As part of Ballina Arts Centre’s redevelopment campaign to build a theatre for the town, a fundraising gourmet lunch was held in the Ice House Hotel on Heritage Day recently. Entrepreneur Seán Gallagher, from RTÉ 1’s Dragon’s Den was guest speaker at the lunch, while the food on the day was prepared by the Ice House’s award-winning head chef Gavin O’Rourke, in what is now tipped to become an annual attraction.
“Once again this has a been a great success,” said Sean Walsh, director of Ballina Arts Centre. “We'd like to thank Pearse Farrell for his continued generous support of this exciting project, as well as manager Dara Cruise and all the staff at the Ice House Hotel. It is so encouraging to see businesses in the town such as the Ice House get behind this campaign. We'd also like to thank all the businesses and individuals who attended the lunch. The redeveloped arts centre will bring a lot to Ballina and the support we have had so far has been overwhelming.”
Proceeds from the event now go towards the redevelopment of Ballina Arts Centre, on Barrett Street, which will include a 240-seat auditorium, dance studio, studio rehearsal space, coffee shop, and second exhibition gallery.
Mr Walsh credited the continuing support from local businesses as essential to the redevelopment campaign. “We’ve had the support of the business community since the campaign began and we’re still getting it. It’s really encouraging to see the town’s businesses backing the redevelopment campaign. Times are hard for everybody at the moment and it warms the heart to see a real sense of community spirit at times like this.”
The campaign is aiming to raise €500,000 from the local community, to augment substantial public funding in place from central and local government.
For more information or if you would like support Ballina Arts Centre redevelopment, contact Ballina Arts Centre, phone 096 73593, e-mail: [email protected]
