The groundbreaking for a new daycare and headquarters for the Lucknow and District Kinsmen Club takes place Saturday, after a cold and wet spring delayed construction.
Rick McMurray, a Kinsmen member and Co-Chair of Lucknow’s Music in the Fields, pointed out the project will take place at Graceland, the site of Music in the Fields and the Dungannon Super Pull and Demo Derby.
"And the one half to the North will be our clubhouse and will be storage for all of our materials. It's kind of like a warehouse, and we'll have a kitchen and washrooms and facilities like that. And then during the event for Music in the Fields, it'll be our hospitality area where we feed and look after all our staff and the technicians in the band. And the second half will be a daycare center that will be managed by Unique Minds in Lucknow," McMurray explained. "They'll essentially be renting that side of the building from us, and that space is desperately needed because there's just not enough space in Lucknow for all these children that need daycare."
McMurray added that the Kinsmen will also be able to use the daycare space during the huge Music in the Fields festival.
"One thing we need are green rooms for all the bands," he continued. "We need about six or seven rooms, and during the festival, the daycare will be shut down yearly, and we'll be using the rooms there for our green rooms for the bands."
“The Kin Canada motto is ‘Serving the Community’s Greatest Need,’ and childcare is an increasingly vital need for stability and growth in many communities like ours," he added. "This project will significantly enhance our infrastructure for the Lucknow and District Kinsmen Club and the events we produce while also opening new opportunities for local events and partnerships, initiatives like after-school programs for our youth, and a lot more.”
"The Finlay family is very excited with this opportunity to further benefit the community of Lucknow and its surrounding area in the growing need for childcare services," stated Joan Finlay, Director and Co-Owner of Unique Minds. "We look forward to working with the Lucknow Kinsmen to see this vision become a reality."
Unfortunately, McMurray doubted the construction will be complete for this year's Music in the Fields, but he hoped they would be able to use part of the new facility.
To date, Lucknow and District Kinsmen Club has donated over $1.7 million to organizations and causes serving the Village of Lucknow and its surrounding communities. The majority of those contributions are generated through the Dungannon Super Pull and Demo Derby and Lucknow’s Music in the Fields, which are slated to return to Graceland later this year from June 13-14 and August 21-23, 2025, respectively.
He revealed camping is already sold out for Music in the Fields, which attracts up to 8,000 people every year. The Superpull is usually attended by over 6,000.
McMurray added they have been planning for the new facility for over two years and fundraising to cover the $1.5 to $2 million cost of the new headquarters.