January 21, 2015
The King Eddy Hotel will come back to life as a live music venue when NMC’s new facility opens in 2016.
The National Music Centre (NMC) has received a gift of $2 million from The Flair Foundation for the NMC building project.
The gift will be applied to the new lobby of the King Eddy Hotel, which is currently undergoing an extensive restoration. When the new NMC opens in 2016, the King Eddy will return as a restaurant and bar, and live music venue in Calgary’s East Village.
The Flair Foundation is making the gift to recognize David McClement, a long-time supporter of NMC, who has a keen interest in music and also played the saxophone.
“David has been a supporter of NMC since the very beginning,” said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of NMC. “His many contributions will always be remembered and treasured. The new NMC is a total community project, and a tribute to the generous individuals who share an enthusiasm for our collection, and dynamic public and education programs.”
Construction on the new NMC began in early 2013 and remains on schedule to open in Spring 2016. The project will cost $168 million, and NMC has raised over $110 million to construct the 160,000 square foot cultural space, referred to as the home for music in Canada. With interactive education programming, artist incubation, engaging exhibitions and performances, NMC will become a hub for music in Calgary’s East Village.
– Julijana Capone
Wanna talk music? Email me at julijana.capone@nmc.ca or follow me on Twitter @thejulijanaruin.