Audio Excerpt

Just 15 kilometers west of here is the town of Bala, the home to one of  Canada's most iconic and beloved concert venues: The KEE to Bala!

 

Originally, an ice cream parlour and drugstore in 1929,  Gerry Patrick Dunn purchased the property and started renovating the buildings and grounds...he was able to host orchestra's like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Guy Lombardo, Les Brown and Louis Armstrong...I know I know you have ALL those artists on your Spotify playlist right!? 

 

Well, it wasn't unusual to see dozens of boats anchored out on the water, and people sitting on blankets outside in the park, listening to the music carry across the night air. It was also a place where many men and women met, fell in love and later got married. It truly was a very special place, and still is! 

 

Gerry Dunn sold the Pavilion to Ray Cockburn in 1963.  Legend has it that Cockburn changed the name after hearing the venue referred to as “the key, that's K- E- Y,  to Bala and Muskoka.” Although there have been many owners and numerous renovations since Dunn’s Pavilion opened, the more recently named Kee to Bala, that’s K-E-E, still exists in Dunn’s original building. 

 

Hosting folks like Canadian rock and roll icons David Wilcox and Kim Mitchell, The Ramones, April Wine, Burton Cummings, Blue Rodeo, Rush, The Tragically Hip as well as new artists like the Trews, the Arkells and Sam Roberts, even Snoop Dogg and Drake.  

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Back in the day however, the legendary Dunn's Pavilion attracted thousands of people from Toronto and surrounding areas.