Cottage Event Center announces final shows, to close permanently

The Cottage Event Center in Roanoke will feature musical duo She Shed on December 3 for their Holiday Concert benefitting Toys for Tots. The Moon Cats, an oldies band, will perform at the annual New Year’s Eve event, which includes a prime rib dinner.

The facility also revealed the Event Center, operated by Hamilton Hospitality Group LLC and open since March of 2012, will cease operations permanently following the New Year’s Eve celebration.

The owners of the facility, Gale Mann and Jim Amstutz, have appreciated the support of the community throughout the business tenure. Besides the numerous private events held, they have enjoyed being a polling place for elections, hosting Red Cross blood drives and fundraisers for a variety of non-profit organizations, often at reduced or no rent.

Although still profitable, several reasons led to the decision to close, including cancellations of many large events and the reluctance to plan gatherings due to COVID-19 concerns, along with difficulties getting supplies, increased costs such as insurance and licensing fees and labor issues. The increased amount of time and energy by a very small staff, including family and friends, made the task of running the business extremely difficult. This made the choice to slow down and look toward retirement the logical one.

To avoid any customers finding themselves without a venue without sufficient time to rebook elsewhere, The Cottage Event Center stopped accepting bookings for 2022 a number of months ago, and notified those with 2022 bookings the facility would be unavailable. The owners emphasized they are still accepting bookings for the remainder of 2021, and will honor all reservations until the end of this year.

She Shed is an all-female duo comprised of vocalist Jana Debusk and keyboardist Carly Ingalls. The concert will include traditional and contemporary holiday music. Tickets are $12. Attendees are encouraged to donate a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots to distribute to needy area children. Pasta dinners will be available for purchase prior to showtime.

Performing hits by artists ranging from Elvis, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly to The Beatles, Chubby Checker and Willie Nelson, The Moon Cats will perform music from the ’50s & ’60s for The Cottage Event Center’s New Year’s Eve Dinner Show. Tickets are $49, and include a prime rib dinner.

The Moon Cats are made up of Mark Most, lead vocalist; Michael Miller, lead guitar & vocals; Matt Butler, bass & vocals and Scott Herzog, drums. Prior to forming The Moon Cats, Most and Butler were members of the popular band Surrender Dorothy who opened for big name acts like Mitch Ryder, Gary Lewis & The Playboys and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ front man Mark Lindsey. The concert will raise funds for Oak Hill Farm.

Besides hosting weddings, parties, bridal and baby showers and banquets, entertainment has been a big part of The Cottage Event Center’s nearly ten years of operation. Among entertainers popular at the venue are The Junkyard Band, Rockabilly Guitarist Kenny Taylor, Country Swing Singer Carolyn Martin, The Alicia Pyle Quartet, Aleena York & Blue Pluto, Sugar Shot, Shannon Persinger & Eric Clancy, Christian Singer-Songwriter Don Wharton, Comedy Magician Jim Barron, Tropical Duos Island Vibe and Two Dudes in Flip Flops, Bower-North Comedy Murder Mysteries and vocal ensemble Musicletics. The facility’s first concert was in August of 2012 starring Jimmy Buffet tribute artist Captain Jac.

Tickets for the final two events can be purchased by calling (260) 483-3508, online at cottageeventcenter.com, or at John’s Meat Market in Roanoke.