The future of the Chester Playhouse is still very unclear after Friday’s fire caused extensive damaged to the building.
Municipality of Chester Warden, Allen Webber says the playhouse meant a lot to the community.
“This is a significant loss to us,” explained Webber. “It was a feature that we had in the community that a lot of communities don’t have.
Last year, the municipality contributed $100,000 towards renovations to the playhouse which were underway at the time of the fire.
Webber said they will continue to support the playhouse as much as possible.
“I believe the community wants the theater reconstructed, but at this point it’s just too early to know whether it can be done and salvaged, or whether we are starting from scratch,” said Webber.
He stated that the municipality plans to do their best to ensure that this loss is only temporary
Webber added that in the meantime, they are working to make a space available in the community so the theater is able to operate and continue their summer programming.
He also wanted to thank the firefighters that attended the afternoon blaze, which he said could have been much worse.
