The Old Church is in high demand. We recommend booking at least 2-3 months out from your event in order to secure your preferred date.
The BVM is closed for our annual break from Dec 21-Jan 5, and we are not accepting any Old Church bookings for dates during this period.
January availability: January 14, 21, 23, 28, 29, 31 are currently available.
Thank you for your interest in the Old Church! Rental of the Old Church is the Museum’s primary fundraiser, and we appreciate your support.
History
The Old Church was first constructed in 1913 as the St. James’ Anglican Church. For over sixty years the Church was a spiritual and community centre in Smithers.
After the parish of St. James moved to its new home on Princess St. in 1975, the original church was left unused and suffered from disrepair and neglect. In 2005, thanks to the dedication and vision of a dynamic group of volunteers, the building was resurrected as a community hall. Administered and maintained by the Bulkley Valley Museum, today the Old Church is a popular community events space for dozens of weddings, lectures, parties, meetings, concerts, and performances each year. Rental of the Old Church is the Museum’s primary fundraiser, supporting our mission to collect, preserve, and present our community history.
The Old Church Garden was developed in 2006 as a public urban green space. The gardens rely on the work of enthusiastic volunteers for their upkeep. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the Museum at 250.847.5322 or info@bvmuseum.org
We gratefully acknowledge the Town of Smithers’ support of the Museum and the Old Church.
Renting the Old Church
The current rental fee is $30 per hour (minimum 2 hours) + $25 cleaning fee. For full fee information, including flat rates for longer or multi-day rentals, as well as deposit information and pricing for additional amenities, view a copy of the Old Church Rental Package. (note: if using Chrome as your internet browser, please download the PDF to your computer and open in Adobe Reader. Some pages do not appear in Chrome PDF preview)
Capacity: for fire safety, the maximum capacity of the Old Church is 80 people at any one time. For seated events (e.g. a speaker presentation) the maximum comfortable capacity is 50-60 people. For seated events where multiple tables are used (e.g. a dinner), the use of tables may reduce seating capacity, depending on layout.
For availability please contact the Bulkley Valley Museum 250.847.5322 or by email at info@bvmuseum.org.
Address: The Old Church is located at 3704 First Avenue (corner of King and First).
Amenities
For full amenity information, as well as FAQs and an inventory of what’s at the Old Church, please read the Rental Package.
Basic amenities:
All renters have use of the Northern Health approved kitchen, including dishes, fridge, stove, coffee makers, kettles, etc. Amenities available with every rental include use of the tables and chairs, piano, screen and projector system including sound (HDMI and Aux cord compatible). The Old Church has free wireless internet supported by CityWest.
Please note we do not rent out the Old Church’s tables, chairs, etc. for offsite events.
Additional amenities available for rent:
Wine glasses ($22), microphones and/or sound board ($22), stage lighting system (for concerts and performances, $22).
Accessibility at the venue
The Old Church has a wheelchair accessible front entrance. The two washrooms are both gender neutral, and one is wheelchair accessible. The Old Church sound system includes an induction Loop system (hearing loop or t-coil) to assist those with hearing impairments. Main hall area lights can be dimmed, and there are blinds on the main hall windows. The stage is unfortunately not accessible (requires steps to access).
Take a look inside!
Click here to virtually see inside the Old Church using Google Street View. Thank you to Eric Becker for doing the capture for us!
***Please note that these images are provided to give a general overview of the Church interior, and that specific decor or amenities are subject to change without notice.