Central Community Centre wants to be busy every day

Sarah Pritula, director of client relations at the Central Community Centre, is excited to see the new York Road facility taking shape as one of Niagara’s busiest community hubs. 

“It’s busy here every day, between the groups using the building and church events,” says Pritula. “And we have a number of big events coming up in our main auditorium in the next few months. There’s a lot of activity.”

The Niagara Rapids Volleyball Club is one of the tenants using the auditorium space. About 1,500 seats for Sunday services in the 13,800 square foot room are all removed each week and tucked neatly under the stage. This allows the floor to be divided into a number of volleyball courts for the Rapids to hold their training sessions. 

“We have a couple of groups that are looking to host some volleyball tournaments,” adds Pritula. “And we are actively pitching to host the OVAs (Ontario Volleyball Championships). We also have a dance studio using our smaller auditorium.”

That’s Auditorium B, a 3,685 square foot room outfitted with a complete high-end audio-visual installation. Charee Romo moved her Peak Dance Company, originally from British Columbia, into Central this year, where she offers classes in ballet, lyrical/contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop, acro, song and dance, and musical theatre. Peak also offers programs called Wee Move and Baby Steps for younger children.

“We have a number of church groups using the meeting rooms, too,” adds Pritula. “But we would like to book a lot more community groups. The Centre is perfect for meetings, charity events, product launches and the like.”

There are a few larger events coming up in the next few months. The auditorium will be hosting popular Evangelical Christian author and speaker Andrew Farley on Feb. 25. Farley has written nine best-selling books, including The Naked Gospel and God Without Religion, and is the lead pastor of The Grace Church in Dallas, Texas. 

Farley is an in-demand speaker at churches, conferences, and universities around the United States and in Canada, and has a nationwide call-in program on Sirius XM called The Grace Message. “He has about a million followers on social media,” says Pritula. “This is the second time he’ll be joining us. And we’ve just booked Dr. Caroline Leaf for May 6.”

Leaf, an author, researcher, psychologist and professor, will be the keynote speaker for a conference focusing on mental health. 

“She wrote a really great book called Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess,” Pritula tells The Local. “She’s going to give some really great tips and strategies on how to keep your mental health on track. It’s a whole-day conference, with some local mental health experts running some sessions as well.”

Pritula is pleased with the first few concerts that have taken place at Central. Filipino rock band Sponge Cola sold out Auditorium B for an energetic night of music. As well, Allie Colleen, the daughter of country music legend Garth Brooks, headlined a fundraising country music show there last October. 

“We have a big dance competition coming up in March, called On the Floor,” adds Pritula. “And we’re hosting the first-ever Niagara Black Business Awards in November, and a Light of Day event for Parkinson’s Disease in September. We’ve just signed the contract for that one.”

Light of Day Canada president Dave Rotella saw a social media post of a past concert at Central and was floored by how great it looked. 

“I went down to see it,” Rotella says, “and I was amazed by the facility, even just the fact that we have this here in the Niagara region. The stage and the audio-visual they provide make it the nicest space available. And the huge lobby, and the breakout rooms are a bonus, too.”

Central has also signed a contract with Canadian Blood Services to host an O-Positive clinic. And Pritula adds that she’s in talks right now to potentially host the NOTL Pickleball Club.

Pritula is clearly proud of the centre and what it offers to various types of community organizations. 

"The space is stunning, and the sound system is state-of-the-art,” she says. “Everyone who comes in here says how gorgeous it is. We’re getting a lot of concert requests, a lot of sporting requests.”

She adds, laughing, “We’ve almost outgrown the building.“

“We would love to have more bookings,” she continues. “The goal is to really ensure we have the space filled all the time. We have a full event team ready to offer a great experience. We really want this to be a true community centre.”