A new public art piece depicting a former Sylvan Lake dance hall has been unveiled on Lakeshore Drive.
Located at the corner of Centennial Street and Lakeshore Drive the new piece showcases the former Varsity Hall, a famous dance club founded in the 1930’s. The latest cultural addition to the Lakeside District was constructed by Red Deer based artist, Trent Leach. He explained he wished to create an interactive display which paid homage to a vital part of Central Alberta’s musical history. The structure, comprised of powder coated steel, took Leach a large portion of the year to create. He detailed how his research for the piece took him deep into the cultural relevance of Varsity Hall spanning from the mid 1930’s to the late 1980’s.
“From the 1930’s to the 80’s that was a big part of Sylvan Lake and the music scene there,” said Leach on his inspiration. “I wanted to find a way to bring that back. Throughout the construction of this sculpture, I’ve met probably six generations of people who went through that era. I wanted to represent that and bring back memories of the old Varsity Hall.”
A look back on the history of the province at the time of Varsity Hall’s conception shows Alberta struggling through tough economic times. However, the small lakeside community of Sylvan Lake seemingly saw a boom along the main drag with the birth of Varsity Hall. Red Deer based historian Michael Dawe explained a commemorative piece released during Sylvan’s Centennial celebrations how the town saw their permanent population jump from 500 residents to a whopping 3,000 living at the lake in the summer.
“Sylvan Lake’s growth as a resort was boosted when the federal government helped build a large new public pier in 1928,” explained Dawe in his Centennial feature published in the Red Deer Express in January 2013. “Sylvan Lake became famous for its dance halls. Among the noted halls were the Varsity Hall (originally the Trianon), Alexander Pavilion (later called the Prom) and the Oriental Gardens. Famous bands such as Sonny Fry’s Orchestra and Mart Kenny’s group played to large crowds throughout the summer.”
In the early 1930’s Sylvan Lake’s Varsity Dance Hall had just been built. An era of big band swing music was soon to begin, leading to much of the eventual success Varsity Hall would see. Over the years the dance hall would become a hub for music lovers from across Alberta, hosting a number of big name recording artists in addition to helping a few budding local artists to bloom for themselves, including two time Juno award winning saxophone player, P.J. Perry. Built around 1930 and demolished in 1979, the popular Varsity Hall led to a deeply seeded tradition of swing in Sylvan Lake.
Local organizers of Jazz At The Lake cite Varsity Hall as being extremely influential in the development of Alberta’s musical heritage.
“Sylvan Lake has a rich musical history, much greater in scope than its relatively small, but rapidly growing, population would seem to warrant,” explains an excerpt from the Jazz At The Lake website. “The legendary days of the Varsity Hall with its travelling Alberta and Canadian bands are warmly remembered by many in the community. The town has fostered some of the country’s best jazz artists.”
Curated by the Town of Sylvan Lake, the newest public art piece was funded through the Town’s 2016 Public Art Project allocation in the budget. Monique Tummings, Facility Services Supervisors for the Town of Sylvan, explained in early 2016 a request was issued for proposals to create a large scale public art piece within Sylvan Lake.
“We received many proposals from artists within the area including one from Mr. Leach,” said Tummings. “We have a Public Art Taskforce Committee who is in charge of selecting the pieces. So it’s the committee that chooses, with a representative on the committee from the Town.”
In addition to the new Varsity Hall sculpture, Tummings explained their will also be an upcoming unveiling of a public art piece in the Sylvan Lake Municipal Library, as well as a number of other public art pieces set to go into the NexSource Centre.
editor@sylvanlakenews.com