1st legal strip shows held in Saskatchewan
CBC News | Posted: January 6, 2014 1:23 PM | Last Updated: January 6, 2014
Bar in Codette, Sask, had dancers on weekend
Some history was made in Codette, Sask. over the weekend as near-nude dancers took to the stage in one of the first bars to allow strippers since the new legislation.
The Codette Hotel, about 10 kilometres south of Nipawin, will be hosting shows there every second weekend for the next three months.
The weekend shows attracted patrons from as far away as Prince Albert, but locals went as well.
Cass Griffin, who lives in Codette, said it was good entertainment value and it might even boost the local economy in an area that's been strugging.
"This is actually bringing life back to this town, and for the town it's a good boost," Griffin said.
The new legislation does not allow for full nudity in bars; women aren't allowed to expose their nipples.
Bar owner Bryan Baraniski believes he is the first to hire strippers since the rules changed. He said he's surprised more bars haven't.
"Probably the other bars are just waiting for me to take all the heat off them," he said. "Some people just think that it's not the right thing, you get girls into the industry, you know, it's going to lead to other things," Baraniski said.
Most of the feedback so far has been positive, he said.
The end of the stripping ban was one of dozens of changes to Saskatchewan's liquor laws that the province has brought in over the past year, in a bid to reduce red tape and boost the economy.