Will be ‘a great community gathering place where arts and culture will thrive’
November 18, 2021 – Aldergrove’s Champs Fresh Farms is donating $100,000 toward construction of an amphitheatre at Salishan Place by the River – the new arts, culture, and heritage centre currently under construction in Fort Langley.
Their sponsorship was announced Wednesday, Nov. 17.
The outdoor open-air amphitheatre will be an eight-tiered (grass-covered) auditorium on the south hillside of the new facility.
The Township’s arts and culture department plans to animate the new venue with regular concerts and activities, much like it does at the Willoughby Community Park amphitheatre. The Willoughby venue hosts the annual summer festival series (suspended in 2020 but restarting in 2022).
Additionally, the Township anticipates that the amphitheatre be used as one of the stage areas for local festivals held regularly in Fort Langley.
Mike Pimlott, general manager of Champs Fresh Farms, said the firm was “honoured to be a corporate partner with Langley Township and sponsor the amphitheatre at Salishan Place by the River.
“The impressive venue will allow the community to experience the arts close to home and bring tourists to our shining city,” Pimlott added.
Mayor Jack Froese predicted the amphitheatre “will be a great community gathering place where arts and culture will thrive, and citizens can be entertained.”
The centre is being developed by the Township, in partnership with Kwantlen First Nation. The 39,000-square-foot Salishan Place by the River will house the Township’s community museum and archives, and a new Indigenous museum.
While the construction of the amphitheatre is planned for the summer of 2022, it won’t likely be available for concerts and other uses until the grass has grown sufficiently to support audiences.
Staff expects it will be functional by May of 2023.
Additional corporate and community sponsors are being sought to help complete some of the centre’s interior spaces, including the presentation theatre, archive, art gallery, and future exhibitions.
Interested parties may contact the Township’s arts, culture and community initiatives department at [email protected] or by calling 604-533-6106.
South Mill Champs is a leading vertically-integrated compost producer, grower, and supplier of North American-grown fresh mushrooms and functional mushroom foods.
It was formed in late 2017 after South Mill of Pennsylvania and Champs Mushrooms of British Columbia merged.
