Electronic dance music party planned for a Windsor aircraft hangar - but it's not a rave - Action News
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Windsor

Electronic dance music party planned for a Windsor aircraft hangar - but it's not a rave

It's the second summer for 'The Hangar', an EDM festival to be held Aug. 17 inside the Canadian Aviation Museum, near the Windsor airport. Organizers will transform the historic aircraft hangar into an electronic dance music club.

'The Hangar' scheduled for Aug. 17 at the Canadian Aviation Museum near Windsor airport

Electronic dance music party planned for historic aircraft hangar

2 months ago
Duration 2:11
A rave at the Canadian Aviation Museum near Windsor's airport? Organizers of the Aug. 17 event prefer to call it an 'EDM festival.' Matt Cantagallo of Spacebarn Promotions and EDM fan Daniel Leja talk about the upcoming party.

An aircraft hangar near Windsor's airport will be filled with pulsing electronic beats and digital light displays thisweekend.

But don't call it a rave.

"Sometimes the word 'rave' can have a negative connotation," saidTim Ghertsos of SOTC Productions,one of the organizers.

"It can be a bit of a blocker. Sometimes people who maybe don't really realize what's happening at this type of event, they might just kind of look at the word 'rave' and get the wrong idea."

Ghertsosand fellow organizer Matt Cantagalloof Spacebarn,a promotion company,prefer to call the party an electronic dance music (EDM) festival.

A man in an aircraft hangar.
Matt Cantagallo, of Spacebarn promotions, stands inside the hangar of the Canadian Aviation Museum on Airport Road in Windsor. (Dalson Chen/CBC)

"When you hear 'rave,' you think of glow sticks and music in an abandoned building," Cantagallo said. "But we keep it all proper and professional. We bring in the best production The vibes are immaculate."

This is the second summer that 'The Hangar' willbeheld inside the Canadian Aviation Museum, onAirport Road. The event is scheduled for Aug. 17.

The building dates back to the early 1940s, when it was used as part of a training school for Second World War pilots. The museum acquired the facility in the 1990s,filling it with historical aircraft parts and exhibits.

Ghertsosand his partners came up with the idea of holding an EDM event in the hangar after learning that a rock bandhad shot a music video there.

"It's a very cool venue. Having a dance music event amongthe planes and all that history, we get to showcase one of Windsor's tourist attractions," Ghertsossaid.

"We like to do unique locations. Unique venues and spaces."

People gather inside and outside a dance music party at an aircraft hangar.
Outside the EDM event at the Canadian Aviation Museum's hangar in August 2023. (Tyler Johnston/SOTC Productions)

SOTC Productions are also behind an outdoor EDM eventcalled 'The Pier,' regularly held on an extension of Windsor's riverfront beneath the Ambassador Bridge.

But transforming an aircraft hangar into a club has its own set of challenges. To supply the event's sound, SOTC Productions brings itsown system, including an assembly ofhigh-end speakers.

Spacebarn will be setting up LED lightsand digital video walls to display some dramatic visuals.

Cantagalloalso feels thatthe upcoming lineup of house music and techno DJs featuring Los Angeles-based Dillon Nathaniel and Toronto's HNTR will be crowd-pleasing.

A DJ works in front of light displays in front of a crowd of people.
Inside 'The Hangar' EDM event at the Canadian Aviation Museum in August 2023. (Good Times Media)

"Techno is definitely not a fad. It's a driving force. It's easy to listen to, easy to dance to. It's just good music," Cantagallo said.

Local food vendors and locally-produced beer and spirits will keep attendeesrefreshed.

Lastyear's event was an unqualified success, with 500 to 600 people attending. Cantagallo said advance ticket salesfor this year's eventindicate a similar turnout.

According to Windsor EDM enthusiast Daniel Leja, who attended last year's hangar event, the local electronic dance music scene is alive and well.

"There areso many events going on. I'd say probably three or four every month," Leja said. "The people are great. Everyone is so positive. I've never had any negative experiences at these events."

A man stands in an aircraft hangar with historical planes.
The building's uniqueness is part of the reason why organizers chose it as the event's location. (Dalson Chen/CBC)

Leja, 22, is too young to have experienced Windsor'srave culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, when Windsor's own Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) was making an international name for himself

In August 2001, Hawtin headlined a techno event on Windsor's riverfront called the Life Fest, which drew an estimated 4,000 people.

More than two decades later, Leja saidhe greatly respects the genre's history and he's barely aware of negative raver stereotypes such as drug use and sexual misconduct.

"I don't see it in this community. I don't see it at all," hesaid. "I'm there for the music, and the people around me are just incredible."

A man stands under a WW2 plane gun turret.
Matt Cantagallo of Spacebarn promotions stands next to a WW2-era aircraft part at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor. (Dalson Chen/CBC)