Glennda Ilett, left, and Kelly Waters are in the process of having a building in North Battleford renovated to create a new performance venue called She-NANIGANS. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Arts and culture

She-NANIGANS performance venue coming to Battlefords

Jan 3, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Two longtime friends are bringing together their passion and expertise to create a new performance venue in North Battleford called She-NANIGANS.

Glennda Ilett and Kelly Waters said the initiative was about three years in the making.

The venue will be an entertainment space that also serves meals, located at 792-108 Street.

They hope to open Feb. 14 with a Celtic weekend, starting with the band Fretless, followed by Heidi Munro and Soul Sensation on Feb. 15.

The location for the site is the former Ukrainian Slava Centre and, before that, the old North Battleford City Kinsmen Band Hall.

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Waters and Ilett are partners in the project.

“The idea is for it to be a venue place only, so with scheduled events. Not open like a restaurant, not open like a bar,” Waters said. “When there is an event or something scheduled, then it will be open.”

The facility could also be rented by outside groups, for example for a wedding reception, when available.

Currently, the site is being renovated to spruce it up and bring it up to code.

Waters and Ilett will preserve some of the building’s history, such as a wall on one side inscribed with handwritten names of many City Kinsmen Band members dating back to the 1960s.

Ilett, who took over the building, has over 20 years experience working in the restaurant business.

“I always wanted my own, and have been thinking about it for quite a while,” she said.

As well, she said her husband is a musician so music is a big part of her life. That’s why she was keen on the project.

The new performance venue will feature a wide variety of entertainment.

“It will be anything you can think of — comedians, plays, music of course,” Ilett said.

She-NANIGANS will feature many locally-sourced products as part of its dining menu.

Waters said she has a “huge passion for bringing food and music together.”

Waters currently runs the Gog house-concert music venue in North Battleford. She plans to close The Gog as she focuses on the new venture.

The last date for the Gog is Jan. 25. Heidi Munro will perform a more acoustic set during the evening with her music partner.

“She’s just an amazing professional musician, singer,” Waters said.

It will be difficult to close the Gog, Waters said, but is looking forward to the future with She-NANIGANS.

“I’m sad but excited because I wanted to do a project like this, and I can’t do both; that would be at cross-purposes,” she said. “I’ve wanted to build off what I had developed there and springboard into something like this. So I’m very, very excited.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW