Kiwanis Club of Forest, owners and operators of the Kineto theatre, announced this week that Phase one of the theatre’s revamp project is complete. The Kineto is one of the world’s oldest, continuously operating movie theatres and this rehabilitation project will transform the main street in downtown Forest and will act as an economic development driver.
More information on the KIneto Vision 2020 Project and how to donate to it is available on our website.
Phase one includes a myriad of improvements of two very old and historic buildings on King Street West in Forest:
(1) a state of the art lobby and concession , accessible washrooms and community room in the former neighbouring flower shop building;
(2) new accessible theatre seating in an 8 foot extension of the auditorium into the former lobby
(3) coffee/beverage bar in the former lobby
(4) a safe and modern industrial kitchen in the lower level (5) updated unisex washroom in the lower level
(5) renovated community room and serving area also in the lower level .
Phase two, the marquee and the exterior façade will be completed late April/early May.
These improvements make our facility safe, welcoming, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing and throughout the facility we have honoured the heritage of our 103 year old cinema.
When will the theatre be open to the public.
March is devoted to cleanup and reorganizing. This includes ensuring that the new cinema management system is operational and that everything in the building is spic and span!
April will be allotted to tours for Supporter to Visionary donor levels. We want all our wonderful community sponsors to see the results of their financial support. The front windows will stay covered until we complete our tours we don’t want to spoil the surprise.
May, we expect to open up tours to our Friend level donors and to the general community. Group sizes will depend on COVID status in Lambton County. There is also the possibility of virtual tours, events and film as COVID restrictions lift. There will definitely be a celebration the day we install the dazzling marquee (respecting restrictions).
We encourage everyone to keep checking www.kineto .ca , as well as our facebook page for virtual and in person events.
What did this cost and how much fundraising is still required.
The exact project costs will not be known until June at least but we estimate close to 1.4 million. Some of the reasons for this price tag were the need to have an architectural firm design and manage the project, many old building structural surprises and additional engineering and materials costs. The new marquee is a big ticket item.
We have raised $976,000.00 to date and have secured a LIBRO loan to complete the project.
We continue to fundraise and to solicit donor support. The capital campaign is running until the end of 2021 and all donations up to Dec 31, 2021 will be recognized on our donor wall.
How do I donate.
Please go to www.kineto .ca, click on 2021 Kineto Capital Campaign. You may download a mail in donation form or click on the “donate now” button to make an online donation.
You may also message us on our Kineto facebook page, contact info@kineto.ca or contact any Kiwanis member. Once we are open, we will have donor forms available at the theatre and in select locations in the downtown.