Upgrades to the Aberdeen Cultural Centre and L’Odysee School in Moncton, thanks to joint funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The Centre will receive $355,000  from the federal government and $55,000 from the provincial level through the Regional Development Corporation.

For the la Fondation de l’école l’Odyssée, $250,000 from the feds, and $350,000 in funding from the province.

Support for the Aberdeen Cultural Centre will help improve the facilities and increase its annual programming. Enhancements will also reduce the centre’s heating costs by 25 percent and also include the installation of a new ramp.  This will make the facility more accessible to the public, increase participation in cultural events and generate revenue that will help the cultural centre continue to expand programming and services to the community.

“Thanks to this major investment, the Aberdeen Cultural Centre will reduce its ecological footprint and offer the region’s cultural community a much safer and more functional space, while improving its accessibility, particularly for people with reduced mobility and for production companies who use the centre regularly. More specifically, the replacement of some 50 windows and the installation of a new roof will enable the centre to make significant savings in heating costs. The construction of a new ramp for people with reduced mobility and for the heavy equipment of the productions presented at the centre, as well as the complete restoration of the centre’s main staircase, located on the Botsford Street side of the entrance, are certainly the most important elements in our desire to make the Aberdeen Cultural Centre much safer and more accessible for its users,” says Annie France Noël, President of the Board of Directors, Aberdeen Cultural Centre.

La Fondation de l’école L’Odyssée is building a multi-functional outdoor synthetic field that will benefit the many local sports teams in the Greater Moncton community.  It will also open doors to allow the community to host more national sports tournaments, cultural shows and other large-scale events.  This will mean large economic spin-offs from participants and spectators to support growth for the region.

ACOA support for la Fondation de l’école L’Odyssée was provided through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund.

“This partnership is important for the students at École L’Odyssée and for Moncton’s French-speaking community. We’ve waited a long time for this high-quality sports facility and are looking forward to its official opening this autumn,” says Monique Bourque, Co-President of the project with la Fondation de l’école l’Odyssée.