Sundown

Cars begin to roll into the parking lot at 6:30 pm; an hour before the show. Couples holding hands walk past the modern library towards the old theatre.

Although lacking the global stage of Gordon Lightfoot, the Orillia Opera House is every bit an Orillia icon with its princess-in-the-tower turrets planted side by side like gigantic orange crayons. 

People gather out front the Orillia Opera House on May 6th, 2023

What was planned to be a tribute concert for the Canadian icon still performing his own shows, has transformed into a kind of memorial event less than one week after his passing.

Prior to May 1st, the Orillia Opera House had sold around 200 tickets for the performance by Leisa Way and the Wayward Band. But with Orillia seemingly jolted awake to the memory of their hometown hero, ticket sales jumped to 677 for the show taking place in the 700-seat Gordon Lightfoot Auditorium.

Grey-haired folks, dressed for an evening out, walk past teenagers on scooters practicing tricks in track pants out front of the library.

I ask the kids if they’ve heard of Gordon Lightfoot and they shake their heads.

Colourful bouquets of flowers rest at the foot of the Lightfoot bust, standing alone and proud near the front steps of the entrance. Young and old gather briefly with a seemingly newfound curiosity.

Of course, there are selfies with Lightfoot; his calm, self-assured smile more like that of a contented grandfather than an international celebrity; the observed is in perpetual observation.

Flowers lay at the base of the Gordon Lightfoot statue, following his death on May 1st, 2023

Kids bounce around the handsome statue, as if listening to his music, and grown-ups read the text engraved below—the names of some of his most popular songs. 

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
If You Could Read My Mind
Alberta Bound
Sundown

A handwritten note is stuck to the polished stone:

“Thank you Gordie for your lovely songs of life. You put Orillia on the map. We enjoyed all your concerts and will play your music often.”

Signed, “Andrea and Bob”—the “o” in Bob is shaped like a heart.

A portly middle-aged man with a tucked-in t-shirt and a fanny pack approaches the bust, removes his hat, and wipes the sweat off his forehead standing awkwardly and solemn for a brief moment. With less inhibition, a long-haired man with a beard throws his arm behind the smiling statue and poses for a photo. An older gentleman in a burnt-orange leather jacket offers to snap pictures for some couples, so they can be in a picture with Gord together. 

People sit out front the Orillia Opera House May 6th, 2023, prior to the performance of the Gordon Lightfooot tribute, Leisa Way and the Wayward Band.

Inside sits a small table with an offer to write a note of condolences. Some people break from the crowd to approach and pause for a moment in thought before shuffling towards the inner sanctum.

Attendants dressed in black vests guide guests to their seats with an air which straddles the line between solemnity and nostalgia.

The house lights dim, brief words, and then—

The music.