Imperial Theatre beats fundraising goal by $400,000

last night Arthur and Jack Irving had their sons announce a $500,000 donation to the Imperial Theatre.  This brings the Imperial Theatre’s “Keep It Live” fundraising campaign up to a total of $2.9 million, $400,000 more than the stated goal.

The $500,000 comes a little over a year after the campaign started, providing a nice boost to the fundraiser that is intended to fund building maintenance and repair.

The auditorium portion of the theatre is being rebranded with the Irving Oil parent company Fort Reliance’s name for 15 years.

The CBC story on the donation has riled up some anti-Irving sentiment and some debate about the rebranding. 

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie put up money to build a library building in Saint John in the early 1900s.  The building is still referred to in some circles with the Carnegie name (though it’s now formally known as the Saint John Arts Centre and previously the ABEC).  Perhaps history will be kinder to the Irving family’s philanthropy than some CBC readers.