Red Deer Memorial Centre marks 75 years with Nov. 14 gala
The venue that once hosted Johnny Cash in 1968 is preparing a 1950s-style gala tied to a planned lighting upgrade at the historic building.
Red Deer's Memorial Centre will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a Nov. 14 gala and fundraiser called 75 Years of Legends, featuring a 1950s-inspired dinner menu, an auction, and a performance by Johnny Cash tribute act Folsom Prison Revisited. The event takes place at the same venue where Cash himself performed on March 7, 1968, alongside Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers.
The building's history stretches back to 1940, when it served as a drill hall during World War II, as roughly 2,000 soldiers arrived in Red Deer, a city of about 2,500 at the time, nearly doubling its population. About 30 buildings were constructed around the site in just 13 months to support training and housing.
After the war ended in 1945, the drill hall sat empty until a group of Red Deer residents converted it into a performing arts centre, holding an opening dinner ceremony on Sept. 5, 1951. The menu from that original event will inspire the food served at this year's gala. Over the decades, the Memorial Centre hosted performers including Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Bo Diddley, Barenaked Ladies, Jann Arden, Corb Lund, Johnny Reid, Paul Brandt, Terri Clark and Bryan Adams.
The Central Alberta Theatre Society, which operates the Memorial Centre on behalf of the City of Red Deer, says the fundraiser coincides with plans for a major lighting upgrade at the venue. The centre also houses a memorial inside its front entrance and two outdoor monuments commemorating the Korean War and peacekeepers, honouring military members who did not return.
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