“We created an umbrella group: the Jasper Performing and Visual Arts Society. Our purpose is to have a place in town where there is a professional performance space; we would also like space for visual arts. We would also like some studio space and room for non-profit organizations.

The society did some comparison shopping, looking at facilities in communities similar in size, setting or tone  - Vernon, Kelowna, Spruce Grove and Edson, but got hung up on the feasibility question. 

“We were thinking as artists; but what about the rest of the community? We don’t want to build a white elephant.  Can a community like Jasper afford a centre? What model could we use; is there space for it and is there strong support for it?”

“There are a few things that go on during the year,  and when we put something on, it’s in the high school gymnasium, or the Activity Centre. The United Church works quite well for small groups, but if we want to attract big-name numbers, we need a larger facility. Even the Men’s choir from Hinton is a tight squeeze.”

At the last annual general meeting, the society got an infusion of fresh blood, the promise of $50,000 for a feasibility study from the municipality, and some new partners - the Jasper Hotels Association, the Chamber of  Tourism and Commerce, and most recently, Parks Canada.

“We don’t have a professional performing space for groups that come in or even for ourselves. There is a lot of talent in Jasper, and there are performers traveling between Edmonton and Vancouver. I think it would be easy to get them to stop here.”

 “I think there are opportunities for all forms of performing arts. Jasper could have a signature festival, like the Sundance Film Festival. We could choose something that would draw people in at the right time of year. The sky is the limit; it’s like if you build it, they will come.”

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