Shania Twain Centre facts for kids
| Established | June 30, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | February 1, 2013 |
| Location | Timmins, Ontario, Canada |
| Type | tourist attraction |
| Visitors | 9,151 (2010) |
| Owner | City of Timmins |
The Shania Twain Centre was a special place in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. It was like a museum dedicated to the famous singer Shania Twain, who grew up in Timmins. The centre showed off many cool things, like her awards and personal items, which Shania Twain herself loaned to the centre. It was open from 2001 to 2013.
History of the Centre
The Shania Twain Centre first opened its doors on June 30, 2001.
A few years later, on November 2, 2004, Shania Twain visited the centre herself! Hundreds of fans from all over the world came to see her. Some fans even waited for almost a whole day just to get her autograph and say hello. It was a very exciting day for everyone.
Annual Fan Conventions
From 2003 to 2012, fans of Shania Twain had a special event called the International Shania Twain Fan Convention. They would travel to Timmins every year to celebrate their favorite singer. In 2003, 32 fans attended the first convention.
At the conventions held each August, fans got to enjoy different activities:
- 2004: Two big gifts from Shania Twain were shown for the first time. These were the stage from her "Up" tour and her tour bus! Some of Twain's band members, Cory Churko and JD Blair, also came to the convention.
- 2005: About 100 fans attended this four-day event. Drummer JD Blair and guitarist Randall Waller joined in the fun.
- 2006: Drummer JD Blair and fiddler Allison Cornell attended the convention.
- 2007: 50 fans came to this year's event. They had a karaoke night, a country music party, a mini-golf tournament, and even go-cart races! Drummer JD Blair and guitarist Randall Waller sent messages to the fans.
- 2008-2012: Conventions continued to be held every year. In 2011, fans came from places like the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the United States.
Why the Centre Closed
The city of Timmins helped pay for the Shania Twain Centre to operate. When it first opened, they hoped about 50,000 people would visit each year. However, the number of visitors never went above 15,000.
Because fewer people visited, the city had to spend a lot of money to keep the centre open. In 2011, a study showed that it cost the city about $7 for every person living in Timmins, or $33 for each visitor to the centre. This meant the city was spending a lot of money to support it.
In May 2012, most of Shania Twain's items were moved from the centre back to Las Vegas. This meant there wasn't much left to see. In January 2013, officials in Timmins decided to sell the building because not enough people were visiting.
The land and building were sold to a company called Goldcorp for $5 million. This was half of the $10 million it cost to build the centre. Goldcorp bought it because they planned to create a large open-pit gold mine on the site.
The Shania Twain Centre officially closed on February 1, 2013. City officials said that any items left from the centre would be shown at the city's airport and library. The building itself was taken down on December 3, 2014.
Affiliations
The Shania Twain Centre was connected with several important organizations. These included the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
