Dennis and Roxana Djonlich have owned and manged the historic Vogue Theatre in Fernie for nearly two decades, and they're finally ready to pass the torch on to someone new.

The couple put Vogue Theatre up for sale two weeks ago, in search of new owners who will take interest in the business and continue to run it.

"We've loved every minute of it. It's been a wonderful business, but all good things must come to an end. Ultimately we will miss the business a lot," said Dennis.

They've  at $2.35 million, equipment included, and plan to sell to someone who will continue to operate the movie theatre.

Dennis said selling was a difficult decision, but with their children getting older and another business to manage, it ultimately felt like the right move.

"We're sort of selling a dream rather than real-estate," he said. "Who doesn't want to run a movie theatre? You're not working during the day, so you can have your days free to ski or bike and then work at the theatre at night. It's a super fun environment."

"It's one of the few things in Fernie that you can do indoors as a family. It's just such a cool venue," he added. 

The building holds many positive memories for the Djonlichs. Their very first showing was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a movie that people lined up down the block to see.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released December 2015, attracted a huge out-of-town crowd who spent their holidays skiing in Fernie.

People dressed up in costume to see films like Bohemian Rhapsody and Barbie.

They hosted the Reel Canadian Film Festival annually, so the community could see award-winning movies made on home soil, and they screened movies from Banff Mountain Film Festival and the International Fly Fishing Film Festival. They even visited trade shows like CinemaCon in Las Vegas and Show Canada to hunt for movies.

Vogue Theatre, originally called "The Grand Theatre," has operated since 1909. It was initially a space for live performances, but was converted to a movie theatre in 1942, making it one of the oldest theatres in Canada.

The building was built by the local miner's union, who used the upper floor for their meetings, a space that has since been converted to an arcade. Djonlich said that whoever buys the building could turn the arcade into an apartment if they desired, so they could live where they work.

"We bought it not knowing much about the theatre business. We bought into the dream a little bit," he said. "It was in pretty rough shape when we bought it. It was in desperate need of renovations. We completely redid it. Took it right down to the studs."

It look them two years to renovate their passion project and they managed to add historic charm to the building, giving the interior a vaguely Victorian feel with wooden counters and floors, plush carpet, and a pressed metal ceiling with ornate chandeliers.

"This building always had so much history that we felt we were kind of the stewards of this place. It was our responsibility to look after it for the next person. It needs to continue on," said Dennis.