Politicians, business leaders and lovers of the arts celebrated Wilmington’s newest venue for performances Saturday evening when they gathered downtown for the grand opening gala and first-ever show at the Cape Fear Community College Humanities and Fine Arts Center.
With famed singer and actress Liza Minnelli providing the inaugural performance for the center, gala attendees drank champagne, dined on hors d’oeuvres and talked about how the new stage will finally give the Wilmington area a venue that can host touring Broadway shows.
This type of venue was something Wilmington’s thriving arts community simply didn’t have.
“And now we do,” said New Hanover County Commission Chairman Jonathan Barfield Jr. during the gala, adding that he planned to attend several events at the center, including this week’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” the first touring Broadway production at the venue. “I’m glad the community came together for this. I can’t wait to see the inside of the theater.”
While the 150,000-square-foot center is more than seven years in the making, the idea of bringing a premier touring venue to Wilmington has been around longer than that. Ashley Miller, director of the Cape Fear American Heart Association, said she was on a committee in 2007 that considered, and ultimately rejected, the concept of building a performing arts center in Wilmington.
It was the voter-approved $164 million 2008 New Hanover County bond that provided the funds for the arts center and two other buildings to expand Cape Fear Community College. Construction began in 2013 on the building, which includes a 1,500-seat theater in addition to classrooms, studios and offices.
What makes the CFCC arts center different from other venues in town, such as historic Thalian Hall, is the loading dock that can accommodate the semi trucks needed to bring touring Broadway shows to the region, Miller said.
“Wilmington has a precious jewel with this theater,” CFCC President Amanda Lee told the crowd before the first performance.
For many local fans of performing arts, the new facility provides a more convenient alternative to the two-hour drive to the Durham Performing Arts Center, where many travel to see touring shows.
The arts center, located on Third Street between Hanover and Brunswick streets, is expected to bring new attention to local live performances and benefit other local venues like Thalian Hall. In welcoming the crowd to the Humanities and Fine Arts Center, the venue’s director Shane Fernando referred to Thalian Hall as “our big sister.”
Gala chair Sandy Spiers said the new venue will help expand the arts community in Wilmington, potentially helping all establishments in the area, similar to how adding new restaurants in a neighborhood draws in more diners.
“This center doesn’t compete with Thalian Hall, it complements it,” Spiers said. “We’re going to be a place that people come for the arts.”
Arts fans that want to get a look at the new facility can attend Artsplosion on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free event will feature a variety of artists, including performances by CFCC students.
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