The Lighthouse Festival has entered into a five-year agreement with the City of Port Colborne to take on the artistic and facility management of the theatre at the Roselawn Centre for the Arts. This agreement gives Lighthouse full control of the entertainment offering at the theatre year round and the ability to upgrade the theatre space to better meet the needs of our patrons and artists. To plan a whole year’s entertainment for Port Colborne audiences is a dream. For clarity, the heritage Roselawn mansion that is also part of the Centre for the Arts will continue to be managed by the city. 

Lighthouse started bringing our summer season to Showboat Theatre in 2012, a partnership that was embraced by theatre lovers in Port Colborne and across the Niagara region. Attendance increased and annual subscriptions doubled leading Lighthouse to increase the season from four weeks to the current ten weeks. 

We are eager to continue to produce our summer season as well as host guest events and performances all year round once provincial pandemic guidelines permit. I am excited to deliver more local entertainment to Port Colborne’s residents and provide additional attractions to the city’s robust tourism offering. We have been developing relationships with guest performers and acts for 40 years in Port Dover and are thrilled to offer those artists another venue with a dedicated audience.  There is nothing more rewarding to a region than having a successful live theatre thriving in a community. It quickly becomes a place for people to come together and share. A place to laugh and cheer together. A place to be proud of. Lighthouse has every intention of taking what exists at the Roselawn Theatre and dramatically scaling up the live experience for everyone who crosses her threshold. I could not be more pleased to add the Roselawn Theatre to the provincial map of successful live theatres in Ontario.

Taking on the management of the facility has allowed us to use this pandemic “period of pause” to start improvements at the Roselawn Theatre. New technical equipment that will enhance the live events has been installed, including new lighting and major upgrades to the sound capabilities of the auditorium.  A new lobby, bar and art gallery will also await all those who come for a good time. 

This new agreement speaks to Lighthouse’s mandate to grow theatre in rural Southern Ontario and make it available to as many people as possible, to support and encourage local and regional artists, and to provide enrichment and opportunity for the community with a central policy of accessibility, affordability and hospitality. I am truly thrilled to present artistically excellent productions in two port towns on Lake Erie.