It has been announced that the Capitol Theatre in North Battleford is closing for movie showings, effective聽today.
The announcement came following the announcement by the province Wednesday of significant COVID-19 restrictions on concessions which prevents food and drink from being taken into and consumed inside the cinemas, but allows them to be consumed in the lobby. Cinemas rely on concessions for a large portion of their revenues.
However, it should be noted the Capitol will be open for snack sales between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
The cancellation of movies includes a special presentation that was planned to commemorate the Holodomor with an A-list Hollywood movie based on the life of Gareth Jones, a journalist who tried to tell the truth about what was happening in Ukraine in 1932-1933. 聽The Battlefords Ukrainian Cultural Council collaborated with the Capitol Annex theatre to bring the movie聽Mr. Jones聽to the Battlefords for showings on the 27th and 28th. Organizer Rhea Good says, 鈥淗opefully we can have the movie event next November.鈥�
The following statement has been posted on the Capitol鈥檚 Facebook feed on Thursday.
鈥淯nfortunately we have some difficult news this evening.
鈥淲e will be closing for movies until further notice.
鈥淲ith the new restrictions in place customers cannot eat or drink in the theatre. As y鈥檃ll know watching a movie and eating theatre popcorn go hand in hand.
鈥淭his is just temporary. We will reevaluate the situation as new updates come in. If things start to turn around for us in the province we may be able to open again sooner rather than later.
鈥淯ntil then we will have your most favoritest snack available (fresh popcorn) every Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. You can also purchase our Christmas packs then as well. You are definitely going to want to have those for next year when all the blockbusters come back to the big screen.
鈥淭hank you all for your patience, understanding and support. We will encourage everyone to shop local as much as possible this holiday season. Your local businesses and fellow community members sure need it more than ever.
鈥淢ask up, stay home as much as possible and stay safe.
鈥淲e look forward to seeing you at the movies again.鈥�
