On Saturday September 29, as part of Culture Days,  Glenhyrst Gallery on Ava Rd. will host the grand opening celebration of their newly renovated Coach House. The event will feature their first Live Music event of the fall with Licentia and 30 Dollar Weekend performing.

This small performance space/classroom space with a capacity of 70, has been in use for adult and children’s classes, summer camps and more recently, musical and theatre performances.  It was always a bit cramped when attendance was full, and the hanging of coats and storage of chairs became impractical.

Stage area, Coach House

The Glenhyrst Fund together with a grant from the Brant Built Heritage fund shared the costs evenly, and  in the spring they began construction of a vestibule that would serve as reception, coat check, and extra space.  They also added a second washroom.  Local builders, Vicano Construction were hired as the contractors.

This space will be provided free (yes free!) to groups such as bands and theatre groups who do their performances free of charge.  This gives opportunities to new bands to develop both an audience and experience.  If the band or theatre group charge admission, Glenhyrst will take a mere 10% cut of the ticket sales.  It is a win-win situation for all involved.

Brantford is lacking dramatically in small, affordable performance space and Glenhyrst has stepped up admirably to begin to fill in this void. Bookings have already begun to come in – if you have a musical group or theatre company looking for space, go to:  Glenhyrst.ca or call 519-756-5932.