The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame has found a permanent home. The non-for-profit group, which opened in 2004, signed its first long-term lease with the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, located in the Stony Brook Village Center.
The leased space is in the organization's 8,800 square foot Education and Cultural Center.
“We are thrilled that the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame has found a permanent home in such a wonderful location,” said Ernie Canadeo, chairman of the Hall of Fame. “It's what we've always wanted. The terms of it are wonderful and it's enabling us to reach more people. We will become a tourist attraction and the exhibits are being designed by Kevin O’Callaghan, who is a world-renowned exhibit designer, so they will be fabulous.”
The Hall of Fame has been using a 38-foot bus it calls the “Mobile Museum” since 2004. The Mobile Museum is a way to bring music history to schools, communities and venues across Long Island. It’s an education tool for students on Long Island and is able to visit more than 100 school districts, including low- to moderate-income areas that might not have the funds and resources to travel to a museum.
The Hall of Fame's new home will still be educational for children, with a library and classrooms for educational programs. It will also have plaques and exhibits recognizing over 100 of its inductees.
“The first exhibit is entitled 'Long Island’s Legendary Club Scene: 1960s-1980s,'” Canadeo said. “We'll also have a permanent Hall of Fame area that will showcase all of our inductees. And we recently changed our mission and our name to include the word entertainment, so we will begin inducting comedians, people from film, theater, TV and the arts.”
Some of their inductees include Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Salt-N-Pepa, Gene Simmons, Mariah Carey and Billy Joel.
The official ribbon-cutting and public opening of the completed space is expected to happen this November. Their lease ends in 25 years.
