After 17 years in business, Toronto’s legendary venue The Guvernment and Koolhaus Entertainment Complex will close its doors for good. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Fly nightclub will also close its doors, creating a vacuum of circuit party and gay dance party venues in the city.
Word of the closure came down the pipeline via a press release in which CEO and founder of Ink Entertainment, Charles Khabouth, the man behind The Guvernment, says the mega complex will close permanently as of Jan 31, 2015.
“It makes me proud to see how far we’ve come,” Khabouth says. “The Guvernment is one of my proudest achievements and after such a long-lasting journey with such fond memories, we want to thank all those who made it possible and shared in our successes.”
The Guvernment and its neighbouring venues Koolhaus, Haven, The Gallery, Surface, Chroma and Skybar were home to countless Pride parties and live acts, including Lady Gaga, Scissor Sisters, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, to name a few. It has also hosted political victory parties for Olivia Chow and George Smitherman, who begrudgingly came onstage with his late husband and adopted child in tow to concede to Rob Ford in 2010.
Avid fans of live entertainment needn’t fret, as Ink Entertainment will continue to book exciting and cutting-edge live acts at Tattoo Queen West and Sound Academy. In the meantime, The Guvernment will begin throwing a number of bashes to celebrate its reign as one of the most popular clubs in Canada, with a grand closing weekend leading up to the end of January. Khabouth says he will be working closely with promoters and DJs to ensure they go out with a bang.
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