How improbable is it to transform a residential-neighbourhood church in lower Gibsons into a high-end entertainment venue? Very. But it’s a concept the new owners are convinced will work.
It’s been 28 months since Vineet Miglani and his wife Nidhi Kamboj took that leap of faith and purchased what, since the 1960s, had been Gibsons United Church, and it’s been one year since they opened it as the entertainment and arts complex, High Beam Dreams. Miglani admits the undertaking has tested their resolve.
“The construction is done, but this project is not done,” Miglani told Coast Reporter. “It will take more years of dedicated work from us and [the community’s] participation to make this successful.
“We have given it our all, there is nothing more we could have put into this in terms of financial, physical, emotional commitment,” he said. “We are committed for the long haul.”
High Beam Dreams was conceived not as a dance hall or a competitor to local pub acts, but as a 150-seat concert venue. Miglani, a life-long arts enthusiast, has carefully researched and booked off-Coast players who aren’t necessarily household names but who have big followings in their own genres, like David Gogo, Tia Brazda, Oxlip, and C.R. Avery Storm Collective.
But it’s a low-margin strategy that entails higher risks, expenses and ticket prices. “We’re trying to cover costs and make just enough for the artists and just enough for us. That’s how we’ve priced every show,” Miglani said. “We want to bring in high-calibre acts and show them respect, so that they come back.”
Most residents have been supportive of the building’s new role, notes Kamboj: “We see our neighbours coming together and enjoying most of our events,” she said. “We were not expecting that, and we feel so motivated when we see them. It helps give us the energy to keep doing what we’re doing and do it better.”
The couple also said they’re careful to make sure the music stops by 10 p.m. – early for a night of entertainment, but respectful of the residential neighbours.
The property complex also includes Natural Connections daycare, a new art shop called Namaste Art, and two artist-in-residence suites that Miglani is intent on eventually providing to local artisans. Miglani and Kamboj are also marketing the former church as a wedding venue, adding a huge outdoor grill and food preparation area for that purpose.
In June, High Beam Dreams will be a venue for the Gibsons Jazz Festival, welcoming local keyboard master Anna Lumiere and her popular Vancouver group Mimosa, and Gibsons singer Deanna Knight brings back her Lower Mainland band, Hot Club of Mars.
By the end of the year, a new sound and lighting system will have been installed in the venue’s main hall. “We have put everything we have into making this work and we think we will make it work. We are confident about that,” Miglani said.
