OUR STORY
The SACC is a Not-for-Profit Corporation Without Share Capital under ONCA and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
In order to enrich the cultural landscape of Stratford, the SACC has hosted a variety of entertainment for all ages. These acts would typically only be found in larger centres such as London or Kitchener. The performances have enriched the lives of all who attend and have brought newcomers into the world of live performance.
2019 – Scared Scriptless with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood
2020 – Ron James: Full throttle
2021 – Stratford Signatures: Comedy, Music and Conversation (on line presentation)
2022 – Wannabe: A Spice Girls Tribute
2023 – HYPROV: A Celebration of Human Imagination with Colin Mochrie and Asad Mecci
2023 – A Stratford Christmas, hosted by David Rogers and Sheila McCarthy
2024 – Choir!Choir!Choir! with Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman
2024 – A Stratford Christmas, hosted by David Rogers and Sheila McCarthy
2025 – Ron James – Not Nearly Done Yet!
2025 – A Stratford Christmas, hosted by David Rogers, Sheila McCarthy and Monique Lund
2026 – Choir!Choir!Choir! The Music of Queen with Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman
2026 – A Stratford Christmas, hosted by David Rogers and Sheila McCarthy
HISTORY OF SACC
While the SACC provides high-quality arts events, a long-term goal of the SACC is working with Stratford arts and culture organizations and independent artists that recognize the need for a well-equipped, affordable space where the community can share their work in a variety of traditional and non-traditional media. Such a centre would strengthen our community artistically, economically, spiritually and socially.
EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES
In November 2018, the City of Stratford began exploring the future use of the Grand Trunk site.The SACC hosted a design charette involving students from who led citizens through aworkshop of ideas and then created their personal visions for the site.
A CONVERGENCE OF INTERESTS
In December 2018, we were made aware of the need for redevelopment of the historic Knox Presbyterian Church, a heritage building which anchors the east end of the main street in downtown Stratford. As that location could accommodate a large part of our vision, we began to explore the convergence of needs and opportunities shared by the two groups.
JUNE 2022-MARCH 2023
Though the pandemic brought the world to a halt, the SACC and Knox continued to meet virtually to discuss how the future relationship might evolve. Conceptual drawings were created, discussed and evaluated. Meetings provided direction to support the ongoing and growing partnership between the two groups, often with the assistance of Trinity Centres Foundation. A developer entered the discussions during the early months of 2022, who made an offer to purchase the site. The offer was accepted by the Knox congregation on March 23, 2022.
With the purchase of Knox Church in June 2022, the SACC began working with BMI Group to envision a new centre. The SACC received a total of $100,000 in grants towards proposed work at Knox Church (now Copperlight). Enthusiasm was high as consultants in a variety of disciplines including theatre design, architecture, board development, and structural engineering created reports with positive signposts. Our management consultants prepared a business plan. We purchased 250 chairs to replace most of the pews as a tangible sign that the SACC was committed in every way to the Copperlight site.
A long-term lease for office space within Copperlight gave us a base of operations. However, the big piece of the puzzle for the successful creation of a new, community-led arts and culture centre eluded us, as three unique consultant-based scenarios for a long-term lease of the performance space were unsuccessful. It was at this point that the Board made the difficult decision to leave Copperlight.
2023 to 2026
The SACC has continued to move the project forward on several fronts:
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Developing a strong and diverse governance structure to guide operations going forward.
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Continuing our work as a prime advocate and voice for local arts and culture in consultation with a variety of other organizations
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Developing documentation and resources to support SACC’s position that ‘The Centre’ is a needed and viable facility in Stratford
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Working towards acquiring charitable status to support grant applications and fundraising
DEMONSTRATING FEASIBILITY
In fall, 2019, the SACC commissioned TCI Management Consultants (Toronto) to conduct a detailed Feasibility Study, with the financial support of the City of Stratford, The Ontario Trillium Foundation and SPARC (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural Communities). After extensive research, interviews, benchmarking, focus groups, and online surveys, the study was completed on November 30, 2019. The report on the consultants’ findings is positive and supportive of the concept of creating an Arts and Culture Centre for Stratford citizens.
In 2024, the decision was made to continue our research into the creation of an affordable community-based performance space. SACC again engaged the services of TCI Management Consultants to provide a Planning Study. The findings of this study underscore the critical role that an affordable, state-of-the-art performing arts venue for local use will play in the evolving cultural landscape of Stratford. The research demonstrates both strong demand and willingness from community groups to actively use and financially support such a facility. The Grand Trunk Renewal project presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to integrate this much-needed performance space into a shared community facility alongside the Stratford Public Library and the YMCA of Three Rivers.
In 2026, SACC engaged TCI Consultants to provide us with an Assessment of Development and Funding Parameters Study. This was an examination of performing arts facilities of a similar size and nature across Canada including how they were funded, funding potential for Stratford and governance options.
A VERY GOOD COMPARABLE
With the knowledge gained from the Development and Funding Study, SACC investigated a fewof the suggested comparables and quickly came to realize that the Meadowvale Theatre for Arts and Culture was an excellent venue to be a first model for The Centre. Although not all aspects of the creation and operation of the Meadowvale Theatre are akin to what SACC proposes, there are more similarities than differences.
Meadowvale Theatre is a 395-seat, approximately 22,130 sq. ft. municipal community theatre built in 1989 adjacent to West Credit Secondary School. It is owned and governed by the City of Mississauga Capital funding, both for the original build and the recent renovation, comes from the City’s capital budget (municipal tax based and reserve funding) rather than private capital campaigns. The theatre is oriented toward resident amateur and community groups as well as professional presenters, with the City’s rate structure explicitly distinguishing “Community Groups” from “Commercial” users, offering reduced rental rates and fees to local nonprofits.
Utilization is steady, with a mix of resident seasons, recitals, festivals, and external shows. Revenues from rentals, ticketing surcharges, and related services flow into municipal accounts, while expenses for staffing, utilities, and facility renewal are covered through the City’s operating and capital budgets; the theatre is not expected to be self-financing and effectively operates with an ongoing public operating subsidy.