gail shea memorial dance hall to be built at stompin’ tom centre in skinners pond, p.e.i.
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gail shea and her family loved spending time at the stompin' tom centre in skinners pond. pictured, left to right, kelly shea rayner, gail shea holding penny shea, stompin' tom connors's late wife, lena connors, and sally harper holding laurel shea.
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when the tunes began to play, gail shea was someone you could always find on the dance floor.
shea grew up in the west prince village of skinners pond, an honour she shared with legendary canadian folk and country musician stompin’ tom connors, who spent most of his childhood there.
in 2017, the community opened the stompin’ tom centre to honour him.
it’s also where the tignish initiative corp. intends to build the gail shea memorial dance hall.
shea, who died in august 2025, was a long-time community builder and former mla and egmont mp. she was also an advocate for, and supporter of, the stompin’ tom centre.
after the facility’s opening, she and her family spent a lot of time there for the regular free concerts, and often, she was the one setting chairs aside to make room to dance.
but if she wasn’t at the centre, shea could often be found spending her time at the beach or on the golf course. not long after her death, many of her friends were anticipating a golf tournament in her honour.
“we were planning on doing a golf tournament anyway,” said kelly shea rayner, shea’s daughter. “mom enjoyed golf, and we thought we would like to raise some money to maybe do for bursaries, or something like that.”
kelly rayner shae, daughter of gail shea, pictured, says that the idea of a dance hall bearing her mother’s name shows just how much the former mp meant to the community.
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so, when tignish initiatives approached the family regarding the expansion plans, they were excited to be a part of it. the golf tournament then became a way to help raise the money needed to make it happen.
“it’s an honour that this is happening,” said shea rayner. “it also just solidifies what we knew already, that she was an important part of the community in west prince and the things that have happened there, over the last however many years…. she’s an important part of a lot of people’s lives, and she’s missed.”
room to dance
for a while, people have been wanting to see a dedicated space for dancing at the stompin’ tom centre, said anne arsenault, general manager and ceo of tignish initiatives, which owns and operates the centre.
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at present, there is not much room for dancing, though it never stopped shea from working with the space she had. she would still get up and tap her toes and move with the music.
“if she was at the centre, at one of the events, she’d be one of the first people up on our very-limited space to dance,” said arsenault. “it just all made sense.”
when plans for the expansion started to become more concrete, it felt fitting to dedicate it to a woman who loved to dance and helped make the centre come to life in the first place.
“she had a few meetings, met with tom and myself on a few occasions when we were in the planning stages,” said arsenault. “and then once it was actually built and open, she really enjoyed her time coming to the centre, to take in the activities and the entertainment.”
former p.e.i. mp gail shea loved to golf. shea died in august 2025, and this year, near the anniversary of her death, her family is hosting a golf tournament in her memory, aiming to raise funds for the gail shea memorial dance hall.
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being able to do something like this in shea’s memory, arsenault said, feels good. she hopes work will get started this fall and for the space to be open for the next season.
to help raise the money for the expansion — which is anticipated to cost a little more than $400,000 — shea’s family and tignish initiatives are holding a few fundraisers. the first is an august golf tournament and then a black-tie dinner show on oct. 3 at the stompin’ tom centre.
lasting legacy
while seeing something permanent go up bearing her mother’s name means a lot for shea rayner, she appreciates even more that it’s something that captures her spirit.
“the gail shea memorial dance hall, it’s fun,” shea rayner said. “it’s what she loved to do. it’s a place to get together, enjoy each other, exercise a little,” she laughed, “while you’re dancing. we’re pretty excited about it.”
to say the gesture is overwhelming would be an understatement for shea rayner. her mother had worked hard on making the stompin’ tom centre a reality and had always wanted a proper dance hall, and she imagines shea would be excited to hear about the dance hall going up in the near future.
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the golf tournament will take place in mill river on aug. 23, just two days past the first anniversary of shea’s death. there will be space for 34 teams, and, as of late may, only half those spots were left, which shea rayner said speaks volumes about the mark her mother left behind.
in life, gail shea could either be found at the beach, on the golf course, or at the stompin’ tom centre. to honour a few things she loved in life, the family and tignish initiatives are joining forces to build the gail shea memorial dance hall at the centre, and are holding a golf tournament and dinner show to raise the funds.
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even beyond the dance hall fundraising, shea rayner said she would love to see the tournament become an annual event.
“she’s missed terribly,” said shea rayner.
“it’s been however many months, now, but we’re feeling it and still trying to figure out how to get through without her. she was the voice of reason for a lot of us, and she was a support for a lot of different ways to people in the community … there’s definitely some holes that haven’t been filled, yet.”
anyone interested in booking a team for the golf tournament, becoming an event sponsor or donating to the cause can find more information on both the mill river resort and stompin’ tom centre websites.
kristin gardiner is a reporter for the journal pioneer in prince edward island. she can be reached at kgardiner@postmedia.com.
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