The jury is still out on the popcorn sales. But starting this summer, staff at The Arden Theatre plans to install a big, 28-foot wide screen to show movies.
Last year's closing of Grandin Theatres left a gap in the community, said Kelly Jerrott, director of cultural services. The Arden now wants to fill that gap, showing movies on quieter days when there are no other performances booked.
"We are looking at more film festival type of movies, not like your Cineplex or the IMAX," she said. "Right now we are doing some research on different film festivals and whether we are able to bring in some of the highlights."
There are already community groups showing movies from film festivals at different locations around the city, she said. These groups could now rent out space at the Arden.
But theatre staff also want to start their own, regular programming, building on the success of the Radical Reels, an annual presentation of highlights from the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, on the theatre's smaller screen.
Theatre staff is not expecting to install the new screen until the summer. Residents will likely learn more about the movie nights then. As for the popcorn sales, Jerrott said they are "working on some options."
Making downtown attractive
Movies at the Arden are part of a larger plan to make the downtown attractive to visitors. At a recent economic development breakfast, executive director Guy Boston said his team works to bring more residents, and tourism dollars, to the old city core.
Last year, the city introduced angle parking to the downtown. Boston said people's opinions are divided on the success of the project. But it provided 29 extra stalls for parking, reduced driving speeds and made the streets more pedestrian-friendly, he said.
In the coming weeks, his team will survey businesses about the parking changes and hold an open house for the public. "It's probably one of the more interesting projects we had," he said. "We have a full spectrum of opinions on this. Hate it, love it and everything in between."
Other plans include putting up posters in empty storefronts. The posters will fill the windows and show scenes from a florist or bakery store, with writing that says "imagine your business here."
The city will also hold a one-day retail symposium, including a session on lease negotiations. "We want to focus on tenant and retail attraction for the downtown," he said.
He added that businesses can once again apply for pop-up patios outside their stores or restaurants in the summer. In the coming weeks, city council will also discuss mobile vendor guidelines, to allow food trucks and other sales people to set up downtown.
And later this year, several youth can apply for funding with the city for a summer business through the Gen Y CEO program. The program is expected to help attract tourism to St. Albert. Boston hopes some of the youth may want to be buskers.
