Stepping inside the former St. Stephen’s Church on 96 Street, you can easily feel a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. It is here I met Diana Harrison, a passionate event planner who is working to bring new life to a Church Street landmark that almost met the fate of demolition a few years back.

Recently purchased by the firm E3 Architects, this old church is being refurbished into office space for E3, and in the last few months it has also been dubbed Studio 96, a new neighbourhood venue available for rent to host private functions and community events.

Diana has been working closely with McCauley Revitalization and a few other community partners to present a winter concert series showcasing this vibrant new venue. This past December 19, the Friends of Church Street hosted the first of four free community events at Studio 96 this winter, a Christmas Concert on Church Street. This debut event brought together musicians from McCauley and surrounding neighbourhoods for an evening featuring great live music in a warm cozy café style space.

The second concert, Cold Folk, being hosted by Heart of the City Festival, will have just taken place on January 24, presenting talent from the popular festival’s roster of folk artists.

On Saturday, February 21 there will be an exciting midwinter Beach Party, featuring the high voltage, positive energy of Souljah Fyah, one of Canada’s top reggae bands, and The definit, the socially conscious hip hop and funk band that brings an explosive blend of world music, folk, rock, and soul to their sound. This event is meant to get folks out to shake off the winter with some warm vibes, community spirit and joyful dancing!

And, on March 21, come Burn Away the Winter Blues with local legend Bill Bourne and guests. More details in the next Boyle McCauley News.

With such a great new venue available in McCauley, Diana expects there will many local events organized by community members and organizations in 2015. If you are interested in seeing the space or booking Studio 96, you can reach Diana at (780) 232-3857.

These McCauley Winter Warmer events are also supported by E4C and Listen Louder Productions. For more information or to volunteer please contact (780) 424-2870.