Eric Goulden, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, speaks to theatre supporters on Thursday. Karen Murphy, of the J&W Murphy Foundation, and Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor board, look on. (Rick Conrad)

The board of the Astor Theatre on Thursday unveiled some details of a plan they hope will make the theatre the centre of arts and culture on the South Shore.

“We are definitely the envy of a lot of other theatres in Nova Scotia,” Astor Theatre Society chairman Eric Goulden said.

“And it is a very, very valuable treasure.”

The historic Liverpool theatre, which opened in 1902, recently received a $500,000 donation from the J&W Murphy Foundation. The five-year funding commitment will help with the Astor’s operational expenses, and help improve its marketing, promotion and fundraising efforts.

Board members invited the community on Thursday afternoon to learn more about the foundation’s support.

The contribution will help the Astor work on long-term projects to make the theatre sustainable. Three consultants will be hired to come up with fundraising and communications plans and oversee the process.

Heather White Brittain, the director of development with the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, will lead the Astor’s fundraising and sponsorship development efforts. That will include creating a fund development database that will help the Astor secure more sustainable donations from corporations and other foundations.

Cathy Neumiller, a communications and marketing professional based in Halifax, will help create a new marketing and communications plan for the theatre. That will include a newly designed website, a subtle rebranding and more community outreach.

“We don’t have the capacity in house to do this work,” said Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor board. 

“(The employees) do miracles every day with what they have to work with. But the fund development and marketing communications side are specialist areas and require specialists to do them.”

Cochrane said a lot of the work for the first year will be behind the scenes. But lovers of the Astor should start seeing some changes by the end of this year.

Neumiller says she hopes to harness the enthusiasm of the Astor’s sizable and dedicated group of volunteers.

“It’s really about relationships,” she said in an interview.

“The ultimate with communications is striking up a relationship with someone and finding out what they’re passionate about. The goal is to find the people that are the most passionate and get them on board to help achieve the things that need to be done because there’s a lot.”

Jean Robinson-Dexter, a former executive director of the Astor and longtime chair of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, will act as a project manager.

The president of Horizons Community Development Associates also helped Cochrane create the funding proposal to the Murphy foundation.

“I guess I’ll be a bit of a trouble-shooter and a bit of a historian about the organization and the kinds of things that the theatre does,” Robinson-Dexter said in an interview.

“I’ll be doing regular check-ins with the two wonderful consultants and sharing that back to the board, making sure we’re on track in terms of deliverables and timelines. It’s a great opportunity to be back and contributing to the Astor again.”

The Astor announced the “life-changing” contribution from the J&W Murphy Foundation in April. 

The foundation was established in 2008 by the late Janet and Dr. William Murphy, longtime Liverpool residents. Dr. Murphy co-founded the thriving Mersey Seafoods in 1964. 

It contributes to a wide variety of charitable causes, especially in Queens County.

The foundation’s Karen Murphy told QCCR on Thursday that they had many discussions with the Astor board about how to help.

“And our conclusion was that we could assist in some funding to take away some of the operational worries so the focus could be on future-proofing the facility,” she said.

“It’s often capital projects that get a lot of attention. But we found with especially small- and medium-sized organizations, operational funding is often forgotten. And sometimes that’s the key to all the other creativity-building that needs to happen.”

She said that she and her family have been longtime supporters of the Astor and were happy to help “take it to the next level”.

“When people find out I’m from Liverpool, they invariably mention the Astor. That tells you what a legacy is already in place. And it’s on all of us to keep adding to that and to keep building it up. This place has to be here for the next 100 years like it has been already.”

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The Astor Theatre is the oldest performing arts space in Nova Scotia. (File photo by Ed Halverson)

UPDATED APRIL 3, 3:15 P.M. 

The Astor Theatre in Liverpool has secured $500,000 in funding from the J&W Murphy Foundation.

The five-year commitment will give the Astor $100,000 each year to help beef up its programs and promotion.

Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor Theatre Society, told QCCR that it’s a game changer for Nova Scotia’s oldest performing arts theatre.

“It is significant. It’s huge. This is the largest donation the theatre has ever received,” she said.

“We’re thrilled. It will be life-changing for the theatre.”

Cochrane said the board began discussions with the J&W Murphy Foundation about a year ago on a plan to make the Astor sustainable.

“So the Murphy foundation is giving us an opportunity to set ourselves up for future success.”

The J&W Murphy Foundation was established in 2008 by the late Janet and Dr. William Murphy, longtime Liverpool residents. Dr. Murphy co-founded the thriving Mersey Seafoods in 1964.

The foundation contributes to a wide variety of charitable causes, especially in Queens County.

Lisa Murphy, chair of the foundation, told QCCR that she views the donation as an investment in a cherished centrepiece of the community.

“The Astor has always meant a lot both to the town and to our family. Our mom was a huge supporter of the arts,” she said.

“If what we have done is perceived as a vote of confidence, then we’re also happy about that, because it’s intended to be. … We’re thrilled to be privileged enough to be able to extend this funding that can help settle some of the swirling concerns that an organization such as the Astor has struggled with over the years and to enable them to build on that to secure their future. I can’t think of Liverpool without the Astor. I cannot imagine the town without the Astor.”

Murphy says she hopes the foundation’s contribution will help the Astor secure funding from other donors, and to help the theatre cover operating expenses. But she says it’s up to the board to decide where it will do the most good.

