A Movie Without Popcorn - A Life Not Lived!

Nelson Civic Theatre launches $3-million fundraiser for more screens
                                           Bill Metcalfe, Nelson Star, Jul. 25, 2016

The Civic Theatre's presentation to Council - asking for a letter of support for accessing possible funding-sources - promises nothing less than a new world-order. In this here iddy-biddy Smallishtown. Aiming to impress with a lot of word-wash - while backing the attempt with remarkably little common sense.
A breathtaking disconnect from the reality of Nelson-As-Is. And what an enthusiastic 3 mill could actually achieve towards what's not so Civic about Nelson.

I will look at 2 comments to this Star story instead of the presentation as a whole. Simpler - while no less telling! 

 
1. Comment - Anne DeGrace
..... creating something that is professional, forward-thinking, responsive to the community, and enjoyable for citizens across demographics. The people involved in developing the Civic Theatre care about its future, and about Nelson. I think it's time to trust goodwill and good thinking. And increased sales of popcorn!

Actually this whole thing is not at all responsive to the community; it is not about the community period but only about, for and responsive to a single demographic.

DeGrace - with more glib predictability: If the grant money is to be awarded somewhere, why not have it come to Nelson? While building a positive community resource, we'll create short-term and long-term employment and a stronger local economy.

The old employment-creating thing! How many jobs? 
Just adding more screens doesn't automatically mean more people will come more often and buy more popcorn. Good thinking?

But if - once installed - more screens-means-more-money doesn't - how about turning them into temporary homeless-shelters! Free popcorn and a large coke for the out-of-the-rain demographic? Goodwill? For sure - what with the Civic's inexplicable charitable tax status!

  















2. Comment - Dan Pipe
I quote verbatim - typos, poor grammar/syntax and all as is common today: The whole idea is to build our community, shared expeirence(clapping when a movie is good, groaning when its bad). the smiling faces the interactions with different people you might never see really. Oh, Facebook commenting!

Both he and DeGrace go on about the movies as a community builder. Audience participation. Maybe get laid after! Full-throttle audience participation has only worked once in movie-history - The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Mind you, not at the Capitol where - a few Halloweens ago - audience members - once there - were told by very stiff staff not to throw anything, because they had nobody to clean-up after.
Bummer - as there I was: psyched with/because of a Rocky Horror neophyte-friend, rolls of toilet-paper, Bics and toast! Having learned my part well in midnight-showings at the huge University Cinema in Berkeley. 
There's a light....! And cleaning-up a non-issue.

 
Anyway - there are people who don't want to community-build at the movies but just watch a film undisturbed: no discussions; no loud smart-mouth expressions of approval/disapproval; no noisy scrabbling at the bottom of popcorn-buckets; no mindlessly repetitious bucket-to-mouth feeding all-around; no bovine open-mouth crunching; no popcorn smell; no cell-phone lights/ring/talk!

No nothing - just me in the movie!

   










 





How much exactly does watching Transformers #7 currently cost on a smallish - soon even smaller - screen at the Civic? Aside from the membership-fee: 1 ticket, 1 always-at-least-large popcorn/coke?
If popcorn sales already have to do the heavy lifting - how many more way-overpriced non-local jumbo-buckets will need to be sold to meet expenses when?
And create a stronger economy in the process.

How many paid-up members does the Nelson Civic Theatre Society actually have?




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Nelson: Its Econo-Ducks In A Row!

"In that little bay there are ducks and all kinds of waterfowl, so we could have a peaceful park where people could sit and watch the ducks".
Mayor Kozak in
A lakeshore park at the mouth of Cottonwood Creek?
Nelson Star, 15 July, 2016

In theory. But a park is a success if used by many people for a variety of reasons. If many people went there for its peaceful ambience - it wouldn't be peaceful for long. And what with its close proximity to the Dog Doo Dump - it quickly would become an extension of it. Altogether better - because exercise-conscious dog-owners could then drive right up to it: just open the car-door and off Stomper goes!
With ducks and all other waterfowl driven from the area just like that and for good: bunches of yappy dogs on the loose good boy! and no meter-maids to spare!

  

So the tremendous costs of turning the area into a park: landscaping, paths, benches, lighting, toilets and overall continual maintenance - after those of a necessary initial clean-up - would be disproportionate to its benefits. For dog owners YES in a big way - but not for the majority of Nelsonites - and ducks.

