Editorial: Time to put your money where your mouth is, Squamish

Think, if you will, of an alternate reality where locals did not buy the Brackendale Art Gallery, but it was sold to a developer proposing condos. 

Not that there would have been anything necessarily wrong with that, but just imagine the uproar that would have followed. 

Instead, as was their wish, former owners Dorte and the late Thor Froslev were able to realize a dream and see it sold to locals set on revamping it into a vibrant, modern arts and culture hub. 

Not only that, but the owners are successful locals who have also worked to pay homage to the original facility’s charm and history. 

When the announcement of the sale was made about a year ago, there was a huge sigh of relief.

Many locals commented with enthusiasm under our story about it on our social media channels.

Since then, the remaining previous owner has been happy with where things are headed.

“It is a huge pleasure to watch the transformation that will take The BAG onto its new life,” said Dorte in a recent public letter to the community.

“It will be different because the times are very different, but the heart will be the same, and it is my hope that the BAG community, new and old, will support and love the New BAG the same way they have for the past 50 years.”

Indeed.

So now it is time to show that we are more than just words and online comments, Squamish. 

This week, Jessica Rigg, one of the new owners of The BAG, revealed several of the plans in the works for the extensively renovated community hub. The plans were a result, in large part, to the meaningful consultation they have done with locals. 

There will be live music and theatre, movie screenings, an eatery and cafe, workspaces, and more. 

The owners are trying to make it everything we asked for, in other words. 

They are also working with the owners of the new speakeasy Trickster’s Hideout; another example of a few residents digging in and offering entertainment, and more to town, which locals should support to the degree they once frequented Zephyr cafe, which closed the day Trickster’s opened. (Zephyr’s former owner, Adrian Blachut, is a co-owner in The BAG.)

Squamish folks are known for being very last minute. Almost every time we do a story on an event our reporters hear that tickets were not bought until very close to show time, something that gives event planners indigestion, to say the least. 

The BAG has a membership drive on now until the end of the month to help them be all we asked them to be. 

Please financially support this drive to the level you are able. (Go to brackendaleartgallery.com/support.) It is time to put our money where our mouth is, Squamish.