Protect the Theatre. Build the Future.

BRIDGE THE BAUER / BUILD THE FUTURE

Protecting Our Theatre. Strengthening Our Future.

For nearly fifty years, the Bauer Theatre has been Antigonish’s creative heart – where students, artists, and neighbours come together to connect, create, and belong. A Fire Marshal order now requires significant life-safety upgrades by spring 2026 or our doors will close.

The   $500,000 Bridge the Bauer Campaign   will fund critical fire-safety work while protecting the artistic, youth, and access programs that bring our Bauer Theatre to life. As the image suggests, every gift is a step from the stage we cherish today toward the arts centre we’ll build together tomorrow.

As we launch this campaign, we’re grateful to share that early supporters have already committed more than   $300,000, bringing us to 60% of our $500,000 goal.   Government grants have been submitted. We are doing all we can and your participation now will help close that gap and show how strongly this community stands behind it’s need for cultural space.

Without these upgrades, the Bauer may no longer be approved for public performances. That would mean much more than losing a building: we would lose a place where students learn by doing, where artists work and are paid, where families bring children to their first play, and where community groups find a stage when they have nowhere else to go.

At the same time, we are working with partners on the   next chapter   – a new Performing & Visual Arts Centre for Antigonish. That project will take time: planning, design, and a full capital campaign. We can’t simply leapfrom here to opening night in a new facility.

That is why we are asking for your help with   Bridge the Bauer.   This campaign will keep the Bauer open and safe while sustaining the artistic, youth, and access programs that bring it to life. In other words, your support will both   protect what was built for us and prepare what comes next.

Last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Theatre Antigonish at the Bauer and five decades of partnership between StFX and the wider community. Together, we now have the chance to secure the next 50 years – ensuring there is still a stage for the students and families who are only just discovering this place.

Would you consider a special gift to the Bridge the Bauer Fund this year?   All gifts will be received and administered by Festival Antigonish and the Festival Antigonish Foundation on behalf of Festival Antigonish, Theatre Antigonish, and the community we serve.

Please take a moment to think about what this theatre has meant – and could still mean – to you, your family, and this region. With your help, the lights will stay on in the Bauer, and together we’ll take the first concrete steps toward a new arts centre that will serve Antigonish for generations.

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THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS!

To mark Theatre Antigonish’s 50th anniversary, we created a special five-part podcast series,  Stage Lights & Stories , recorded on the Bauer Theatre stage. Hosted by longtime performer and volunteer Janet Becigneul, the series traces our history through  conversations with every Artistic Director   who has led Theatre Antigonish over the past five decades.  Each episode offers a different window into the life of the Bauer – from its early days as a converted gym, through years of sold-out seasons and the 1990s community campaign that renovated and renewed the theatre, to today’s commitment to Canadian voices, equity, and representation. Together, these stories reveal how many people, choices, and chances it took to build the theatre we know and love — and remind us that this community has stepped up to save the Bauer before, and can do so again.

LISTEN NOW