Fundraiser planned for Little Mountain Gallery after closure threat

A fundraising concert is planned tonight (August 13) in Vancouver to support Main Street’s Little Mountain Gallery through an uncertain period in its four-year history.

The handful of core volunteers who run the multi-use arts space on East 26th Avenue feared the gallery would close after a complaint from a neighbour prompted a city inspector to visit.

Little Mountain spokesperson Ehren Salazar told the Straight the gallery had been renting out space for all-ages musical performances—on top of hosting art openings, theatre groups, and other arts and culture activities.

But since Little Mountain is licensed as “art retail”, he said, concerts don’t “fit our zoning”.

Gallery volunteers are working with city officials to resolve the problem. Salazar expressed optimism a pending application for city cultural grant funding could lead to upgrades and re-zoning.

Meanwhile, the usual slate of musical performances held in the one-storey arts venue has been scaled back, Salazar said.

For now, that means Little Mountain has lost access to a key income source that helped cover rent and other costs, he said.

That’s where the concert tonight at the Rickshaw Theatre at 254 East Hastings Street comes in.

“All proceeds mainly go to operating costs at Little Mountain to keep it alive,” Salazar said.

Tickets to the all-ages show are priced on a “sliding scale” from $10 to $20.

The performers include:

Aaron Read 7 p.m.

Like Animals Again 7:45 p.m.

Chris-a-riffic 8:30 p.m.

The Crackling 9:15 p.m.

Greenbelt 10 p.m.

Mezamazing 10:45 p.m.

SSRIs 11:30 p.m.

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