The Kyabram Plaza Theatre is already a centre-piece historical landmark for Allan St, but newly announced upgrades will see the building completely illuminate the main street.
The theatre committee conducted morning tea gathering on Thursday, May 2 taking volunteers, councillors, community groups, and local businesses through the historic building for a behind-the-scenes look.
Attendees were also walked through the successes of the last 12 months, and told about upcoming plans - including the upgrades to the front of the theatre.
The upgrades include the installation of a light box above the main doorway which will let patrons know the current and upcoming film screenings.
The second upgrade is the all important installation of light bulbs on the edge of the verandas that perimeter the front of the building.
Vice president of the board for Kyabram Plaza Theatre, Lisa Ratcliffe, said that the project has been in development for nearly 18 months.
“The lights on the veranda will hopefully increase the street presence when the theatre is in operation and make the building stand out in town,” Mrs Ratcliffe said.
“The hope for the light box, is also to make it a lot easier for the community to see the upcoming shows, especially for people driving by.
“At the moment, we just have the posters, but having the light box will make those showings stand out for people driving down Allan St.”
She said that part of the need for the project is to do with preserving and bringing back to life the theatre from its original time period when it first opened in 1929.
“It’s to keep in with the period that the plaza was built, we’re trying to maintain the plaza’s history in its original state,” she said.
The building upgrades were made possible through the support of the Community Bank Kyabram & District who have granted the plaza $15,000 for the upgrades.
Mrs Ratcliffe said it felt great to have the backing of the Kyabram Community Bank & District, a branch under Bendigo Bank, in this community project.
“The plaza is completely run by volunteers - so having that backing from the Bendigo Bank who also sees the project as worthwhile is great… they’ve invested a lot into our community,” Mrs Ratcliffe said.
Chair of the Community Bank, Vincent Curtis, said the theatre holds a special place in his heart which made it all the while easier to agree to lending a hand for the upgrades.
“On the day that they announced the upgrades, it was 25 years that my wife and I had taken our wedding photos in the theatre,” Mr Curtis said.
“It means everything to be able to help out the Kyabram Theatre because that’s what the community bank is all about.
“It’s the whole reason the bank was started – so that we could invest in projects such as this one, and improve amenity, resources and the viability of the town.”
The Kyabram Community Bank & District has been open for business since 2016, and Mr Curtis estimates the bank has given out between $200,000 - $300,000 to groups, such as the theatre, to revitalise Kyabram.
“You can always go to the government or the council for money, but if you have a business like the community bank, you’ll always have the backing,” he said.