Kincardine Theatre Guild faces major costume change as storage area is sold

It's a major costume change for the Kincardine Theatre Guild, as the storage area above the Century 21 office in downtown Kincardine, has been sold.

President Shirley Bieman and several theatre guild members were at the site Thursday morning, sorting costumes and deciding what to keep, what to give away, and what to discard.

The costumes have been at this location for almost 20 years, thanks to Sam and Heather Finnie who owned the building and allowed the guild to store the items there, minutes from the Kincardine Arts Centre where the guild holds its plays.

As of the end of January, the building has been sold to Chuck Edey who wants to turn the second floor into office space, said Sam Finnie, adding that Century 21 will continue to have its office on the ground floor.

"We were told we would have three months from the time we receive notice to vacate, but we haven't received that letter yet," said Bieman. The guild just heard last week that the building had been sold and the costumes would have to be moved.

"It's a huge job to sort through all of these items," said Bieman. "I'm not sure where we are going to move them to, perhaps somewhere in the arts centre." Before they were moved to the store room above the Century 21 office, the costumes and accessories were kept in a room above the old Mahood building, west of the current location.

"We have collected a lot of items," said Bieman. "We have thousands of costumes filling this 2,200 square feet of storage area."

Costume directors Pat O'Donnell and Jackie Rosart are working with guild volunteers to sort through the items and keep what they believe the guild will need for future plays.

"We have filled 40 bags to take to Value Village in Sarnia next Friday," said Bieman. Work bees were held Thursday and Friday, with more to come.