Joe Hill Coffee House is at the Rossland Legion again this season.
By RCAC
Joe Hill Coffee House is about to launch another season of community-based, family-friendly entertainment in Rossland. Our first show is on Sunday, September 24 in the Rossland Legion, 2081 Washington Street. Doors open at 6:30; the show starts at 7:00. It’s still only $3, kids and students free. A steal! The great goodies will be back as well.
Joe Hill, as many readers know, was a union organizer, songwriter and singer who met an untimely end, being executed at the age of 36 for a murder that he did not commit. The Joe Hill Coffee House was named after him, partly in honour of the fact that it was started in the Miners Union Hall, and continued to be held there until the hall closed for renovations from the fall of 2015 to early 2017. During that time the Rossland Legion generously opened its doors to the coffee house and the music played on.
So why isn’t Joe Hill returning to its union hall roots? The Miners Hall is open again.
The coffee house is an entirely volunteer effort; to set up the Miners Hall for it requires extracting all the sound equipment from storage and setting it up, running cords along the floor and taping them down, adjusting the lights from tall ladders, and carrying heavy tables down the stairs from the balcony to the main floor (and setting the chairs out, but that’s not a problem). At the end of the evening, those heavy tables must go back up the stairs, though audience members usually help with that task, along with re-stacking the chairs ― a traditional Miners Hall audience activity. And the sound equipment must be replaced in storage.
Whereas at the Legion, things are already set up, for both performers and audience. Performers and volunteers all like the Legion venue. It’s comfortable and so much less labour-intensive!
We are updating our performers’ list, and looking for lots of new talent. Joe Hill Coffee House is intended as a place where anyone who would like to see how it feels to perform for an audience can come and find 15 minutes of (local) fame. Don’t be shy! We have the best audience anywhere. We’d like to hear the people who attend the Rossland Acoustic Music Camp ― along with many others.
To perform at Joe Hill Coffee House, contact Les Carter at retrac01@telus.net, or 250-362-5677.
The dates of this season’s shows are September 24, October 22, November 19, December 17, January 21, February 18, March 18, April 15, May 13, and June 17.
(Note: some dates have been adjusted from the usual third Sunday of the month to avoid conflicts with other events; in September and October the coffee house is on the fourth Sunday, and in May 2018, it’s on the second Sunday.)
Mark your calendar!
Watch for our forthcoming announcement with the list of performers for the September 24 show. See you there — at the Legion!
