The Smith Center for the Performing Arts Celebrates First Anniversary

A vision nearly 20 years in the making The Smith Center for the Performing Arts celebrates one full year of operation on March 10, 2013. In the past 365 days, the center has truly become the Heart of the Arts and has made a name for Las Vegas in the performing arts world.

Noted for "representing Las Vegas' artistic coming of age" by the Associated Press, The Smith Center has ushered in a new era of entertainment and arts education for the Southern Nevada. With its iconic Carillon Tower bells having rung more than 4,380 times over the past year, The Smith Center sits as the flagship of the 61-acre Symphony Park development in Downtown Las Vegas and has become the city's premier cultural icon. Considered a timeless architectural triumph, The Smith Center has hosted more than 220 volunteer-led tours of its Art-Deco campus brining more than 5,500 people through its doors. Additionally, the center's 222 valued volunteers have dedicated a combined 7,748 hours over the past year.

Heralded as "dazzling" by The New York Times and "a cultural oasis" by The Los Angeles Times, The Smith Center has garnered an impressive roster of accolades since opening including a LEED Gold certification for is sustainability efforts, a nomination as the "Best New Major Music Venue" in the U.S. by Pollstar, a "Best Cultural Attraction" award by the Southern Nevada Hotel Concierge Association, a Pinnacle Award from the Marble Institute of America for the facility's natural stone use and the Mayor's Urban Design Award for its architecture and sustainability.

To mark the first year anniversary, the Nevada Legislature honored The Smith Center for "enabling Southern Nevada to take its place on an international stage, celebrating artistic excellence, education and culture from around the world," and declared the 10th day of March as "Day of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts" in the State of Nevada.

"It has been a monumental year for us as both an organization and a city," said MyRon Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center. "The performers that have called The Smith Center their home in Las Vegas truly represent the best-of-the-best from across the world and we're just getting started. This past year was incredible but what's to come is even better."