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A decade or so ago, my band mate and a few other folk musicians purchased an old temple in Cumberland, RI. After initial estimates of 75k for renovations, they

A decade or so ago, my band mate and a few other folk musicians purchased an old temple in Cumberland, RI. After initial estimates of 75k for renovations, they are 200k in and they've done countless hours of free labor. The result? Talisk, Alasdair Fraser, and Hanneke Cassel are all playing there this spring...three of my musical idols! Let's restore and repair our great spaces, the value and community is incredible! Blackstone River Theater is a great example of the cultural value of this investment.

CalRobert 7y ago
That's pretty cool! Do you have a link to any sort of pictures, etc?
- WhompingWindows 7y ago
  Yes! Can anyone comment on how tough it'd be for the BRT to have an e-reservation system for tickets? Right now, you have to call, leave a message, then they have to call back and confirm...it's not ideal. BRT, Masonic Temple venue: http://www.riverfolk.org/venue-info/ http://www.riverfolk.org/venue-info/ Alasdair Fraser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08zd3hI87bc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08zd3hI87bc Talisk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9481kEyAPM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9481kEyAPM0 Hanneke Cassel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFD1nURfyMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFD1nURfyMU
  - wjnc 7y ago
    Even tiny parties use eTickets over here. I looked one providor up. It uses Eventix.io
52-6F-62 7y ago
Wow that takes me back. In Southwestern Ontario the Odd Fellows and Freemason halls were often rented out by us as teenagers and young adults for shows. That said, we were also often kicked out of them (bunch of dumb, loud kids were we) and did something of a circle between the Masons, Odd Fellows, Shriners, Kinsmen's, and other community halls and then back again over the years. A few guys from Brantford (ON) eventually got sick of getting kicked out and set up a non-profit that was a little more raw and ragged than your friends' efforts, but it was surely equal of passion! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ford_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ford_Plant] It was a great time... Buying one of those halls was a totally prescient move! There's a major venue downtown Toronto that was once a YMCA, aptly named The Great Hall that sounds similar in operation (though I believe it's for-profit?) [https://www.thegreathall.ca/history/ https://www.thegreathall.ca/history/] Thanks for sharing! I love these kinds of stories
DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
It's great to hear that Cumberland is working as a venue! I would expect a venue in Cumberland to have trouble competing with those in Fall River (MA), Worcester (MA), and Providence (RI). My impression of Cumberland has always been that it's in the middle of nowhere, despite maps clearly showing that it's not. EDIT: I'm really glad you mentioned that place. I just looked at their current lineup [0], and I'm actually thinking about catching some of the performances. Thanks! [0] http://www.riverfolk.org/events-tickets/ http://www.riverfolk.org/events-tickets/

CalRobert 7y ago

That's pretty cool! Do you have a link to any sort of pictures, etc?

WhompingWindows 7y ago
Yes! Can anyone comment on how tough it'd be for the BRT to have an e-reservation system for tickets? Right now, you have to call, leave a message, then they have to call back and confirm...it's not ideal. BRT, Masonic Temple venue: http://www.riverfolk.org/venue-info/ http://www.riverfolk.org/venue-info/ Alasdair Fraser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08zd3hI87bc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08zd3hI87bc Talisk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9481kEyAPM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9481kEyAPM0 Hanneke Cassel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFD1nURfyMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFD1nURfyMU
- wjnc 7y ago
  Even tiny parties use eTickets over here. I looked one providor up. It uses Eventix.io

52-6F-62 7y ago

Wow that takes me back. In Southwestern Ontario the Odd Fellows and Freemason halls were often rented out by us as teenagers and young adults for shows. That said, we were also often kicked out of them (bunch of dumb, loud kids were we) and did something of a circle between the Masons, Odd Fellows, Shriners, Kinsmen's, and other community halls and then back again over the years. A few guys from Brantford (ON) eventually got sick of getting kicked out and set up a non-profit that was a little more raw and ragged than your friends' efforts, but it was surely equal of passion! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ford_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ford_Plant] It was a great time... Buying one of those halls was a totally prescient move! There's a major venue downtown Toronto that was once a YMCA, aptly named The Great Hall that sounds similar in operation (though I believe it's for-profit?) [https://www.thegreathall.ca/history/ https://www.thegreathall.ca/history/] Thanks for sharing! I love these kinds of stories

DoofusOfDeath 7y ago

It's great to hear that Cumberland is working as a venue! I would expect a venue in Cumberland to have trouble competing with those in Fall River (MA), Worcester (MA), and Providence (RI). My impression of Cumberland has always been that it's in the middle of nowhere, despite maps clearly showing that it's not. EDIT: I'm really glad you mentioned that place. I just looked at their current lineup [0], and I'm actually thinking about catching some of the performances. Thanks! [0] http://www.riverfolk.org/events-tickets/ http://www.riverfolk.org/events-tickets/