Couple transforms Interlake community into art hub, live music 'meeting place'

A trio plays a cover of The Eagles hit Take it Easyas a dozen people settle in foranintimate open mic night inside Derrick McCandless and Dawn Mills's cozy spot off highways 6 and 68 in Manitoba's Interlake.

Strings of antique-style light bulbs cast a soft glow over the mandolin, banjo and dobro guitarthat hang on a wall behind the band. An array of pottery shaped in-house by Mills dots the shelvesbehind the audience.

The Eriksdale Music& Custom FrameShop is full of tchotchkes like an Elvis Presley Boulevard street sign and vintage Orange Crush ad that create therustic country-living vibe the couple dreamt up before buying and transforming the vacantspace over the past three years.

"I have met so many people in this community through them that I probably wouldn't have ... because of this hub," says Mills's cousin Dana-Jo Burdett.

Mills and McCandless are bringing people together in theirrural community in more ways than onethough a return to Mills's hometown wasn't always in the cards.

The couple met in Winnipeg in 2011 while McCandless was playing a party at Mills's cousin's place. They had plans to settle in the Okanagan in McCandless's home province of B.C. until he suffered a health scare. After that, they decided to head back to the Prairies.

WATCH | McCandless and Mills channel creative spirit into Eriksdale community:

Couple transform Manitoba Interlake community into music, art hub

6 months ago

Duration 4:07

Dawn Mills and Derrick McCandless host the RogerKimLee Music Festival in the Manitoba Interlake community of Eriksdale. They also turned a long-vacant space in town into a live music venue, instrument repair and sales store, and pottery and framing services shop.

It was the height of the pandemic in fall 2020 when the pair relocated to Eriksdale, about 130 km northwest of Winnipeg. They bought the old Big Al's shop,once a local sharpening business that was sitting vacant.

"He was an icon in the community. He was a school teacher. He did a drama program here," said Mills. "He brought a lot to the town."

The building has become their own personal playground andlive-in studio.

"It keeps evolving and we keep changing it and every room has to serve multi-function," says Mills. "It's a meeting place."

While they love the quiet life of their community, they're also a busy couple.

McCandless is a multi-instrumentalist with aformer career in the Armed Forcesthat took him all over.Now, he'sa shop teacher in Ashern whosells and fixes instruments out of the music shop.

WATCH | McCandless plays an original song:

Derrick McCandless plays an original tune at music shop in Eriksdale, Man.

6 months ago

Duration 3:01

Derrick McCandless plays one of his original songs on acoustic guitar at the Eriksdale Music & Custom Frame Shop in March 2024.

Mills helped found Stoneware Gallery in 1978 the longest running pottery collective in Canada. Sheoffers professional framing services and sells pottery creations that she throwsin-studio.

They put on open mic nights and host a summer concert series on a stage next door they builttogether themselves. They're trying to start up a musicians memorial park in Eriksdaletoo.

One of their bigger labours of love is in honour of McCandless's good friends Roger Leonard Young, David Kim Russell and Tony "Leon" or Lee Oreniuk. All died within months of each other in 2020-2021.

"That was a heart-wrenching year," McCandless says.

They channeled their grief into something good for the community and started the RogerKimLee Music Festival.

Friends from Winnipeg and the Interlakehelped them put on a weekend of "lovely music, lovely food, lovely companionship" as a sort of heart-felt send off, said Mills.

That weekend it poured rain.Festival-goersended up in soggy dog piles on the floor of the music shop to dry out while Mills and McCandless cooked them sausages and eggs to warm up.

"It was just a great weekend," says McCandless. "At the end of that, that Sunday, we just said that's it, we got to do this."

Mills says the homey community spirit on display during that inauguralyear is what the couple has been trying to"encourage in people getting together" ever since.

The festival has grown to include a makers' market, car show, kids activities, workshops, camping, beer gardens, good food and live music.

This summer, Manitoba acts The Solutions, Sweet Alibi and The JD Edwards Bandare on the lineup Aug.16-18.

Burdett has been a part of the growth, helping with branding, social media and marketing. McCandless and Mills's habit of bringing people together has also rubbed off on Burdett.

"There's more of my people out here than I thought, and I am very grateful for that," says Burdett.

Their efforts to breathe new artistic life into Eriksdale caught the attention of their local MLA.

"The response from family and friend and community has been outstanding," Derek Johnston (Interlake-Gimli) said during question period at the Manitoba Legislature in March.

"The RogerKimLeeMusic Festival believes music to be a powerful force for positive social change."

Dolly Lindell, who has lived in Eriksdale for about four decades, said the couple is adding something valuable that wasn't quite there before.

"There's a lot of people that we didn't even know had musical talent and aspirations and this has definitely helped bring it out," Lindell says from the audience as McCandless,Dave Greene and Mark Chuchiewrap their rendition of Take it Easy.

McCandless, 61, said there was a time in his youth where he dreamed of a becoming a folk music star. Nowhis musical ambitions have changed. He'sfocused on using that part of himself to bring people together.

"I think it's that gift that I was given that that needs to be shared," he says. "I don't think I could live without sharing it."

WATCH | Trio plays song at Eriksdale music shop:

Trio plays intimate show to small crowd at Eriksdale music shop

6 months ago

Duration 2:40

Derrick McCandless, Dave Greene and Mark Chuchie play a cover of The Eagles hit Take it Easy at McCandless and Dawn Mills's music shop in Eriksdale in March 2024.