An Ottawa suburb gets a much needed jolt of life today. While Kanata and Barrhaven are still the lands of beige garages and big box stores, Orleans finally gets some character. As noted in The Ottawa Citizen, a new branch of The Mayfair Theatre opens in the east end today. The new location, located on Centrum Blvd. across from the Shenkman Arts Centre, offers three screens of quality alternative cinema, plus second runs of features you might have missed at the multiplex.
As reported by The Citizen:
Although one focus of the Mayfair programming will be family fare and weekend matinees for the many families who live in the area, programmer Lee Demarbre says the new Mayfair will also present firstrun independent film, Quebec-made films and films from France for the area's large francophone community, Bollywood movies, foreign films and Hollywood movies ... that have run recently in chain cinemas. There will also be occasional Hollywood classics. The lobby already includes "Coming Soon" posters for The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca, giving movie lovers a chance to curl up with a large popcorn and marvel at how much better those movies look on the big screens for which they were created than they do on living-room televisions.
Demarbre says the new cinema will offer "the best of the art house and the cineplex combined," and he says response from the Orléans community has been encouraging since he and his partners officially announced the news a few weeks ago.
West-enders and devotees of the original Bank Street location needn't fret, though, as both locations are operating and memberships are valid at both locations. Prices at the new Orleans location are $5 for members, $9 for non-members, $6 for children. Annual memberships are $10, so you may as well get one!
The first weekend of the Orleans location kicks off with some great programming: see Gone with the Wind on the big screen (a must!), as well as Midnight in Paris (my pick for the best film so far this year), The Help (review here; it's also playing at the Bank St. location) and Drive (review).
Best of luck with the new location! Hopefully I'll make the trek from the west end over the holidays. Let me know how it is when you visit!
See mayfairtheatre.ca for more info and showtimes.
