LETTER: City Hall ending the Follies -- a plea for help
By Contributor
A message from the Gold Fever Follies:
Right now, the very existence of the iconic Rossland Gold Fever Follies is at risk. With only 5 months before our rehearsals were scheduled to start, Rossland City Council has surprisingly, without any previous warning or discussion with the Follies Board, decided not to renew our rental contract for the Miners Hall, leaving us without a venue to perform our show. There are no other venues in Rossland that can accommodate a performance such as the Follies.
The Rossland Gold Fever Follies is a musical theatre company that puts on a show about Rossland’s gold rush days every summer. The historic Rossland Miners Hall has been the home of the Follies for the last 38 years, and we have been providing rip-roaring, high-kicking summer entertainment (including the cancan!) ever since.
We provide a very valuable service to our area, one that supports our local and regional economy by bringing much-needed summer tourism dollars into Rossland, provides youth employment (many of them locals), promotes our city while educating the public about our rich history, provides drama camps for local children, supports seniors by giving free performances at 5 seniors care facilities, and keeps the arts alive in our rural community.
We feel very strongly that the City Council’s decision is going to hurt our local economy and businesses who rely on our summer tourism draw, and our community as a whole. Our shows bring out close to 3000 people who spend additional money and time in our beautiful mountain community. The decision to not renew the rental agreement was made during an unpublicized, in-camera (secret) meeting, with incomplete and inaccurate information. Had council given the Follies an opportunity to speak, and to be involved in the conversation, we are sure a reasonable solution could have been found.
Without the Rossland Gold Fever Follies, the arts, tourism, and historical legacy of Rossland will suffer, resulting in an economic and cultural loss for our entire region.
We have already committed several thousand dollars and hundreds of hours prepping for our upcoming season. Advertising for our summer show has already been paid for, scripts and music have been written, our director has been hired, accommodations at one of our local B & B’s have been booked, and we’re already in the middle of our audition process.
We would like to appeal the Rossland City Council’s decision to not renew our contract, and we’re asking for your help to do it, as Mayor and Council are unwilling to grant the Follies a delegation to meet with City Council to discuss options.
PLEASE sign our petition which will be distributed throughout our community, and share it with other supporters of the Follies. If you’re a local, please also consider attending the Rossland City Council meeting at 6:00 pm on January 13th, 2025, to make your voices heard. We are asking the Rossland City Council to work with us in finding a mutually beneficial solution.
Also, please write to City Council to express your support for the Follies, and cc us so that we have a copy of all letters.
mayor@rossland.ca; council@.rossland.ca, TheRosslandGoldFeverFollies@gmail.com
These letters need to be submitted by January 7, 2025.
A solution must be found. Rossland’s arts and culture, as well as the livelihoods of the young artists who perform with the Follies, depend on it.
Thank you for your on-going support!
The Rossland Gold Fever Follies
