PORT Dover’s Masons are expanding recreation offerings at the town’s Masonic Lodge with new karaoke nights on Thursdays at 7 p.m. starting April 3. The Maple Leaf spoke to Simon Ive of Live at the Lodge Productions for more information.
Mr. Ive said karaoke nights at the Masonic Lodge will be hosted by Jamie Plug and run until the end of June if supported by residents. Admission costs $5, with drinks available for purchase. The Masons will provide free popcorn for attendees.
The karaoke nights continue a trend of musical events at the venue that started last April with Live at the Lodge concerts. Those concerts came to be because Mr. Ive and others “saw a need for a venue after the loss of the Norfolk.”
“We approached the Masons with the idea of having live band matinees, Saturday afternoons from 2 till 6 p.m.,” he said.
The Masons liked the idea, so they gave his group the go-ahead to book bands for weekly concerts. They held their first Saturday matinee show at the Masonic Lodge on April 20, 2024, with Albatross headlining.
Concerts continued through the spring, paused last July and August, and have carried on since, with bookings now lined up through April. Performers at the concerts have included The Misfit Toyz, Jasmine T, Route 6, Felicia McMinn, The Feds, Coast2Coast, The Shoeshine Boys, Jesse Murphy Band, and more.
Aside from funds needed to pay the artists, the Masons collect all monies from the concerts. Mr. Ive said those proceeds “go back into the community.”
Late last year, he began organizing After the Dip, a concert event in partnership with Port Dover Lions Club at the community centre on New Year’s Day. He said Live at the Lodge Productions started around that time “as a way to tie the Lodge to what we were doing with the [Port Dover] Lions.”
The event was “a complete success,” with Coast2Coast and Route 6 performing for a sold-out crowd.
It was Mr. Ive who suggested to the Masons that they should host karaoke nights.
“I’m not into karaoke myself but, there is a hole in the community,” he said. “At the end of the day, community service is what it’s all about for us.”
Live at the Lodge Productions is planning more events for 2025, including a fundraiser for Port Dover Lions Club’s Canada Day festivities at the community centre on April 17.
For more details about events or to view a weekly schedule of live music in town, see Live at the Lodge on Facebook, www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557666016562.
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Originally published March 19, 2025
