Upper Canada Opera House - Deseronto Music Venue
The Spoons at The Upper Canada Opera House
Location: Main Street - Deseronto, Ontarip
Photos and Review by Bernard Clark/Stuart Roberts
An exciting new music venue opened up officially on Saturday – April 18th as the Upper Canada Opera House welcomed “The Spoons” with special guests, “Fun Comes Fast. The grand opening performance was SOLD OUT with over four hundred enthusiastic music fans showing up for some Canadian music in an historic local venue. The Spoons thrilled area fans with two sets of almost an hour each, mixing the classic hits like 'Nova Heart' & 'Tell No Lies' with new songs like 'Nightlife' from their upcoming album. Fans sang along with many of the hits including 'Romantic Traffic' where Gord Deppe and Sandy Horne encouraged the crowd to sing the chorus. Upper Canada Opera House owner, Ian Crerar, took the stage with his band 'Fun Comes Fast' to open the show and then they joined The Spoons for a closing song.
For over ten years, Ian danced through red tape hurdles trying to acquire this abandoned building in Deseronto, Ontario just off the 401 between Belleville and Kingston, and slightly beyond Shannonville where travellers know this is where you stop for cheap gas. The now Upper Canada Opera House survived life as a movie theatre in two different time periods in the 1900’s before its rebirth as a music venue. Irish born, Thomas Naylor built the Naylor theatre in 1901, and became an important fixture in the early years as a venue for touring vaudeville acts stopping in to entertain for two and three day bookings. With Naylor’s passing in 1922, the theatre sat silent until 1947 and reopened as the Deseronto Bayview Theatre popular for showing the latest movies until 1961.
Fast forward to 2025 and learning that current owners the Deseronto Arts and Culture Society got behind on some financial obligations, Ian secures his dream pursuit at the municipal tax sale. Crerar has brought back to life in the community a piece of history, redesigned it with a state of the art sound and light system, and used his passion for music to rebuild something forgotten sitting at the corner of Prince and Main Streets. The mission for this dedicated entrepreneur is to provide a platform for Canadian artists through live performances while enriching the cultural landscape of the community by showcasing diverse talent and productions. With a licensed venue now in full operation for up to four hundred people, delights such as a plane hanging from the ceiling, and wall decorations of motorcycles and guitars – music fans are about to share and enjoy the results of one man’s vision for his community.
For more information visit: https://uppercanadaoperahouse.ca/
Fast forward to 2025 and learning that current owners the Deseronto Arts and Culture Society got behind on some financial obligations, Ian secures his dream pursuit at the municipal tax sale. Crerar has brought back to life in the community a piece of history, redesigned it with a state of the art sound and light system, and used his passion for music to rebuild something forgotten sitting at the corner of Prince and Main Streets. The mission for this dedicated entrepreneur is to provide a platform for Canadian artists through live performances while enriching the cultural landscape of the community by showcasing diverse talent and productions. With a licensed venue now in full operation for up to four hundred people, delights such as a plane hanging from the ceiling, and wall decorations of motorcycles and guitars – music fans are about to share and enjoy the results of one man’s vision for his community.
For more information visit: https://uppercanadaoperahouse.ca/
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Additional sources: Ian Crerar - Deseronto Archives Online
