It’s a safe bet that you’ve never line danced at a funeral home. However, the work-to-rule campaign by school support workers is resulting in line-dancing classes in Iroquois Falls boot-scootin’ over to the lounge of Abitibi Funeral Services.
Owner Colin Kennedy is making the space available — except, of course, when there’s a viewing.
“We’re going to have to commandeer the lounge for that particular night,” he says, lightheartedly, “but so long as I’m not using it and I mean I’ve got a group of bridge players that come in here and play Monday nights as well, when the school’s not available as the result of a PA day or stat holiday or what have you.”
Kennedy welcomes any community group to use the space, rent-free.
“I might as well. I’ve already paid to heat the building. I’d rather see it used than sit empty.”
He also expects it to remove some of the stigma surrounding a funeral home.
“It’s getting people comfortable in to the building, because they’re coming in for a different reason, so they don’t necessarily associate it with death. And it makes it a lot easier for them to walk in the front door when they have to.”
Kennedy also notes that with higher rental and insurance costs, a lot of small community groups are going defunct.