Moncton High School costumes need a new home

A Moncton High School drama teacher is searching for a new home for his vast collection of theatre costumes.

Mike McArdle had been storing 27 years worth of wardrobe at the former Moncton High School building and thought he could keep them there until the end of June.

The school district has since been asked to remove any belongings from the building by early next month.

McArdle has been directing plays at the school for more than two decades and collected enough costumes to fill a 1,000 square feet with boxes. There are hundreds of pairs of shoes, boots and belts as well.

The new Moncton High has no space to store his costumes, so he's forced to find a new home for them.

"I know a lot of people would look at it and go 'Aw, it's just junk,' but for me and a myriad of other people they are theatre treasures," he said.

The wardrobe has been shared with theatres and schools around the country.

"If I could find a person in the community who wanted to donate a space or help create a space for costume rental, sales, building for TV, movies, theatre in our community it would be phenomenal," he said. "We have amassed an amazing collection."

McArdle says he'll take a temporary space to store the costumes for now, but by the summer he's hoping to set up a permanent space, and start renting them out.

"It's my heritage," he said. "I guess so it's something I want to take with me for the future and to be worked into our community for the next two or three decades."

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says they're still seeking offers for the former Moncton High School building.

Over the past few months there has been interest in the site, but no firm proposals have been received.