Okotoks’ Rotary Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) is getting a new name.
The Elma Street venue, home to concerts, plays, recitals and jam sessions, will now be known as Old Church Theatre.
Okotoks council unanimously chose the new name during a council meeting on May 27.
Allan Boss, culture and heritage team lead, said the name makes sense from wayfinding and historical perspectives.
"It’s quite common, if somebody asks where RPAC is, that they refer to it as the old church theatre on the corner of Elma (Street) and Veterans (Way),” Boss said.
The building, a repurposed church, was the first municipal heritage designation in Okotoks, he said.
Despite Old Church Theatre being top choice, Boss identified several possible concerns with the name, including the fact that it could be considered outdated or bland.
“It doesn't really represent the contemporary aspirations of a growing community,” Boss said.
Theatre 1906 was the other name considered, representing the year the church was built, and having an avant-garde ring to it, he said.
“On the con side, it doesn't support wayfinding,” Boss said. “If somebody asked where Theatre 1906 was, we'd still say it was the old church on the corner of Elma and Veterans.”
There could also be confusion with a new theatre in Calgary called Theatre 1308, Boss said.
Mayor Tanya Thorn said the Town should make sure that the role the Rotary Club played in the building is not forgotten.
Boss replied that information about the building’s development is on a plaque and on the Town’s website
The name change comes from a recommendation made during a Governance and Priorities Committee meeting in April.
A new name for the building was needed to align with the Town’s sponsorship policy, where sponsors can get naming rights for Town assets.
“Rotary was approached to potentially continue with that and follow that process,” Thorn said, “but (said it was) not necessarily the best use of their fundraising dollars to have their name on a building.”
