Powell River’s Princess

The Sunshine Coast town of Powell River is home to the longest running movie theatre in Canada. The Patricia Theatre started operating in 1913, a few years after the founding of the town itself. Named after Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Patricia of Connaught, and built in Spanish Renaissance style, the Patricia has outlasted four other town cinemas in its time. Today, it shows everything from Star Wars films to vaudeville shows, hosting the annual Powell River Film Festival each February. And it’s well-equipped to do so: recent electronic testing confirmed the theatre has near-perfect acoustics despite its age.