The Alberta Bair Theatre announced Monday it was awarded a $500,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to contribute to its $13.6 million renovation and expansion.
This latest donation leaves the theater with about $600,000 left to raise to meet its fundraising goal, Jan Dietrich, the theater's executive director, said in a news release.
This renovation addresses a slew of theater features: new stage rigging, new sound equipment, acoustic treatment, more restrooms, new ticket offices, new dressing rooms, an expanded lobby, and a long-awaited elevator.
The theater will also expand the concession and lobby area onto the sidewalk along North Broadway and later add new dressing rooms in a separate expansion onto the sidewalk on Third Avenue North.
Alberta Bair closed last April to start the renovations and is planning to reopen this fall.
The Murdock Trust is a philanthropic group based in Vancouver, Wash., that supports nonprofits in the arts, education, health, human services and scientific research from the Pacific Northwest to Montana.
For more information on donating, contact Dietrich at (406) 294-5201 or jdietrich@albertabairtheater.org.
