The South Marysburgh Mirror November / December 1993 Recognize this picture? Not many will recognize this photograph. It has been a long time since any of us saw this building as it used to be, so that even those of us who recognize this interior will not have seen it in this magnificence for many a year. It is the Regent Theatre, in Picton and the Regent Theatre Foundation, the group of interested citizens who wish to see this resource returned to use in the community, have a questionnaire for you to answer so that you can have your say about what its future uses may be. In their handout, titled "Restoring the Regent for the Community", this foundation explains that there is no comparable facility in the county for the staging of a theatrical production, with change rooms, quality sound and light systems and comfortable seats for the audience and that because of this, the group wants to buy the Regent. They wish to restore and rehabilitate the building for year round use by service clubs, schools, church organization as well as for existing arts groups. The foundations foresees that the Regent will operate under board of directors representing all sectors of the com- munity, just as the Arena presently operates. The ultimate aim is for the facility to be self-supporting. And that brings them to the questionnaires that they have distributed to stores and organizations throughout the county. To be self-supporting, the facility has to be in use. To be in use it must fill a need in the community, therefore, the foundation must know the needs and inter- ests of the community in order to plan that use. Your answers to this questionnaire will be used as part of the new feasibility study that is being carried out, to enable the foundation to apply for money for the project. There was a feasibility study in the past, but that was based on the building being rented from the owners and used for only three months ofthe year, while at the sametime being heated and maintained for the entire year. The Regent Theatre Foundation, now that the theatre is for sale and a corporate sponsor has shown interest in the project, feels that the time is right to go ahead with this project. They are committed to hiring locally to ge* the work done, and to buying locally for the materiale to do it with. They are asking for volunteers to do some of the work, such as cleaning and painting, to keep the costs down, and for your input ideas. hence the questionnaire, ! Regent cont'd pe genic PE