For David Dekker, the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts is a welcome addition to the community and a source of pride.
The centre is named in honour of his father, the late Harry G. Dekker, and the Dekkers had hoped his wife Christine Dekker would be able to attend the opening in a few months, but she passed away a few months ago. Instead, the theatre will memorialize both of them.
David explained that he and his family were "actually pleased in a sense that it will bear the name of both my mom and my dad who were both very active in the community for many years."
Dekker also expressed pride in the Battlefords' arts community, and hoped that having such a large, modern facility would interest more people to get involved in the performing arts.
Donna Challis, of the Battlefords Community Players Association, also expressed great pride in the facility, describing it as a "tremendously exciting" project that, to her, was "40 years in the making."
For Challis, who is both a member of the Community Players and the Battleford Allied Arts Council, the centre is a great addition to the community - it will allow the community to bring in the Stars for Saskatchewan Series (a series of shows by Saskatchewan artists) and give her own theatre company a "fully equipped, large facility that will enable us to do things we've not been able to do in the past."
Though Challis was unsure about whether her company could afford to do all four productions at the CUPlex, she was sure that at least some would be there.
