As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Western Canada Theatre’s semifinal bid to secure funding for the Pavilion Theatre draws to a close.

With that in mind, WCT associate producer Heather Cant has one request for Kamloops residents — vote.

“We’re still in ninth place,” Cant said of the project’s standing in the Aviva Community Fund semifinals. “There’s been a lot of shifting in seventh, eighth and ninth place.”

Online voting for the semifinals began Dec. 3. The Pavilion is in the running for up to $100,000 from the insurance company's national competition-based program.

If successful, the theatre will undergo extensive renovations, including cosmetic upgrades and a complete overhaul of the sound, lighting and heating and cooling systems.

There are 32 organizations eligible for the semifinals but only 10 will advance to the finals. So far, the Pavilion is the only project in western Canada in the semifinals that’s in the Top 10, said Cant.

What’s working against the Pavilion is the time difference between east and west, she said. The contest ends at noon in the east, which gives voters supporting projects in Saskatchewan and Ontario a few precious hours more to vote.

“It’s tricky,” she said.

So she asks people to get up a little early and put their support behind the project.

If the Pavilion advances to the finals, it receives $5,000 toward the upgrades. But Cant and the rest of the WCT crew want to earn the top prize, and they need residents’ help.

“The higher we rank, the better we do,” she said.

To vote, go online to avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf13551.