Hesselinks fund renovations at historic Drayton Festival Theatre

DRAYTON – The Drayton Festival Theatre is now more accessible thanks to a significant contribution from a local family. 

Recent theatre upgrades were covered entirely by Ab and Bonnie Hesselink and completed by local contractor Paul Franklin and his son Zach, Drayton Entertainment founder and CEO Alex Mustakas told the Advertiser. 

The lobby, renamed the Hesselink Family Lounge,  has doubled in size, Mustakas said, and the renovations protected the integrity of the building, which is 124 years old. New floors and wall paneling were carefully selected to match the original, he said. 

The work also included much-needed basement renovations for the artists – new flooring, dressing rooms, a production office and wardrobes, Mustakas added.  

The renovations expand the theatre’s usable footprint, ease congestion, improve traffic flow and “create a more welcoming, flexible gathering space for audiences and community groups alike,” Drayton Entertainment officials state.

“Drayton Entertainment has been there for 36 years, so it was time for a facelift,” Mustakas said.

The registered charity had been considering the upgrades for many years, “but we knew it was going to be expensive,” he said, and having the Hesselinks cover the cost took substantial pressure off. 

Ab has been a member of the Drayton Entertainment board since its inception 36 years ago, Mustakas noted, and the Hesselink family “has contributed so much to our community over the years,” including to health care, education and water services. 

“It’s nice to have community champions like that, that’s for sure,” he said.  

Ab said he and Bonnie are feeling “a little bit sheepish” about all the attention they’re receiving for the contribution. They don’t want to share the dollar amount donated.

“That’s not what it’s about,” Ab said. “It’s a matter of making the building more accessible,” and giving back to a community where they have lived blessed lives, he said. “I was taught from a very, very young age that when life is good to you, you’ve got to be good to others. You’ve got to give back.”  

The building at 33 Wellington St. S. has special significance for Ab. 

Along with other newly arrived Dutch immigrant families, he attended church services there as a young child, from 1953 to 1957. He has hazy memories of that time, including weddings and other celebrations.

“It’s a very iconic building,” Ab said, which “played a really major role all through my history … it’s an important building for our heritage – an incredible building, actually, and the more we can upgrade it, the better it is.” 

Ab has fond memories of the Santa Claus parade ending at the building, of an annual music festival that used to be held there, and of the library that he did frequent, “but maybe not as much as I should have, looking back,” he said with a chuckle.

It was also once home to the fire department, and Ab was a volunteer firefighter for 37 years.  

“It’s always been close to me, especially when I got involved politically.” 

When Ab joined Drayton council at 22 years old (the youngest person to ever be elected to the local council), meetings were held in the Wellington Street building. 

“In 1983, recognizing the importance of preserving this vital community space, Ab and a group of citizens in the community led a grassroots effort to revitalize the Town Hall as a social and cultural centre,” Drayton Entertainment officials state. 

“Through determination, fundraising and community support, the project was completed. The following year, Ab helped bring new life to the space by securing sponsors and inviting performing groups to Drayton.”

Ab said his work as a politician didn’t always “bode well with people,” as he calls things as he sees them and has a reputation for getting things done. 

“But I was taught from a very young age not to hold grudges,” he said, adding it’s one of two important life lessons he learned from his parents and still upholds today – “giving back and not holding grudges.” 

The Hesselinks were hesitant to have the lobby named after them, Mustakas said, “but it sends a signal out to others about helping organizations, and it’s one way to acknowledge their support.”