Bars

Trance Dance Club to open in Erie

Erie's newest dance club—Trance —is expected to open in mid-August.

Owner Lee Edmondson and his partner, Tim Omniewski, have known each other since 1975. They have been looking to open a club for the past eight years. After the couple sold their lakefront property ("The Pines") and Lee sold his business in south Florida, the timing was finally right.

They purchased the Case Management building, located at 1607 Raspberry Street, and are renovating the property. "We will have a state of the art sound system and light show in the main bar," says Lee. "And there will be a quiet Martini bar in the rear of the complex. Also, as a get-a-way, there will be a patio bar."

Lee is originally from Erie but has been a hairdresser, in south Florida, for the last 20 years. He prides himself on his volunteer work in the West Palm Beach gay community. He hosted the "Carnival for Life" and produced variety shows featuring the Palm Beach ballet center, that benefited missing children, MDA, Leukemia Society, and the Stop AIDS Project. He also had his own gossip column in the "Friendly Voice", and "Hot Spots" magazine, which reached Key West to Orlando. He is anxious for "Trance" to become a focal point in Erie's gay community.