Southampton Princess on October 30, it will mark the end of an era.

The lights of the huge Empire Room will dim and the nightly spectacle and the sound of music -- created by some of the world's biggest stars -- will become but a memory.

At the end of this month, the nightclub will close to make way for a new conference centre.

As befits the Island's premier night spot, the Empire Room is bowing out in spectacular style.

All summer, tourists and locals have been flocking to see Greg Thompson's Follies in their last fling, a nostalgic backward glance down memory lane which features highlights from some of their most popular shows.

For the whole of October, the Southampton Princess is offering substantial reductions on admissions for both the show and the dinner/show package.

Every guest will also be eligible for the Grand Prize Lottery, to be drawn on the final night of the show, October 30, which offers the chance of a trip for two to the Scottsdale Princess in Arizona.

The lottery draw will take place amidst what Southampton Princess officials are describing as the "biggest bash'' in the Empire Room's 21-year history.

The very last Follies line-up will be celebrated with a gigantic Halloween Party. Guests are urged to come in costume and there will be prizes for the prettiest, the scariest and the funniest. Adding to the fun will be The Steelers band and magician Phelston Jones.

Over the last couple of decades, the Empire Room stage has hosted some of the biggest names in show biz to entertain visitors and locals.

It was singer Frankie Avalon who was chosen to open the Room and the popularity of that engagement ensured his return every summer for eight years.

Other stellar names include Frankie Laine, The Drifters, Phyllis Diller, The 5th Dimension, Lionel Hampton, Mary Wilson, Ben E. King, James Darin, Nancy Wilson, Reveen, Jim Bailey, Lou Rawls and Command Performance.

The Empire Room also became a focal part of the annual Bermuda Festival, since it was the only venue large enough to accommodate sold-out performances for a long list of artists who have appeared there, such as Victor Borge, Sarah Vaughan, The Kingston Trio, Cleo Laine and Winton Marsalis.

There are many local groups who were also given their first opportunity to show their talents in a large, nightclub setting. When the Southampton Princess first opened, the Empire Room proved to be a life-line for Bermuda's performers, most of whom were already suffering from the decision by the Island's other hotels to abandon in-house entertainment.

For the remainder of the month, show tickets, which include two drinks, are being reduced to $28 and the four-course dinner show and two drinks will be $49. Reservations for these and the Final Night Halloween Party can be made by telephoning 238-2555.

TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF ENTERTAINMENT -- Some of the familiar names in entertainment that have graced the Southampton Princess' Empire Room over the past 21 years. Clockwise, from top right, The 5th Dimension, a collection of local entertainers who have appeared over the years since 1981, Ben E. King, Frankie Laine, and the cast of Greg Thompson's Follies Solid Gold, 1985. Cast of the Follies Solid Gold, 1985. Frankie Laine. Ben E. King.