Dear Minister Mackay:

I would like to express my support for the proposal to redevelop the Garrick Theater in Bonavista.

An active theater in the Bonavista area will be vital in the development of the area's cultural resources and so bluster our rapidly growing tourism industry by adding an extra dimension to the visitor experience.

Local people would also benefit from a restored Garrick Theater. It has, in the past, provided a cultural experience often lacking in other parts of rural Newfoundland. Not only will a restored theater provide entertainment for locals, even outside the tourism season, it will also become a focus and outlet for the arts and culture potential of this area, particularly among our youth.

I have chosen to live in rural Newfoundland despite the social and economic challenges we face here. I am encouraging my children to do the same. Initiatives like this one taken by the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation are integral to creating a lifestyle for us, equal to anything the rest of the would has to offer.

Yours sincerely,

Donald Johnson
Donald Johnson
Little Catalina
mockbeggar@nf.aibn.com

cc:
Hon. Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Hon. Danny Williams, Premier, Newfoundland and Labrador
Hon. Tom Hedderson, Minister, Tourism, Culture and Recreation
Hon. Kathy Dunderdale, Minister, Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
Scott Simms, M.P., Bonavista Gander Grand Falls-Windsor
Roger Fitzgerald, M.H.A., Bonavista South
Paul Mills, Vice-President (Newfoundland and Labrador), ACOA
Mayor Betty Fitzgerald, Town of Bonavista