Five new inductees to arts hall of fame

Breadcrumb Trail Links

EntertainmentLocal Entertainment

Published Feb 18, 2026  •  3 minute read

MC Bruce Wylie congratulates inductees into the Brockville and Area Music and Performing Arts Hall of Fame, or their representatives, on the Brockville Arts Centre stage on Thursday night, March 27, 2025. Photo by RONALD ZAJAC /The Brockville Recorder and TimesArticle content

The Brockville and Area Music and Performing Arts Hall of Fame will welcome five new members at its annual induction ceremony next month.

Advertisement 2

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

The 18th annual Hall of Fame Gala and induction ceremony will honour Lois Lorimer in the Professional category, Mary Hughes as a Behind the Scenes inductee, Paul Harding in the Teacher category, Sue Braden under Actor/Performer, and Fiddlers Plus as this year’s Band/Performing Group inductee.

Article content

Article content

Read More

“This is technically the 20th anniversary, because the first one was 2006,” said Hall of Fame inductee and committee member Chris Coyea.

“We lost some steam with COVID.”

The committee generally inducts five people in a typical year, said Coyea.

“We have some discretion each year as to what categories to put on the ballot.”

Advertisement 3

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

This year’s Professional category is one such example, as one that shows up less frequently. Previous inductees include Coyea himself.

“It’s a harder one to fill,” he said.

Similarly, this year’s cohort does not include a posthumous inductee.

The Hall of Fame committee noted Lorimer’s career spans theatre, literature, and education, with a resume that includes performing six seasons with the Shaw Festival, roles in two CBC Radio plays, a TVOntario drama with Dinah Christie and a feature film, Night Friend, staring Art Carney.

Braden, a long-standing member of the Brockville arts community, became a life member of the Brockville Theatre Guild in 2003 after more than 33 years of involvement, the Hall of Fame committee noted. She is a past president of the BTG and was a major driving force behind the fundraising efforts for the musi-theatre during the Brockville Arts Centre refurbishing.

Advertisement 4

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Hughes, meanwhile, has been dancing for more than 65 years, said the committee. She started teaching at age 16; her dance studio ran for over 35 years in Prescott. She has volunteered with the Brockville Operatic Society (BOS) and the BTG for many years.

As for Harding, the committee noted he is a well-established musician, accompanist, and music director. For more than 30 years, he served as the organist and choirmaster at Grace United Church, taught music in local schools and has since continued to teach music privately. He was one of the founders of the Gananoque Choral Society.

And the committee noted Fiddlers Plus is known for its “authentic and earnest renditions of Celtic and traditional music.” The group, which has been performing for nearly 30 years, includes approximately 15 musicians from Brockville, Athens, Delta, Prescott and Merrickville who play regularly throughout the area as far as Kingston, Smiths Falls, Spencerville and Morrisburg.

Advertisement 5

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

This year’s cohort brings to 120 the number of Arts Hall of Fame inductees.

The gala and induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, March 26, at the Brockville Arts Centre. The event begins with the traditional red carpet event at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Bruce Wylie and Lisa Leroux. The induction ceremony follows at 7 p.m., with Wylie joined by Michael Trussell as the MCs.

The free-admission show, sponsored by the City of Brockville, will include performances by the inductees and the newly-formed BHL Big Band under the direction of Chris Coyea.

The 17-member BHL band is named after three departed local music greats, and Hall of Fame members, Bruce Alexander, Howard Alexander and Lance Besharah.

Shining the spotlight on exceptional members of the local performing arts community remains an important task, two decades on, said Coyea, not only for their talent, “but also for what they have done and continue to do for their community.”

“They do it out of a genuine passion and love of the arts,” he added.

(Catch up on what is happening throughout Eastern Ontario with our Midday Roundup. Click here to sign up for the free newsletter, which will be delivered to your inbox every weekday.)

Article content

Share this article in your social network