Leading into the annual Canadian Big Band weekend is a play that harkens back to the Big Band era and the music that had everyone dancing.
We want you to dial back the clock to Thursday night, August 1, 1935 – a time when sweethearts were re-joined by their loved ones after WW1 and people were still talking
about how nice it was to not have to wear masks anymore.
about how nice it was to not have to wear masks anymore.
The show is a “slice of life”, a “snap-shot” of what an evening would have been like at the Dance Pavilion, in the little rural “trading town” of Southampton, Ontario on the shore of Great Lake Huron.
Picture it! It was a Thursday, August 1, 1935, and Guy Lombardo was bringing his Royal Canadians to this small rural town! Can you imagine the excitement?
The country unknowingly was between wars and the Great Depression was in mid-swing. 
There was talk on CKNX radio (Wingham) about the man with the funny little moustache over in Germany. It was a time of musicals with stars like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was a time when people were just grateful to be alive and they celebrated the “Spirit of Life” by DANCING.
There was talk on CKNX radio (Wingham) about the man with the funny little moustache over in Germany. It was a time of musicals with stars like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was a time when people were just grateful to be alive and they celebrated the “Spirit of Life” by DANCING.The evening’s hosts are the owners of the Lakeside Park Hotel’s Dance Pavilion: Eliza Knowles and her children Irene, Lulu, and Bill (known as “Biscuit” because he loved to eat his mother’s biscuits).
Other main characters are those by-gone era local citizens from Southampton, who will be portrayed by their bloodline descendants of today. Although non-actors, they will be standing tall to represent their family ancestors, those who would have attended Guy’s one-night dance at the Dance Pavilion.
Local musicians from the area will represent Guy and his Royal Canadians orchestra and everyone is invited to get into the swing and wear vintage costumes from the era!
This is not just a sit-down theatre production! Dance classes will start at 7:00 p.m. and, then, at 8:00 p.m. Guy Lombardo and his orchestra will play the most popular dance
songs on the 1935 Hit Parade … and everyone in the audience will be encouraged to
DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!
songs on the 1935 Hit Parade … and everyone in the audience will be encouraged to
DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!
Presented by the Knowles family and the collective Community of Southampton
Stay tuned for MORE !!!