While turning this area into an RV-park/camp-ground makes economic sense. Both distinctly separate, while sharing the same facilities. What about renting out tents with basics on fixed lots?
The grounds' size, easy access and quiet, out-of-the-way-while-close lake-location surely has tourists spend a few days - with word soon getting around that this is not just another hills-and-water place along the way.

The current camp-ground is too small - frequently at capacity; awkwardly set-up; with access from Front in tight zig-zags, particularly difficult for larger RVs.
Those with tents may find that camping there means being squeezed-in between/behind sometimes massive RVs and not necessarily on level ground. This is not what "camping" is all about!

Thus far Nelson has appeared neither RV- nor camping-friendly.
Bound to result in bad press - thus fewer tourists.
Sooo... establishing a green state-of-the-art RV-park/camp-ground at the lake is a no-brainer!

The wonderful world of Star comments on what to do with the area now tabled gives us condos; something tech; another park at that end; extending the Dog Doo Dump (a more descriptive name than Dog Walk).

There's no point in addressing condo-proponents; and something tech could be - actually should have been a long time ago - addressed along the south-side of Lakeshore Drive. Now THERE'S a local waste of space - if ever there was one!
CPR or not!

A parkish park and extending the Dog Doo Dump can be looked at together. The whole stretch of lake - from boat-houses to the Cottonwood Creek bridge - should be a "conscious" park - a continuation of everybody-loves Lakeside Park: easily accessible and to be enjoyed by all. Also part of the MMM Group's plans for the foot of Hall: the wharf area. With a dog-walk built-in but decidedly separate!

Too much of Nelson's lakeshore west of the wharf has been (mis)appropriated by dogs - routinely off-leash, a pitbull yesterday! - facilitated by City Hall's benign neglect, including never checking dog-licenses. These days few will go there to just walk - or watch what ducks? - because water and beaches of its coves seem dead - pretty much got that way by dogs chasing each other and people tirelessly throwing sticks in the water to be fetched; the smell of dog-turds/urine - particularly on a stretch of still, hot days - can be dizzying; picking-up turds is not a given - even on the main-path. Who knows what's left behind in thick, often impenetrable while close underbrush: definitely nobody's picking-up there!
Depending on the weather -the main-path is either lumpy-dusty or lumpy-muddy between puddles: unsafe for joggers and cyclists. A solid end-to-end sheet of ice may slope towards the lake during much of winter.

All-in-all - right now dogs are given more space along the lake than people!

Suggestion
Designate two thirds of the path (sandy coves) - starting at the wharf and with no-nonsense signage - as No Dogs Allowed!
Install a securely locked gate at the far end. Clean-up the area: thin-out the underbrush to make beaches more accessibly inviting; plant shade-trees; provide proper seating areas with benches, picnic-tables and views; grade/gravel the path - the Lakeside Park model.
This should satisfy those who want more park, while there also meaning long overdue management of our finite lake-access. And ducks will come back: not only in the very early morning - before dogs - but all day long.

Reserving just the last third of the path (rocky shoreline) for dogs - from the other side of the locked gate to the creek-bridge - is sufficient space for them and more easily maintained and supervised. With a gate at the bridge as well - this one not locked but to be kept closed. Containment - as much a possible.

No-nonsense rules are posted here also, and their disregard is fined. Locals who may grumble that driving there is just too-too much - and there not being enough space for Stomper - need to be reminded that most dogs here are a luxury; Nelson doesn't owe them anything!
You want a dog: deal with it!
This includes exercise on the dogs' - not the owners'! - terms without dumping on the enjoyment of life of no-dog folk!


While the RV-park/camp-ground is announced as dog-friendly - a tourism-plus - for everybody's comfort dogs need to be kept on a short leash within the grounds. But taking those few steps through the gate across the bridge - voila! - it's off-leash dog-heaven. Within fixed reason!

As said in the post below: Nelson and Kootenay Lake Tourism (NKLT) is in the unenviable position of consistently having to re-invent the wheel. After all - you can only use so many different words to advertise the same old same old.
Also said repeatedly: It's time for Nelson - nudged by the NKLT - to transform itself as a whole from a stopover into a destination. An appropriate RV-park/camp-ground will contribute to making that happen!
The City getting its econo-ducks in a row!

The RDCK presented an opportunity - it's up to City Hall to run with it. 




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