Seniors’ group Avens has dedicated a new library to the late Bronwyn Watters and is opening a pub with a connection to Up Here magazine.
The facilities are in the Aven Pavilion, the group’s newest Yellowknife seniors’ residence.
Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held earlier this month.
Bronwyn, a longtime public servant who had served as the NWT’s equal pay commissioner, passed away in June aged 78.
Her family sponsored the library.
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“They felt that the library represented Bronwyn in true fashion,” said Avens chief executive officer Daryl Dolynny, describing her as an avid photographer, poet, writer and reader.
“She had quite a library and the family wanted to give something to dedicate back to the seniors in perpetuity,” he told Cabin Radio. “And what a way to do so in grand fashion.”
“She was my soulmate. We spent all of our time together,” said Andy Langford of his late wife. He and Bronwyn met in Ontario and came to Yellowknife together in 1978.
“I feel it’s a great honour for her, well deserved. I think it’s a wonderful tribute to Bronwyn, her life and her times in Yellowknife,” Langford said.
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Up Here Pub ‘only fitting’
The Up Here Pub is sponsored by Marion LaVigne and Ronne Heming, former owners of Up Here Publishing, which has for decades produced a magazine dedicated to the North.
Dolynny said the pub is expected to open in early 2026 with the help of Ed But, owner of Coyote’s Family Steakhouse.
“When people come visit here, they’ll see many of their iconic Up Here covers. So there’s a lot of history here,” he said of the pub.
“For years, I was on the board of Avens,” LaVigne told Cabin Radio. “When they were planning this Pavilion, one of the things I said is: Those apartments? People live there by themselves, they need places to socialize.
“I thought if I lived there, if there was a hockey game or the Olympics or an election, it’s fun to go and get together with other people and have a beer or even a coffee. So I lobbied a little bit to have a pub added to this whole complex.
“I thought it only fitting that Ronne and I, as the previous owners of Up Here, should be the sponsors of this pub. So we called it the Up Here Pub.”
The pub and library join an existing sewing room, theatre, games room and gymnasium.
“We don’t want to warehouse people,” said LaVigne. “We want to make sure they’re out enjoying life and having a lot of things to do.”
She now wants to start a once-a-week storytelling night at the pub, “because there are a bunch of us who’ve been around here for a long time who have a lot of good stories about the North.”
Jasmine Nasogaluak contributed reporting.
