Welcome to Christina Lake

The Christina Living Arts Centre welcomes visitors and locals alike

1 of 3The Christina Living Arts Centre in Christina Lake is a LEED-certified building housing an art gallery, info centre, gift shop, bistro and more. — Marie Milner photo

2 of 3There is sheltered patio seating for bistro patrons at the Christina Living Arts Centre. — Marie Milner photo

3 of 3Visitors have some fun with the intricate 3-D floor mural at the Christina Living Arts Centre. — Bob Dupee photo

‹ ›

…

The Christina Living Arts Centre—which houses a tourist info centre, also known as the Welcome Centre—has become a hub for activities in the community of Christina Lake, B.C. It is home to the local chamber of commerce, the Christina Lake Arts & Artisans Society (CLAAS), the Christina Lake Stewardship Society, the Arts on 3 Gallery, a gift shop and the popular Lisa’s Lakeside Bistro. The centre is also a busy venue for activities like art and craft classes, fitness, yoga and music, and meeting space is available here for a variety of events—from conferences to weddings to trade shows.

Community designed and built

The existence of the centre is a testimonial to the spirit of this small community situated on Highway 3 in the Kootenay Boundary region. The costs of construction were covered by about $2 million in grant money, thanks largely to Western Economic Diversity via Community Futures and Whalebone Productions, as well as the tireless support of Grace McGregor—the Area C dIrector for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary—and the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT). Many individual volunteers made significant contributions as well.

“The contractors worked for little or no profit,” said Bob Dupee, project manager and president of CLAAS, “because they believed the centre would be an asset to Christina Lake.”

We've come a long way

The building itself—Phase 1 of a two-phase plan—is built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards with a goal rating of silver; it was designed by Studio 9, Architecture + Planning Ltd. of Nelson, B.C. The interior has a vaulted ceiling with open wood beams, many large windows that frame the sweeping mountain vistas, a cedar story pole and a fantastic 3-D floor mural. Incorporating a beautiful design with energy-efficient construction and systems, the multi-peaked centre looks right at home in its lovely alpine setting.

The Stewardship Society performs valuable services in many areas, including collecting information for other agencies, environmental monitoring, promoting community participation and partnerships, educating youth, and protecting and restoring habitat. The society offers summer programs for children, and for many visitors to the area this is a perfect way to become familiar and connected with the ecology beyond the beaches.

With its 200-plus membership roster—an astonishing number for such a small community—CLAAS helped create in the Christina Living Arts Centre a much-needed venue for showing and selling their art objects. In the Welcome Centre’s first 23 months, sales of art from the gallery totalled $24,000. The creation of 10 new jobs at the centre, as well as numerous volunteer positions for seniors, has provided support to the local population. The performing arts are featured at the centre too, and this will be expanded when the second phase—still in the planning stages—becomes a reality, with a studio centre for teaching art and an amphitheatre for outdoor performances.

The main attraction in the community of Christina Lake is the lake itself and all of the summer activities associated with it. The Christina Living Arts Centre is certainly a place that welcomes visitors and introduces them to the amenities of Christina Lake. Equally important, for permanent residents the centre is a facility that provides them with a beautiful and comfortable year-round meeting place for business events, educational classes and social gatherings.

Comparing the Welcome Centre with the small, weather-beaten structure that used to serve as the tourist information centre, Dupee said with a laugh, “Baby, we’ve come a long way!”