Fighting for the Soul of a City

The Rio is in danger, and we are the Rio’s only hope.

There are some people that would like to demolish the Rio and replace it with Condos that no one can afford to live in, as Vancouver continues to struggle against a future where no one actually lives in the city anymore. Here is our hard line: the Rio Theater is, in many ways, a bridge between the future of and the past of this city. It is everything good and great about Vancouver, representing the best aspects of the Vancouver creative community. It is the home of so many artists, so many shows, so many things that make this city a better place and would not exist without the Rio being there.

And the Rio makes money. It is successful, a solvent business, a place where people find their voices, their careers, their futures. It is a place of community and growth, and in many ways, it is the heart and soul of the Vancouver creative scene. They partner with other businesses and everyone is better for it.

Some people that do not live in the city would like to demolish it to build a highrise that no one in that part of the city will be able to live in. They want to do to Commerical Drive what they did to Coal Harbour, turning a thriving neighborhood into a ghost town where no one lives, no one goes, an empty urban sprawl of nothing.

We need to fight back.

The people that own the land the Rio is built on have given us the means to do so, and we will fight tooth and nail to keep our home standing. We’re not alone in this – Kevin Smith, Ryan Reynolds, anyone and everyone that has lived in Vancouver understands the importance of the Rio. Kevin Smith is hosting two sold-out shows at the Rio where he plans to talk about how important this theater is.

Watch this and understand:

Can you help? #savetherio has an Indiegogo up now, which you can find by clicking here.

Help us help keep Vancouver vibrant, alive, and creative. Save the Rio. We can do this.