Every community, says Vernon artist and museum volunteer Janet Armstrong, needs a cultural hub.

With that in mind, Armstrong and her husband, Lloyd Davies, have donated $70,000 to the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre's (GVCC) Together 4 Culture fundraising campaign.

The campaign was launched Tuesday, April 22, at the planned site of the centre, the northeast corner of 31st Avenue and 30th Street, across from Eatology, with a crowd of close to 40 people on hand.

"Every community needs a public space to come together to celebrate arts and culture, and shared history," said Armstrong.

The proposed GVCC originally passed in 2018 with a referendum to borrow money for its construction. And after nearly seven years of delays and red tape, the centre is proceeding with its fundraising campaign.

Ground is expected to be broken in the late summer for construction on the centre, which will house the Vernon Public Art Gallery (VPAG), the Museum and Archives of Vernon, and a new live presentation and event space.

There will be indoor gathering spaces, an outdoor plaza, a gift shop, and a social forum for pre- and post-events engagement, networking, and social gatherings.

"This will be a downtown attraction in a hub for the Greater Vernon community, providing much needed space for culture, visual and performing arts, historical events, and community activities," said Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) Area B director Bob Fleming, who is also the chair of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee.

District of Coldstream councillor Pat Cochrane has been named the community fundraising chair for the Together 4 Culture campaign.

Cochrane said when the referendum passed in 2018, it was only for a portion of the funds needed. Fundraising was important in 2018, he said, and as the project has evolved, fundraising has become more appropriate.

"We think the community should live up to the commitment made in 2018," he said. "We need to work the best we can to fundraise and support this project."

The amount to build the centre, Cochrane stressed, has not been finalized. The RDNO has funding put aside, but it's possible fundraising dollars may be needed to complete the project so it's "100 per cent built when the tenants move in."

Cochrane said there is currently $1.6 million in the community fundraising pool, and the group hopes to raise a couple of million dollars more.

"It's an amazing project for the community and we hope everyone will support it," he said. "If we are successful, it will reduce the ongoing tax requisition for the project.

"This has been many years in the works, and it's an honour today to launch the fundraising campaign under the Together 4 Culture brand. That says it all. The art gallery and museum are important to every community. It's going to do wonders for all of Greater Vernon."

The fundraising campaign, said Cochrane, "will be everywhere;" at events, the Sunshine Festival in June. Helping out the campaign is a newly acquired former travel trailer, the brainchild of Dauna Kennedy from the Vernon Public Art Gallery.

The minted Art-i-Facts trailer will appear at the events. It's been decorated on the outside by artists David Wilson and Heidi Thompson.

Artist Julie Oakes put out the call to friend Darrell Loewen, who used to run an RV shop, to see if he knew of anybody selling a second-hand fifth wheel. Within two weeks of Oakes' call, Loewen found and bought a trailer, and donated it to the campaign.

Inside the trailer are works of art known as Eileen's Additions, named after Loewen's late wife, a longtime supporter of the Vernon arts scene. The work is done by Oakes, AJ Jaeger, Lynden Beasley, Destanne Norris, and Julian Dix.

"We are very proud of the trailer," said Oakes. "We think its an encapsulated version of what will come next."

Sarah Kennedy from the VPAG's board thanked the community for propelling the vision of the cultural centre, and keeping it in everybody's sight. 

There are two main reasons, she said, the gallery ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ which has spent the last 30 years housed at the bottom of the downtown Vernon Parkade ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ will love the new building.

"We will be able to bring national exhibits to Vernon. We can't do that today because we'll worry they could be flooded out," she said, referring to past problems with water inside the gallery, resulting in a large chunk of the gallery's collection being store in plastic bags.

"Also today, we have no dedicated classroom space, so we don't have anywhere for youngsters or oldsters, the young at heart, to learn. This will be a huge gift to the community."

The vision of the Vernon Museum is not unlike other museums in the province or the country. Their focus is on preservation. A new home in a new facility will allow that.

"This is especially important to be part of the conversation to help shape Vernon's future," said museum board president Adrianna Stange. "The new space will allow us to better serve the community through school programming, events, rotating and visiting exhibits, and allow more effective ways to store our collection and have a more welcoming space."

Donations to the cultural centre will directly support construction of the facility and are eligible for a charitable receipt through the Community Foundation of the North Okanagan or, for larger gifts, through the RDNO, VPAG, or the Museum.

Building permits are expected to be completed in June 2025 with construction beginning in late summer 2025. The land and building will be owned by the RDNO through its Greater Vernon Cultural Services which is a partnership of the City of Vernon, the District of Coldstream, Area B and Area C of the regional district. 

The anticipated opening of the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre is early 2028.