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Palace Grand Theatre
April 26 @ 11:39 am
The Palace Grand Theatre opened in gala style in July 1899. The theatre was a combination of a luxurious European opera house and boomtown dance hall. It was built by “Arizona Charlie Meadows”; a Wild West showman who came to Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The present-day Palace Grand Theatre is an elegant three-storey wood structure with an impressive false front façade. It was re-constructed in 1962 as a nearly exact replica, with the exception of some interior elements and life safety improvements, of the original 1899 Palace Grand Theatre (deemed ‘not restorable’ due to shifting foundations). The rebuild was inspired by Stratford, Ontario, guru Tom Patterson, to be the base for a northern annual theatre festival, and was launched with a money-losing run of Foxy (a Klondike remodelled version of Ben Jonson’s Volpone). Once reality set in, it became the home of the less ambitious Gaslight Follies—a mixture of vaudeville and melodrama, for many years.
The theatre is used seasonally (May through September) for rentals, events, performances – most notably a venue at the annual Dawson City Music Festival, and various Parks interpretative programs. The building was closed in 2016 and 2017 for extensive repairs. The Friends of the Palace Grand organization, spun off of the Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), took on the task of devising a new plan of theatre delivery during the years that the building was closed, turning to radio plays instead. The theatre group has since returned to the Palace Grand for summer programming.
The building is part of the Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site of Canada, which commemorates Dawson’s role in the Klondike Gold Rush.
Learn More About…
Artist In Residence Activities & Outreach
Artist in Residence activities include artist talks, studio tours, interactive events, and more.
Founded in 2001, in a partnership with Parks Canada, the KIAC Artist in Residence Program has welcomed over 300 talented artists, musicians and filmmakers to Dawson City from all regions of Canada and around the world. Our alumni include Sobey Art Award nominees, Western Canada Music Award winners, and prize-winning filmmakers from film festivals across the globe.
Check out the current Artists in Residence
Film Events
Film activities include film screenings, film selections, and more.
KIAC is proud to host an exciting roster of film screenings and film-related events throughout the year, such as the 48 Hour Film Challenge and Dawson City International Short Film Festival, numerous workshops, and other opportunities.
Exhibitions
Exhibition activities include gallery viewing hours, exhibition openings, artist talks, calls for submissions, and more.
ODD Gallery
The ODD Gallery, located in the Dënäkär Zho / KIAC building, presents a wide array of outreach programming including artist talks, openings, lectures, screenings, youth programs and other special events. Gallery programming fosters professionalism and appreciation of regional visual arts practice, and provides the community with exposure and access to a diverse range of contemporary visual arts practices and theories in a remote, northern setting.
Check out the current exhibition
Kids & Youth Programs
Kids & youth activities include: music lessons, art classes, dance classes, book readings, toddler classes, after-school programs.
Year-Round Programming
Kids and Youth (toddler to teen) programming ranges from music lessons (vocals, piano) to dance class (ballet, hip hop, and more), to hands-on workshops (pottery, screen-printing, animation and more) and is offered regularly throughout the year. KIAC strives to subsidize Kids & Youth programs as much as possible via grants and funding. Programming ranges from free Drop-Ins to registered weekly programs.
Youth Art Enrichment
Youth Art Enrichment is an annual four-day art program for Yukon youth hosted by the Klondike Institute of Art & Culture in Dawson City. Artistically-inclined youth ages 14 – 18 travel from across the Yukon to take part in intensive workshops led by professional artists. Students choose one of three mediums to study for the duration of the program, learning new skills, techniques, and ways to creatively make artwork for the world to see. The mediums change every year: we have offered printmaking, animation, painting, carving, stained glass, illustration, improv, and much more over the last two decades.
Learn more about Youth Art Enrichment
Performing Arts
Performing arts activities include: concerts, theatre and dance performances, open mics, radio broadcasts, special events, and more.
KIAC presents a year-round professional performing arts series in the beautiful second floor Ballroom that actively engages our community and provides inspiring performance opportunities for international, national, and regional artists in many disciplines. Our diverse programming includes jazz, classical, folk & roots, experimental, dance, theatre, and more.
Workshops
Workshops include: weekly drop-ins, registered programs, weekend workshops, and more.
KIAC presents a year-round schedule of educational opportunities ranging from drop in programs (pottery, screenprinting, seniors painting, concert band), to registered workshops (dance, music, film, visual art, craft, textiles, etc), to professional development opportunities for artists (grant writing, artwork documentation, etc).
Learn more about registration, upcoming courses, and outreach activities.