Harris Center to Celebrate 5th Anniversary in March

Five years ago in 2011, a $50 million performing arts center opened on the Folsom Lake College campus. Perched on the side of a prominent hill in Folsom, the venue held three distinct stages under one roof. It promised both a home for regional arts organizations and a venue for international touring artists. It was to be an arts laboratory for students and campus faculty alike; for the broader community, the facility was to be a jewel in its crown. The opening performance on February 11 was, fittingly, the national tour of "A Chorus Line," the beloved Broadway play celebrating those hearty souls who pursue a life on stage.

The past five years has seen a whopping 1500+ performances and 750,000 visitors to the Harris Center for the Arts, with over $20 million in tickets sold. The impact of the Harris Center extends beyond the box office: since opening in 2011, the total economic impact of the Harris Center's operations on the Sacramento region has already exceeded $45 million. (Source: Americans for the Arts Economic Impact calculator)

Kicking off the Center's Fifth Anniversary celebration is Razzle Dazzle, a gala reception preceding a free screening of the film CHICAGO on Thursday, March 3, 2016. The reception runs from 5:30-8:00 pm at the Harris Center, followed by the film screening at 8:00 pm. With a 1920s theme, the fun-filled evening will include a gourmet food and wine tasting reception featuring El Dorado County wineries and delicacies of 10 local restaurants, a silent auction, and entertainment provided by jazz pianist Bob Ringwald, saxophonist Jerry Fairlie, the Valley Ukulele Society and the Footloose Tap Company. Razzle Dazzle is sponsored by Kikkoman, Kaiser Permanente and Arner & Horn Certified Public Accountants.

Six additional free screenings of the motion picture CHICAGO continue through the weekend (March 4-6) as part of the celebration. Based on the musical by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb, and starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah, the motion picture version of CHICAGO received six Academy Awards in 2003 and was the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968. The screenings will be at the original performance times planned for the live touring production of CHICAGO, the engagement for which was recently shifted to August 18-21, 2016 at the request of the show's tour management. Admission to the PG-13 screenings is free, but tickets are required and can be obtained online or at the Harris Center's ticket office.

The Celebration also includes an exhibit about the Center's first five years in the Bank of America Art Gallery running through March 13, as well as an Open House for the community on March 12 featuring backstage tours, tech talks demonstrating the theatre's technical stage systems, and an Arts Organization Fair highlighting local community groups that perform in the Center. On March 23, the Army's Jazz Ambassadors Big Band from Washington, DC will perform a free concert reviewing 100 years of jazz music (admission is free, but tickets are required for the 7:30 pm performance).

The state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. "The Mondavi Center and Folsom's Harris Center both ... boast extraordinary facilities as well as arts-presenting organizations that fill their schedules" (from an op-ed by Sactown Magazine's co-publisher Rob Turner as quoted in the Sacramento Bee).

The journey to build the regional performing arts center began in 2002 with the passage of Measure A and Proposition 47. Together, they provided funding to expand building of facilities for Folsom Lake College, including initial funds for a theater. A feasibility study followed in 2003 validating the need for a facility that could also serve as a regional arts center for the general community, and a formal proposal for such a facility was approved by the Los Rios Community College District in 2004. Construction began in 2008, and by November, 2010, the venue was ready to begin selling tickets. The facility opened as Three Stages at Folsom Lake College on February 11, 2011 with a performance of "A Chorus Line." In August, 2012, the facility's name was changed to the Harris Center for the Arts, honoring LRCCD Chancellor Brice Harris at the time of his retirement.

From the start, the Center has been widely recognized, receiving the Sacramento Region Builders Association Project of the Year in 2011, the Sacramento Business Journal's Community Impact award for 2011-2012, the International Association of Business Communicators Sacramento Region First Place Crystal Awards for both Brand and Marketing Communications, and the Arts and Business Council of Sacramento's Arts Management Excellence Award in 2012, as well as annual "Best of" awards from regional media.

Dave Pier was appointed Executive Director of the Harris Center in early 2010. "We opened in the shadow of a serious recession, and while the economics of the arts is never easy, I think our impact on the regional arts scene and broader community has been pronounced. I'm proud of the Center's hard-working staff, of the over 1500 volunteers that have lent a hand since we opened, and of the work of our community partners and college students and faculty. Most of all, I'm impressed with and touched by the community which has embraced the Center and its programs so warmly. At every performance our patrons' enthusiasm and love of the arts is evident. They have made possible the creation of the Center and the sustenance of a comprehensive presenting program, a robust schedule of regional artistry, and the ever-evolving Folsom Lake College campus productions which call the Center their home."

For more information and tickets, patrons should visit www.HarrisCenter.net or contact the Harris Center Ticket Office directly at 916-608-6888.

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