By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
This week Joni and I traveled to the Village of Highgate, a small community of 580 residents nestled just off the 401 in the North-Eastern corner of C-K.
Neither Joni nor I had ever been there before.
However, we had heard great things about a performance venue situated there and finally felt comfortable taking the short trip from The ‘Burg.
We really had no idea what to expect.
We knew that this little place had a huge reputation and drew both great musical acts and loyal audiences from across southwestern Ontario and (pre-COVID) Michigan and beyond.
Fellow Chatham Kent Arts and Culture Network board member, Peter Garapick is the board chair for The Mary Webb Center and arranged for board secretary and very proud member of Highgate and The Mary Webb community, Anne Ondrovcik to give us a tour of the space.
Anne invited us in to the beautiful historic site and began the tour in the large round room at ground level that is as unique as the rest of the old church.
Small rooms hug the center and everywhere there is art from local visual artists.
The space is host to arts and crafts, over a century of history filed away in one room, meditation classes, community gatherings, post-concert gatherings and various small celebrations.
Next Anne showed us the $800,000 addition which was started in 2016.
It was essential to meeting accessibility issues, evolving codes and allowing the smooth operation of the facility. It is functional and quite nice, but next we made our way to the second floor and the crown jewel of MWC.
Opening the doors to the nave, or meeting area of the old united church we were struck by the beautiful architecture.
The MWC web page states, “There are only two church or former church buildings like this one in North America, and perhaps fewer than 15 with a central ceiling dome and no supporting columns.”
The church first opened its doors in December of 1898 and functioned as a church until June 2010.
Aware the building was slated for closure, a group of forward-thinking arts enthusiasts started looking at ways to re purpose the historic building.
The acoustics in the building are spectacular. You can see the stage easily from any of the 250 seats, which are still the original wooden pews from 1918. (After a fire in 1917 the building was rebuilt as first designed.)
They are remarkably comfortable and the sound everywhere in the space is superbly rich and warm.
Anne stressed the incredible board and volunteers that had, and have, the vision to keep this little gem open.
With no revenue since March of 2020, the board set about looking for ways to stay afloat.
Like all successful organizations, they are adaptable and creative. Recently, they began a “Weave A Webb of Support” Campaign.
This campaign is simply asking supporters to donate to cover all or part of the annual utility regular maintenance costs.
Honouring $28,000 annual operating expenses in a time where performing arts has no revenue stream can be an arduous task.
Both Anne and Peter called this venture wildly successful and noted that it speaks to the value of the MWC to arts lovers.
Following the tour, I spoke to Peter who is visiting his native Nova Scotia. Peter Garapick found his way from the east coast to Highgate through his work with the Canadian Coast Guard and a chance meeting with the woman from Highgate who would become his wife of 31 years.
Always an avid music lover Peter spent several years as a DJ in Halifax honing his musical taste and observing what audiences liked.
When Peter moved to Highgate with his wife, they moved into the house his father-in-law built. It had a room that was 25x25x25 with two very large glass windows on the corner.
Peter attended a concert at the Jeanne Gordon Theatre and after the event approached the organizer, John Gardiner, and asked how he was able to get such big acts to a small community.
Inspired by John, Peter started house concerts in what became known as The Glass Corner Stage.
Peter’s goal was never to make money, rather to expose people to high quality music at an affordable cost in their community.
Peter would pay young Canadian artists $1,000 to play in his house.
A BYOB invitation, small crowds and small donations meant everyone left happy.
Peter noted that several of the musicians that moved through the Glass Corner Stage are now household names in Canada.
So, when the United Church in Highgate was closing its doors, it made sense to show this acoustic gem to Peter who agreed to try a concert there.
He booked Rant Maggie Rant and it was so successful that Peter has booked every show for MWC since it first opened its doors in 2010.
While the Centre has faced challenges as it grew an audience, Anne and Peter both applauded the amazing volunteers who have kept pushing even when they may have felt like Sisyphus.
Undeterred and undaunted by funding pitfalls, fundraising challenges, the slow but steady climb to acceptance and success, the team of leaders and volunteers at the MWC donate their time and effort to continue to grow this jewel and become a “must see” Hwy 401 gateway centre to Chatham-Kent.
So what happens now for the Mary Webb Centre?
Peter told me he has a Canadian singer booked for December 11 of this year.
She has a new Christmas album being released and is performing many of those songs on the stage in Highgate.
If you would like to donate, are interested in a tour or want to volunteer your time and talents, contact the MWC through their website https://marywebbcentre.ca/ or Facebook @themarywebbcentre · Nonprofit Organization.
