Mount Baker Theatre executives say they have taken a significant step to safeguard against COVID-19 this month with the installation of an air purification system.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to keep the artists, the performers, as well as the patrons and the staff safe,” executive director John Purdie said.
The new purification system produces UV-C light, a wavelength of ultraviolet light often used to disinfect air, water and surfaces, which will reduce bacteria and viruses in the theater’s air by 99%. The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust funded the project.
Air cycles through the system containing the UV filter every 10 minutes. As air leaves the system, it is ionized, which means the particles hold a negative charge that enables them to clean dust and mold from the space.
UV light emits from the new air filtration system installed at Mount Baker Theatre earlier this month. (Victoria Corkum/Cascadia Daily News)
The theater was one of the first businesses to close at the start of the pandemic two years ago and one of the last to reopen in March 2021.
“In the first three months of the pandemic, we lost 60 events,” Purdie said.
But money from donors and the city kept the theater going until it could reopen after being shut down for a year.
“It required a lot of ingenuity and creativity to figure out how to reopen within the guidelines that were created for us,” Purdie said.
Since reopening, the venue has established strict protocols to safeguard patrons, staff and performers. They require proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of entrance if unvaccinated. Masks are required except for artists and performers.
All staff are fully vaccinated and most have received a booster. Hand sanitizer is widely available in the building, and staff regularly clean counters and doors that are frequently touched.
Additional measures include reseating people to open sections just before a show and suspending concession sales for events in which more than half the tickets are sold.
Messages about safety and upcoming shows scroll through Mount Baker Theatre’s marquee on Jan. 28. (Victoria Corkum/Cascadia Daily News)
The new air filtration system, which is made with medical-grade technology, is just the latest precaution the theater has implemented to protect the community from illness.
Purdie is thrilled to have the theater filled with people again. He said having a place to enjoy the arts is especially important during a period of political divisiveness.
“The collective shared experience with those other people around you is just so important for building community,” Purdie said.
Purdie hopes the new filtration system will put patrons at ease especially at events that are likely to draw big crowds, such as the upcoming Small Island Big Sound, scheduled for Feb. 3, and a special performance by Kristin Chenoweth in April for the theater’s 95th birthday.
