{"id":7728,"date":"2013-10-02T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T16:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=7728"},"modified":"2013-10-01T10:44:42","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T17:44:42","slug":"the-vic-theatre-returns-to-downtown-victoria-with-big-screen-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/10\/02\/the-vic-theatre-returns-to-downtown-victoria-with-big-screen-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vic Theatre returns to downtown Victoria with big-screen gems"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of October 5, downtown Victoria will again have another big screen to watch movies on, but this won\u2019t be any ordinary cinema. Once the classic Vic Theatre re-launches, filmgoers can look forward to first-run Canadian movies, mini film festivals, TV show screenings, documentaries, and the kind of film events that have been happening as one-offs at the Vic the past couple of years. (You know those \u201cquote-along\u201d films that everyone talks about? Those are at the Vic.)<\/p>\n

Operated by the Victoria Film Festival (VFF), the Vic will once again be screening films seven days a week as of the first week of October. Add to that a swanky redesign and high-end concession and the reopened theatre provides a movie experience that film fans can\u2019t really get at the big multiplex cinemas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re different in that we\u2019re creating an experience,\u201d explains the Vic\u2019s new theatre manager Scarlett Luke, who recently moved to town from Parksville. \u201cThere are other theatres downtown, but they don\u2019t have the same programming and the same history as us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Vic Theatre is opening its doors to crowds again, but offering a whole new experience (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the past couple of years VFF has been putting on special events at the Vic, after the historic downtown theatre at the corner of Douglas and Humboldt lay dormant for several years.<\/p>\n

With the success of the aforementioned \u201cquote-along\u201d films and other special events (like James Bond screenings with fancy, Bond-ian cocktails), the VFF thought it high time to open the theatre for regular programming. The community response has been positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who has walked by the theatre and seen us inside doing renos has poked their head in to check it out and they\u2019re really excited about it,\u201d says Luke, \u201cand we\u2019re also really excited to be bringing this classic theatre back to the downtown entertainment district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Programming for the theatre is being done by VFF programmer Donovan Aikman and, judging by October\u2019s lineup, is a clever mix of gripping documentaries (the International Buddhist Film Festival runs October 8\u011011), TV series episodes on the big screen (The Walking Dead<\/i> season four premier screens October 13), and licenced special events (Bond\u2019s Thunderball<\/i> with cocktails takes place on October 5).<\/p>\n

Which brings us to liquor licences. While a permanent liquor primary licence is in the works, according to Luke, for the time being the Vic has been getting special events liquor licenses for select films. This means you can watch a Bond film while sipping a martini, shaken not stirred, or, like one of the theatre\u2019s popular \u201cquote-along\u201d films, drink White Russians while watching The Big Lebowksi.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get the permanent liquor licence it will be a huge advantage over the other theatres downtown,\u201d says Luke.<\/p>\n

Besides the possibility of ongoing libations, the theatre has gotten an interior facelift and also features a new concession stand with higher-end comfort foods and treats. Corn popped with coconut oil and topped with a variety of different shaker options, cupcakes from local bakeries, and local chocolates are among the treats available.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just really thrilled to have the Vic open again and it\u2019s a great thing to have in our community,\u201d says Luke. \u201cIt\u2019s a classic, one-screen theatre and I\u2019ve talked to people who saw Star Wars<\/i> on this screen years and years ago, so a lot of people are just really looking forward to having it back again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of October 5, downtown Victoria will again have another big screen to watch movies on, but this won\u2019t be any ordinary cinema. Once the classic Vic Theatre re-launches, filmgoers can look forward to first-run Canadian movies, mini film festivals, TV show screenings, documentaries, and the kind of film events that have been happening as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-october-2-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7730,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7728\/revisions\/7730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}