Festival Drayton Centre

The Festival Drayton Centre (often abbreviated FDC) is a community-owned theatre, cinema and arts centre in Market Drayton, Shropshire, England. According to its own account, the building was brought into community ownership in 1984 and has since been owned and run by the community of Market Drayton. It has evolved largely through the time and commitment of volunteers, and it describes itself as a successful and professional establishment that offers a broad arts and leisure programme alongside its core cinema and theatre activity. The Centre provides a wide range of facilities. These include a state-of-the-art theatre used for movies and live events, meeting and conference rooms, a licensed coffee shop, and an extensive arts and leisure programme. Its room portfolio includes the Auditorium, Festival Room, Room '87, the Garden Room, the Gallery, the Green Suite and the Vernon Suite. The programme spans cinema screenings, live and satellite broadcasts (including opera and theatre relays), community events, exhibitions and weekly activities. It also hires rooms to local businesses and associations, County and District Councils, and chambers of trade and commerce, which the Centre says has a direct or indirect impact on the local economy. A major extension and refurbishment transformed the Centre in the mid-2000s. The official website states that the Centre underwent a major extension and refurbishment in 2004, while the About Us page dates the extensive refurbishment and extension to January 2005. In 2006 the Centre was honoured as the Best Regional Winner of the West Midlands Market Towns Award for regeneration, recognised as the most outstanding Market Towns Project. Since then it has been cited as a cornerstone for social and economic regeneration within the town and the surrounding area. The Centre operates as a charity and a not-for-profit organisation. It accepts CEA cards for film screenings only, and notes that financial constraints affect its operations. Its activities are supported by volunteering, donations and other forms of support, and it presents itself as a hub for a broad spectrum of community needs, from dance classes and martial arts to adult educational courses. The building itself has a longer history: Wikidata describes the Festival Drayton Centre as a theatre and cinema in Market Drayton, England, originally a Primitive Methodist Chapel.

The Festival Drayton Centre occupies a building that Wikidata describes as originally a Primitive Methodist Chapel in Market Drayton, England. The modern institution dates its community ownership to 1984, when the building was brought into community ownership. According to the Centre's own account, it has been owned and run by the community of Market Drayton since that year, and it has evolved solely as a direct result of the time, dedication and commitment of its many volunteers, which it calls a staggering achievement. Over the following two decades the Centre developed into a multi-purpose arts and leisure facility. Its official website states that it underwent a major extension and refurbishment in 2004, resulting in it becoming the Best Regional Winner of the West Midlands Market Towns Award for regeneration in 2006. The About Us page gives a slightly different date for the building work, describing an extensive refurbishment and extension in January 2005. Either way, the mid-2000s transformation is presented as the turning point that created the state-of-the-art facility the Centre operates today. In 2006 the Centre was honoured as the Best Regional Winner of the West Midlands Market Town Awards in recognition of the most outstanding Market Towns Project. Since the refurbishment, the Centre says it has been cited as a cornerstone for social and economic regeneration within the town and the surrounding area. It provides activities for a broad and wide spectrum of community needs, including dance classes, martial arts, adult educational courses, a licensed coffee shop, and a state-of-the-art cinema and theatre experience that it says is admired by many. Beyond its own arts programme, the Centre hires rooms to numerous local businesses and associations, County and District Councils, and chambers of trade and commerce. It states that these uses directly or indirectly have an impact on the local economy. The Centre is owned and run by the community and operates as a charity and a not-for-profit organisation; it accepts CEA cards for film screenings only and notes that financial constraints affect its operations. Its programme today combines cinema, live events, satellite broadcasts such as Met Opera 'As Live', community activities, exhibitions and weekly activities, supported by volunteering, donations and other forms of support.

• 2006

  Honoured as Best Regional Winner of the West Midlands Market Towns Award for regeneration, recognised as the most outstanding Market Towns Project.

• 2005

  The About Us page dates the extensive refurbishment and extension to January 2005.

• 2004

  The Centre underwent a major extension and refurbishment, according to the official website.

• 1984

  The building was brought into community ownership; the Centre has been owned and run by the community of Market Drayton since this year.

A community-owned, volunteer-driven, not-for-profit arts and leisure hub and a cornerstone for social and economic regeneration in Market Drayton.

• Cinema screenings

• Live theatre and events

• Satellite broadcasts (e.g. Met Opera 'As Live')

• Room hire and conferences

• Licensed coffee shop

• Exhibitions

• Weekly activities and adult educational courses

1. 1Festival Drayton Centre - Market Draytonfestivaldraytoncentre.com
2. 2About Us - Festival Drayton Centrefestivaldraytoncentre.com
3. 3Festival Drayton Centre - Wikidatawikidata.org