It has come to the attention of the board that a number of community members would like to see the return of cash to the Regent Theatre. Believe us, so would we.

In order to keep the Regent viable it is critical that we manage our resources efficiently. As a not-for-profit organization with a small staff and team of volunteers, cash management is too labour intensive for us to integrate at this time.

We have not ruled it our for the future.

In the meantime, while our official policy, which is advertised on all our event listing, is to take only credit or debit, our concession volunteers have instructions to accommodate individuals who only have cash by offering to accept an unreceipted cash donation. We have found this a highly effective solution for the few people who are not able to pay with debit/credit.

Our policy at the Regent further requires all children under the age of 13 to be accompanied by someone 13 year of age or older. We fully appreciate that children do not have visa/debit cards but have found that most of our patrons over the age of 13 do have access.  We are confident that we are satisfying the majority of our customers with our payment options.

In addition to online ticket sales, our box office is open Tues, Thurs & Sat 12 -3 for in person credit/debit sales. And any remaining tickets to an event can always be purchased in the hour before a show/movie in person. Each year we give away hundreds of complimentary movies passes to 99.3 County FM, The Kinsmen and other community organizations.

And, we are thrilled to have the support of so many community partners, which enables us to offer free community programming including Rushnell Family Services, Community Living, Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte & District, Hearth & Haven Real Estate, Women, Worth & Wellness to name a few.

In the last 12 months we are proud to have more than doubled our free community programming from pre-pandemic.

We encourage those members of the community who have not yet experienced new accessible seating and auditorium renovations to come check out one of these free screenings for no money at all.    We make every attempt to ensure that the Regent is an accessible and inclusive space, including offering multiple free community screenings, now, and when we are able to return to cash payment.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ben Thornton,

Chair

Regent Theatre Foundation