Rainbow Cinemas closure will affect Sudbury non-profits

Some non-profit groups in Sudbury are saddened by the pending closure of Rainbow Cinemas, after its owners announced last week the theatres will close at the end of August.

The executive director of the United Way in Sudbury and Nipissing Districts said the group used to have some fundraisers in partnership with Rainbow.

But Michael Cullen said he's also concerned the closure will leave a hole in the downtown core.

"You know, you take [away] a major element such as movies, and it's a sad time," he said.

Movie-goers will have to bus or drive to the mainstream cinema when Rainbow closes.

A valuable place to educate

The manager of community services for Reseau Access Network, an agency that provides outreach, support and education about people with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, said the group has had fundraisers in the cinemas that netted thousands of dollars.

But more than that, Vicki Kett said it was a valuable place to educate people through film.

"We've also had special movie nights that we've had topics that are very appropriate for the things that we do," she said.

"And we've had very, very good attendance. We'll certainly miss the theatre. It was a wonderful location, a wonderful attitude and they certainly were accommodating."

Kett noted some locations at Laurentian University may be able to host their future events.

"We'll have to look around," she said. "The demand from a good number of community groups who use the facility will be there. So we're going to have to look into that right now."

The owners of the cinema say they're closing the movie house because of low attendance and the cost of modernizing the theatres.