“Our grant is specifically to say, free up your resources to think bigger.

“There’s no wishlist. We speak about a vote of confidence, we are saying that we’re trusting the leadership of this organization to make responsible decisions about what it wants to do with it. And they are in the best position to set the direction of the society. … That’s not for us to say.”

In the first year of the five-year commitment, Cochrane says the board will work on improving its fundraising, including creating a donor database. It will also create a cohesive marketing plan to help grow the Astor’s audience and its revenue.

That will include a new website. Cochrane says the board is in talks now with professionals in corporate fundraising and marketing and communications.

And they’ll work on getting the community more involved in their programming, asking people what kinds of shows they’d like to see.

The theatre’s board also plans to expand the Astor Academy in the second year of the funding, to bring in outside theatre professionals to give more training to youth and seniors. 

“The Astor, like all arts centres, operates on one-third of its revenues from (government) grants, the other third is from revenues actually generated from concerts, events, and the other third is from donations,” Cochrane said.

“We really want to shore up the donation side. We come to the end of the year and we tend to be hand to mouth.”

Cochrane said people will likely start to see the results of the Murphy family’s investment in the fall. 

“The board is thrilled. It’s a very generous donation at a time that the theatre is really going to have an opportunity to benefit from it, and hopefully make it live on for another 100 years.”

The Astor Theatre opened in 1902 and was originally known as the Liverpool Opera House. It hosted local and touring shows until silent films were introduced in 1917. Many Canadian and international artists have performed at the theatre over the years, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Rufus Wainwright, and even Mr. Dressup.

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Organizers say Liverpool water conservation measures could add unexpected costs to the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials Dec. 30 to Jan. 4 at Queens Place Emera Centre. (Pixabay)

Water conservation measures in Liverpool may affect the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials being held in the area at the end of the year.

Event organizers may be on the hook for unexpected costs to replace the water they use during the event, which runs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4 at Queens Place Emera Centre. 

The Region of Queens has been asking municipal water users to cut their consumption in half. Because of a lack of fall rainfall, water levels in the Town Lake Reservoir are uncharacteristically low.

RELATED: Buy tickets online through Ticketpro

Greg Thorbourne, chairman of the Liverpool Championship Host Society, said this week that if the area doesn’t get substantial amounts of rain soon, the group may have to truck in water to replace what they’ll use during the event.

“Everybody’s being asked to use 50 per cent less and they expect us to use 50 per cent less and/or replace the water we use. So we’re trying to implement plans now to make that happen.

“That’s going to be a big cost if we have to go that route. We’re doing everything we can, praying for rain, fingers crossed and toes crossed that it doesn’t happen. But if it does, we have to be ready for it and buy water from somewhere.”

The area got about 45 millimetres of rain on Thursday, according to Environment Canada. It’s unclear if that’s enough to help. Nobody from the region was available for an interview this week.

Even though the trials are being held at the municipally owned Queens Place, Thorbourne said the host society may have to truck in water from an approved source to replenish the reservoir.

Seven teams have qualified already for the event. Up to 16 teams are expected to compete in Liverpool for the chance to represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

It appeared earlier in the week that the event may have received an unexpected financial boost.

The J&W Murphy Foundation donated almost $149,927 to the Region of Queens. The foundation suggested the money be used to enhance curling infrastructure, programs and services in Liverpool.

In June, Mersey Seafoods also announced its sponsorship of the event.

Mersey Seafoods is owned by the Murphy family. But it is a separate entity from the foundation.

At their meeting on Monday, councillors voted to give $112,427 to the Liverpool Curling Club and $37,500 to the host society. 

Thorbourne said the funding from the foundation via the region was money they had expected. 

The foundation’s Lisa Murphy told QCCR that it can donate only to registered charities and other qualified organizations. The region is one of them.

“So we expressed a preference and that’s all we did and then after that, we step back,” she said. “As the donor, we can’t insist on it and we can’t get a refund if they don’t do it. The separation has to be there. It has to be entirely in the control of the region.”

There was some confusion at the council meeting on Monday about the Murphy Foundation donation.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell asked whether it was the foundation’s wish that the money go to both groups.

“So it’s not a coincidence that it’s the exact same money to a tee that Murphys gave us and the curling club wants,” he said.

CAO Cody Joudry said it’s up to the region to decide how the money is spent.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to hold onto any of it,” Joudry said.

Thorbourne said any donations are appreciated as the event draws closer.

“We’re just looking for support where we can get it,” he said.

“It’s a major event when you stop and think that the winner from here goes directly to the Olympics. For a small community like Liverpool, just to be involved in something of this magnitude, the community should be proud of putting it on.

“Anything you can do to help us out business-wise, if you can’t afford to put up dollars and cents, maybe they can donate some food for the volunteers. There’s all kinds of different ways you can help.”

About 100 volunteers have already signed up to help. Thorbourne said that if businesses or individuals want to contribute, they can contact him, Lorna MacPherson, Melissa Robinson, Ralph Gidney or Kim Whalen. They can also get in touch through the organizers’ Facebook page.

Full event packages and single tickets are available from Queens Place Emera Centre or through Ticketpro.

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QCCR acknowledges the support of the Community Radio Fund of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative