BOWDEN – They have raised the roof and now they have opened the doors for a peek.
Sometime next month community groups in Bowden will enthusiastically begin to use the town’s long-awaited new $1.9-million community hall.
"We are hoping to have everything done by then. We do have a couple of community groups coming in prior, but I am not certain the kitchen will be complete for those functions, but they won’t be needed,” said Kim Urichuk, the hall’s first manager.
Urichuk said the facility’s first large function, a fundraiser for an out-of- town group, is scheduled for March 15. She said the project is on budget and met all construction timelines, and will be completed within the next month.
"I believe we are well within a two-week time frame of being when we wanted to be open,” she said. "We are in the final stages.”
Construction for the $1.9-million project, spearheaded by Expanding Horizons – Bowden Cultural Enhancement Society, began last August. The project was community-driven and already there is a long list of bookings from several groups from town and across the region to use the 10,750-square-foot facility, located on 3.2 acres of land at the north end of Bowden along Highway 2A (27th Avenue) and 22nd Street.
"We have 25 bookings so far for the hall just for 2018. That is weddings, fundraisers, anniversaries,” said Urichuk. "The response has been overwhelming for people who want to book it already. They are coming from Innisfail, Didsbury, Olds and all the surrounding areas.”
The new Bowden Community Hall replaces the 70-year-old Bowden Lions Hall. With an elegantly designed exterior adorned with stucco and decorative stonework, the new hall is bigger and better equipped with the most state-of-the-art amenities. The auditorium seats 350 for banquets and 500 for theatre shows, presentations and awards nights. There is a large and modern commercial kitchen, a top-of-the-line sound room, large washrooms and coat room, and even a preparation room for wedding parties before they enter the adjoining stage inside the auditorium. Outside there is ample parking, including onsite space for RVs.
With interest in the new facility already high throughout the region, Urichuk and society officials are still fundraising. They still have to raise $200,000 to meet the final $1.9-million cost. However, Urichuk said members of the society have been passionately committed from the start and will keep working hard to have that hurdle cleared as well.
"The fundraising at this point has gone very well, so now we are on a push for the last little bit we need to finish,” she said. "The original group that started this project is just so passionate about this and such committed community members. It is amazing what they have done.
"They have jumped through hoops and worked many, many, many hours to make this happen,” added Urichuk. "Along the way they have picked up other people to get on board for the fundraising.”
And what will the new community hall do for Bowden?
"It is going to bring more awareness to Bowden,” she said, adding it will also bring a fresh sense of pride for folks in town. "It’s just getting back to that community sense where it is a place of camaraderie where you come with your neighbours and do community events.”
For more information on the new Bowden Community Hall visit www.bowdencommunityhall.ca
Kim Urichuk, manager of the Bowden Community Hall
"We have 25 bookings so far for the hall just for 2018. That is weddings, fundraisers, anniversaries. The response has been overwhelming for people who want to book it already. They are coming from Innisfail, Didsbury, Olds and all the surrounding areas."
