WINNIPEG -- Burton Cummings has his own way to rock -- and now he has his own place to do it.

The Walker Theatre was yesterday renamed the Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts by the non-profit board of directors which runs the property.

The move is intended to raise the profile of the theatre, located at 364 Smith St. downtown, as the board embarks on a five-year plan to eliminate the Walker's accumulated $1.8 million debt.

"We considered it inappropriate to sell the naming rights to a heritage building, so we chose to honour Burton with this renaming," said Jack Harper, chairman of the Walker Theatre Performing Arts Group.

"For us, this is the beginning of the process of revitalization of the Walker ... by naming it for an internationally known Winnipeg cultural icon."

Before a crowd which included his mother Rhoda, manager Lorne Saifer, Goldeyes owner (and original restorer of the Walker) Sam Katz, provincial culture minister Ron Lemieux and Mayor Glen Murray, Cummings said he was overwhelmed.

"It's a tremendous honour," he said. "I'm completely, deeply thrilled. I remember coming here when it was the Odeon with my mother. I saw The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night here when it opened in 1964 and when I made a movie of my own (1982's Melanie), we had our Hollywood-type premiere right here.

"To have a theatre named after me, downtown in the heart of my hometown, it's too much ... "

Murray announced a $100,000 grant to the theatre which Harper said his board will use to hire a director of fund-raising and marketing.

The building carries $1.3 million in private debt in addition to $500,000 worth of debt attributable to the Walker Theatre Performing Arts Group Inc. In addition, the theatre is carrying an operating deficit of $180,000 for 2002.

One of the first orders of business for the theatre's new namesake will be to perform a gala fund-raising concert on Thursday, Oct. 3.

Up Close and Alone -- An Evening with Burton Cummings will feature the singer/pianist performing solo and with Toronto band The Carpet Frogs. Ticket information will be announced soon.

Harper also said the new Cummings Theatre will be the permanent home of the Prairie Music Hall of Fame, which was established three years ago by the Prairie Music Alliance. Cummings and the Guess Who, Ian Tyson and Joni Mitchell are the lone inductees.

New signage for the building has not yet been sorted out but the old, green Walker Theatre sign will remain in place, Harper said.