LANSDALE - Opening night at the Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts will include performances by the Bucks County Choral Society, the Institute for Dance Artistry and the Robin Haffley Jazz Trio.
Tickets for the performances - scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 - cost $50. Admission to the show and a reception, which will begin at 6 p.m., costs $100.
The opening marks the completion of the first of two phases of the conversion of the Masonic Hall at 311 W. Main St. The initial work included a 210-seat theater, an art gallery and a music education facility.
"We are very excited about opening night," said Diana Scott, president of the North Penn Regional Council for the Arts, the organization responsible for the center's daily operations.
"There is an incredible sense of accomplishment that all of our hard work is coming to fruition," she said. "We hope to have a large turnout so we can share our enthusiasm and this beautiful new facility with the rest of the community."
Several invitations to the "friends of the project" - which include community leaders and public officials - will be sent out soon, according to Deborah Israel, an NPCRA spokeswoman. Israel welcomes the public to purchase tickets for the fundraising event.
Israel said the facility will serve as the home of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony.
The Bucks County Choral Society, directed by Thomas Lloyd, begins its 36th season with an Oct. 19 performance at Trinity Lutheran Church at 1000 W. Main St., Lansdale.
Located in Fort Washington and Lafayette Hill, the Institute of Dance Artistry teaches modern, jazz, ballet, lyrical and hip-hop steps, and also offers pilates and yoga classes.
The council has identified a candidate to oversee the fundraising efforts for the arts center, according to Israel.
She said negotiations are under way to hire that person.
Officials have collected more than a quarter of the $3.45 million necessary to complete the project's second phase, which includes a 455-seat theater on the top floor.
Utilizing a grant from the Montgomery County Revitalization Program in 2004, Lansdale Borough Council purchased the building in 2005.
Two years later, the NPRCA was created to oversee the arts center. Conversion of the structure, which includes more than 20,000 square feet, began in July 2007.
More info:
For more information about the Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts and its opening night festivities, call (215) 361-8312 or visit www.lansdalecpa.org.