I just went to a show at Village Guitar on Friday July 3rd. The music was amazing but it was overshadowed by some pretty serious racial profiling that ruined my whole experience. Although I was told by the owner that this establishment is "not a bar", they do serve alcohol and there were drunk people in the building. The door to the building was wide open and during the set (which, as I say, was wonderful) people were dancing and having a great time. A First Nations man walked into the building shortly after I sat down and he began to dance. He wasn't shouting or causing a scene. He was simply dancing to the music being played (as were other patrons). After about 10 seconds, the owner walked over and immediately escorted the man out of the building. No one said a word. My friend and I were confused. What exactly did this man do? Why was he being removed? So I went over to the owner and asked what happened. Maybe he knew the man. Maybe he saw something I didn't. The owner explained to me that he knew this man was very drunk and that he "didn't belong". I pointed out that this was a bar and open to the public but I was quickly corrected. Apparently Village Guitar is not "going for that kind of vibe" and he insisted that if I were to act that way he would remove me as well. I still didn't understand what exactly this man was doing in the first place. The owner said he'd been in this business for 4 years and that he knew this man would get out of control and he didn't want him smashing his head and the Liquor Board shutting him down. I can see that point but they were serving alcohol. The man they kicked out was not any more out of control than I was. Needless to say I was disappointed by this local business owner, disgusted by his assumptions and exclusion, and I won't be returning. read more
