Just announced: a Province-wide shutdown
beginning December 26th.
After announcing that the ByTowne would close on December 31st, and after putting together a Best of the ByTowne series for nostalgic movie lovers, it seems pretty terrible that the pandemic has forced us to close after Dec. 25.


Is this the worst possible outcome?
No. The worst outcome would be to allow COVID-19 to continue to spread.
The worst outcome would be to let hundreds of Canadians die from the novel coronavirus before a vaccine can be widely circulated.
The worst outcome would be to fill up our hospitals and their intensive-care beds so that people in need of other surgeries and treatments are left to suffer longer.
Next week: Dec. 26 to 31
The Best of the ByTowne
has to be cancelled

All screenings in our "21-fun salute" of great ByTowne hits must be cancelled,
owing to the pandemic.

But here's what I propose:

What if we postpone the
Best of the ByTowne series
to late January or early February?

We already have the movies; we have a fully equipped cinema; we have 1050 tickets sold (21 screenings x 50 person capacity). All we need is a place in the calendar when it's safe to go to the movies again.

Here's how it would work:

Give me a couple of weeks to work out the details. We need to be sure that the restrictions won't be extended, and there are a few other ducks I need to get in a row.

Meanwhile, don't request refunds just yet.

When I know the dates of the Best of the ByTowne: Plan B series,
customers who had tickets to the original Dec. 26-31 series will get advance notice, and an opportunity to use their credits to reserve the same number of tickets in the Plan B series. You'll be allowed to book tickets for any of the shows (not necessarily the same movies that you first signed up for).

After 72 hours of head start for the original ticket holders, any unsold seats will be released to the rest of the city.

This may not work for everyone. I know your schedule from Dec. 26 to 31 might have had a bit more time for movies than you might have available later on, or maybe you're fed up with COVID restrictions and plan to move to Kamouraska to wait out the pandemic.
So if you need a refund now, we'll do it.
Just email your reservation code
(or forward the email confirmation that includes the code)
and we'll process your credit card refund, no questions asked.
(We're proud NOT to be Air Canada!)

If, ultimately, we can't pull off the
Best of the ByTowne Plan B:

I'll let you all know, and THEN we can process all your refunds.
Keeping Everyone Safe: Things you can do to help
  • Don't attend if you're experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
  • Arrive 10 min. to 20 min. prior to show time
  • Use the hand sanitizer provided
  • Remember to keep 2 metres distance when waiting behind others
Please wear your mask at all times, except while eating or drinking
  • Enter contact info in our guest registry (not required if you booked online)
  • Sit only with members of your own household
  • Wash your hands
  • At end of movie, wait until the usher allows your row to leave
Thanks for reading. Keep your subscription to Cinem@il active! I may not be showing up in your in-basket every Thursday for a while, but when there's news, this will be where you'll find it first.

Stay safe!

Bruce
ByTowne Cinema logo
ByTowne Cinema · 325 Rideau St. · www.bytowne.ca · [email protected]