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Massey Hall forever: the bat signal for music preservationists

There’s an ever-growing culture of celebrating the uninspiring and the inane. Nothing outlines this growth more than ridiculous non-official holidays that rejoice and revere the most mundane of things. April 21st in National Tea Day, July 17th is World Emoji Day and the first Saturday in February is Ice Cream for Breakfast. I’m an adult. I can eat ice cream for breakfast whenever I want.

So, it’s nice to see an unofficial holiday pop up that we actually care about. Such was the case last Thursday when Toronto Mayor John Tory announced that the 14th of June is now Massey Hall Day! Seems fitting for a building that has given so much to Toronto.2 A lot of people may already be familiar with the upcoming renovations of Massey Hall, but in case you aren’t, here’s a little overview. It’s going to be closing down for about two years to give the place some major upgrades, including expanding the hall with two brand new venues! If you’re interested in the renos, you can read more about it here.

On the same day ‘Massey Hall Day’ was announced, the Massey Hall Forever fundraising campaign began. Like the bat signal for music preservationists, the fundraising event sends out a beckoning call to all music preservationists to contribute to keep this piece of history in tip-top shape. To learn how to contribute, check out this link.

Sad to see Massey Hall close? So are we. Two years is a long time, but you have the chance to bring a piece of this historical building home with you. Starting at noon today, you have the chance to buy one of the venue’s legendary seats! Think of all the famous butts that have parked themselves down there for a show. To take a look at what you can get, click here!

Thomas Dennett

Past student, current writer and future superhero if all goes according to plan. I love all things musical and geeky. When I'm not writing scripts or lists I'm probably playing music, reading graphic novels, doodling monsters in a notebook or melting into my bed and playing video games.

Thomas Dennett has 18 posts and counting. See all posts by Thomas Dennett

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