ACADIA CINEMA CO-OPERATIVE

The Acadia Cinema building has played an important role in the social life of Valley communities surrounding Wolfville beginning with the Wolfville Opera House in 1911.

In the year 2000, the Acadia Cinema closed. By this time it had evolved from a single screen movie theatre in 1947 to three small screens, in an effort to compete with the new multiplex chains. The closure was the result of several converging circumstances, but most importantly, A. Ellsworth (Al) Whittle, manager of the Acadia Cinema since 1953, retired. The owners, now called Ononette Investment of St. Johns, NB, but still the original family from 1947 to the present, chose to close the theatre rather than search for a new manager.

But, in addition to its role as a first-run cinema, the Acadia had also hosted the Acadia (University) Film Society and had run its own popular Sunday matinee series in recent years directed to film buffs. The desire for cinema alternatives to remain in Wolfville led to the formation of the Fundy Film Society (FFS) in 2001. After searching for screening facilities in Wolfville for more than a year, the group rented space at the Empire Theatres in New Minas. The Society was a resounding success, growing from an initial single screening of 120 seats to three screenings of 174 seats per film in only six weeks.

Bolstered by the success of the Film Society and learning from honourary FFS Board member, Al Whittle, that the Acadia Cinema building on Main Street, Wolfville, was again on the market, Fundy Film society members, including Al Whittle, began to look at the possibility of reopening the facility. Their investigations resulted in the formation of the Acadia Cinema Cooperative Ltd. (ACC) in December 2002 to carry out the purchase and renovation of the building.

The redevelopment plan for the Acadia Cinema building proposed a comfortable 160 soft-seat state-of-the-art theatre, suitable for live performance as well as film. The Fundy Film Society would be the anchor tenant for the theatre. Local theatre and music professionals and community groups lent their enthusiastic support to the proposal as there were no comparable venues of the size in the region. The lobby space for the theatre would be shared with a café, which would provide concession services for the theatre as well as a place to gather after performances, and possibly a future art gallery. The rental of commercial space on Main Street and remodeled residential units on the second floor would provide additional revenues to support the operation of the building.

The Cooperative initially proposed that the estimated $600,000 needed to purchase and renovate the building be raised through a share offering taking advantage of Nova Scotia’s 30% Equity Tax Credit (ETC) program. This allowed a 30% nonrefundable NS income tax credit on the amount invested in the Cooperative. While ACC explored other funding sources, the cooperative believed that community participation through share ownership would be essential for the success of the project. The first major goal was the sale of 3,500 $100 shares by March 1, 2003. In the beginning, individuals could purchase up to ten shares in any 365 day period.

Shares went on sale in January (2003) and the community response was, and continues to be extraordinary. From January 2003 to the opening of the Al Whittle Theatre in November (2004) the Acadia Cinema Cooperative Ltd brought in $211,200 in share sales with donations totaling almost $10,000. As of August 2010, the total shares sold has been 3,141! Talk about community support!

As of June 30, 2022, the Acadia Cinema Cooperative has sold 5049 shares and has 826 shareholders.