The Demmitt Cultural Centre sits near the border of Alberta and B.C., in a rural area surrounded by trees.
It’s an unlikely place to expect to see award-winning musical artists from across Canada, but the Borderline Culture Foundation is kicking off its 19th season this month.
Despite the fact the hall is far outside any usual tour route, the foundation is still attracting top-tier talent to play their cozy concerts.
“It is actually just getting better and better. We’re getting more people coming every year, and there are so many new faces,” longtime Borderline Culture Foundation board member Rena Southwell told The Article.
“They say this is incredible to have an atmosphere like this in a rural setting out in the bush in the middle of nowhere. It’s amazing.”
How it All Began
“It really started when we wanted to build a new hall, and we were trying to figure out ways to get new membership,” explained founding board member Teresa von Tiesenhausen.
She said they held some garage concerts at the old hall inspired by similar garage concerts in Grande Prairie.
“We did that a few times and then we thought oh, we could also maybe bring musicians here.”
A board member’s cousin happened to be musician Stephan Fearing who would be one the first artists to play one of the first shows.
“Because Stephen Fearing came, it became easier to get these other musicians to come,” said von Tiesenhausen.
The first season of the concert series in 2008 and 2009 also featured the Dandylionesses, Daunyluk & Card, James Keelaghan, the Sienna Dahlen Quartet, and Jake’s Gift.
Musicians would learn about the dream of the new hall, and the board would ensure they were invited to play in it when it was completed, said Southwell.
The Demmitt Community Centre is a sustainable timber-frame and straw-bale building set on the original site of a school and the previous hall.
“A lot of the timbers were from our property,” said von Tiesenhausen, whose husband Peter is also a well-known artist who often creates installations in nature.
The timbers came from trees killed by pine beetles.
“They had to come down, so we thought, well, let’s use them for something.”
The straw bales were also local, and the building used a recycled gym floor. It also has passive solar and composting toilets, and recently added grid-tied solar panels to produce most of the venue’s electricity needs.
“It’s really exciting just to see people come out to this venue and a lot of times they’ve never been out there before,” Southwell said.
“They go in and it’s this beautiful hall and amazing surroundings, and there’s a fire going in the fireplace and a lovely bar and big windows.”
“It’s one of the few places I find right now in this world that is just positive,” she said. “Everybody comes in that door, and it’s just a positive vibe.”
Nineteen Seasons of Success
This year’s Borderline Culture Series kicks off on September 26 and features the Andrew Collins Trio first, followed by Secondhand Dreamcar, Reuben and the Dark, JJ Shiplet, Teagan Littlechief, and Ollee Owens.
“We want variety,” said von Tiesenhausen. “We don’t want to have one genre of music all the time. Within the season we try and mix it up so that we have at least four different genres over the season. We tend to stay a bit away from country because people can go see live country music pretty much anywhere.”
“We also like people that are their own singer-songwriters,” Southwell said.
“We don’t want somebody that’s going to be in there and covering different groups. No, be unique. We’re unique. Be unique.”
This season, Reuben and the Dark with the Bullhorn Singers was a big get for the series.
“Sometimes it’s a little tweak in your mind and you go, you know what, we should ask this person because we tried before and the agent told us they’d be way too much money for us, so one of those was Rueben and the Dark,” von Tiesenhausen said.
“I thought I’m going to try again because they’d be great.”
Sure enough, the band agreed to come play.
What is it that makes the Demmitt Hall a bucket list performance venue for so many artists?
“I mean you’d think they’d go, oh that place is way out, we don’t want to go there, but generally they’re kind of curious,” von Tiesenhausen said. “We’ve got a good reputation for looking after artists and they love the hall.”
“It’s nice and cozy, and there’s still room for people to dance,” Southwell said.
“It’s one of these venues where when they take the break they come out and they’re talking to the people.”
“A lot of times once they’ve actually performed at the hall, they say this was something I’ve never quite experienced, this atmosphere,” Southwell said.
One featured musician even chose the hall for his own wedding.
Southwell said, “He was walking around and around the hall and he said, ‘This place is amazing!’”
He was so impressed he showed his fiancé.
“They were from the Vancouver area and they could never pick a spot to get married, and he sent her pictures and they wound up getting married at Demmitt Hall.”
Building a Community with Concerts
“We have people coming regularly to our concerts from Peace River, Fairview, and Fort St. John. What they say is they love the atmosphere, and they feel like it is their community,” von Tiesenhuasen said.
“I think that’s lacking in a lot of places, so it brings people back.”
People can also take a bus directly to the concerts from Grande Prairie.
“The bus has made a big difference,” von Tiesenhausen said. “It will stop in Beaverlodge and Hythe. Sometimes they’ve even stopped at the dinosaur museum in Wembley if people have wanted to be picked up there. It’s $20 to ride the bus, but you can have drinks; you don’t have to worry about driving.”
She said it’s a unique experience to take a bus out to a rural area to see a concert.
While the concerts have sold out with 299 attendees in the past, von Tiesenhausen said, “Lately it’s been about 150 to 180, so it’s a nice crowd.”
“We are a small board and we all get along. It’s fun to look for bands,” von Tiesenhausen said.
“It’s something good for the community. I like supporting artists. It’s fulfilling. And I think I would miss it if I stopped.”
“When people are coming up and saying, oh my god this is so great, what a wonderful show, it’s a little bit like Christmas morning,” Southwell said. “It’s just that happy buzz.”
Southwell said she tells people all the time to come out.
“I’m going to guarantee you if you come once, you’re going to come all the time.
“We do allow kids at our concerts and 12 and under free so it does make it an affordable evening,” von Tiesenhausen said.
To purchase tickets, you first need to become a member of the Borderline Culture Foundation. Annual memberships are $5.00 and the fee is donated to a local non-profit group. Memberships also entitle you to vote at the AGM and receive notifications about all shows, events and workshops at the Demmitt Community Centre. Plus, you’ll be entered into a draw at each concert you attend.
All concerts start at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance (plus membership and ticketing fee), or $35 at the door, and you can buy season tickets for $168.
Visit borderlineculture.com for more information.
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