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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 14 ,2 01 9 | 32 The Legendary GORDON LIGHTFOOT IN CONCERT RICK HAYNES Bass BARRY KEANE Drums, Percussion MICHAEL HEFFERNAN Keyboards CARTER LANCASTER Lead Guitar SATURDAY APRIL 13, 2019 - 8pm theme ting house 2700 Bristol Circle, Oakville, ON Tickets: www.Ticketmaster.ca Call: 1 855-985-5000 Group Requests: carl@advancegrouptickets.com a BC Fiedler Presentation www.bcfiedler.com e MacNeil Guitar Lessons MacNeil Guitar Lessons Bring Music to Life DAYTIME OR EVENING LESSONS CALL US TODAY! All Styles,Technique &Theory ALL LeveLS Private and Beginners - Advanced STePHeN MACNeIL Teaching all levels for over 20 years 1312 Speers Rd, Oakville 905-334-5092 www.mglessons.com General $9.00 | Children & Seniors $7.00 | All seats Tues $6.00 Film.CA CinemAS ShowTimeS For mArCh 15-21 2019 newThiSweek:wonder PArk, Five FeeT APArT 171 Speers Road, Oakville (at Kerr St.) 905-338-6397 (MEWS) www.film.ca Five FeetApArt (pG) Fri - Thu: 1:15, 4:45, 7:20, 8:40Fri - Thu: 1:15, 4:45, 7:20, 8:40F WonderpArk (G)WonderpArk (G)W Fri - Sun: 11:45, 1:50, 3:30, 5:20, 6:30, 9:45Fri - Sun: 11:45, 1:50, 3:30, 5:20, 6:30, 9:45F Mon - Thu: 1:50, 3:45, 4:15, 6:30, 9:45 CAptAinMArvel (pG) Fri - Thu: 1:00, 4:00, 5:45, 7:10, 8:30, 9:00Fri - Thu: 1:00, 4:00, 5:45, 7:10, 8:30, 9:00F HoWtotrAinYourdrAGon: tHeHiddenWorld (pG) Fri - Sun: 12:00, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9:40Fri - Sun: 12:00, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9:40F Mon - Thu: 1:20, 4:30, 6:45, 9:40 tHe leGoMovie2: tHe SeCond pArt (G) Fri - Sun: 12:30Fri - Sun: 12:30F GreenBook (pG) Fri - Sun: 3:00Fri - Sun: 3:00F Mon - Thu: 12:45 The Brant Inn brings back fond memories to many people, locally and beyond. Its heyday was in the '40s and '50s, when big- name performers came to the glamorous inn to per- form for visitors far and wide. The inn was synony- mous with glitz and gla- mour. Now, Franklin Penny is bringing a musical tribute to the Brant Inn to the stage at the Burlington Per- forming Arts Centre on Tuesday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. A Musical Journey Re- membering the Brant Inn, features Paramount Pic- tures and CBS television star Franklin Penny on vo- cals and trumpet; star of London's West End and Broadway Sheila Brand as guest vocalist; Sophisticat- ed Swing, an award-win- ning, 17-piece big band; guest pianist George Bra- sovan (who's a Juno-award nominee and film compos- er) and Roy Wilson, former editor of the Burlington Gazette, as MC. Penny, who has been playing trumpet since he was eight years old, said he's thrilled to be able to bring so many people to- gether to remember the fa- mous inn. Photos, provided by the Burlington Histori- cal Society, will be running in the background during the concert. Dancers will also be doing some swing dancing. The first half will be comprised of 12 songs, while the final half will be 10 songs. "There's a lot of variety, and people will really enjoy this big band, Sophisticat- ed Swing," he added, noting it will be a two-hour show. Penny hopes to hear many of these types of sto- ries at the March 19 event because the inn is so fondly remembered by so many. Although the building itself disappeared 42 years ago - in 1969 - the extraordi- nary place is remembered by those who were drawn there by the music, the en- tertainment, and the build- ing itself. The Brant Inn is a fasci- nating chapter in local en- tertainment history. Its prominence as a hotel and entertainment venue was largely due to a fascinating entrepreneur who was born in Hamilton - John Murray Anderson - who proved he had what it took to compete with the giants of the entertainment busi- ness. It's all the more remark- able considering he put the Brant Inn and Burlington on the map back in the era of the Great Depression and the Second World War, when the community was just a small town of 4,000. The nearby railway which ran alongside it meant pas- sengers could get off the train and walk directly to the front door of the Inn, lo- cated at 1400 Lakeshore Rd., where Spencer Smith Park and Spencer's at the Waterfront stand today. Most of its clientele came from Oakville, Hamilton or Toronto. Brant Inn's decor re- sembled a ship's interior, with the Lido Deck acting as the indoor dance hall. The Sky Club was later added - this serving as an outdoor dance terrace, that seated 1,700. It extended out toward the lake, an idea borrowed from a club in Cuba. The Brant Inn also had a restaurant, beauty salon, bowling alley and a barber shop. On any given night, thousands would flock to the Brant Inn to take in some of the biggest names in showbiz. Big bands and famous names performed such as: Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Welk, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombar- do, Xavier Cugat, Count Basie, Les Brown and Woody Herman. As bands became more expensive and music tastes changed, the Brant Inn be- gan to feature more big name entertainers such as Andy Williams, Victor Borge, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Rae, Martha Raye, Frankie Laine, Liberace, Jayne Mansfield, Lena Horne and Sophie Tucker. The inn served other purposes as well. Miss Can- ada was crowned at the inn in 1950, and it was home to numerous debutante din- ners, weddings and private parties, leaving many Hal- ton and Hamilton natives with personal memories that would last a lifetime. Anderson retired and sold the Brant Inn in 1964, and he died of cancer in 1967 at the age of 67. The building was pur- chased by a developer, who planned to build a high-rise condominium on the site; those plans never proceed- ed, and the Brant Inn was torn down in 1969. Today, you'll see the 59- feet wide Brant Inn Com- pass, constructed in 1998, laid out on the ground in coloured concrete. Also, in collaboration with the Bur- lington Historical Society, the City of Burlington put up a plaque in 2011 com- memorating Brant Inn's contribution to the city's history and culture. It's those happy memo- ries of dancing and listen- ing to some of music's greats that Penny hopes to re-ignite for the people who come out to the March event. Tickets are $52.50 for adults, and $46.50 for se- niors (60+). Call the box of- fice at: 905-681-6000, or go to www.burlingtonpac.ca. RECALL GLITZ, GLAMOUR OF BRANT INN DURING MUSICAL JOURNEY A Musical Journey Remembering the Brant Inn, features Franklin Penny on vocals and trumpet. Josiah Bowen photo JULIE SLACK jslack@metroland.com ARTS MARCH 19 EVENT SEES MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO THE FAMOUS BURLINGTON LANDMARK PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER R EA D M O R E S TO R IES O N LIN E AT IN S ID EH A LTO N .C O M