Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity: Colorado State Celebrates the Grand Opening of the University Center for the Arts Oct. 16

WHAT: Colorado State University celebrates the completion of the $41 million University Center of the Arts with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

WHEN: Noon-3 p.m. Oct. 16.

Noon-1 p.m. – The campus and local communities are invited to attend a free barbecue while the CSU Pep Band plays spirited tunes.

1-1:30 p.m. – Ribbon-cutting ceremony with remarks from CSU President Larry Penley; Ann Gill, dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Taylor Smoot, president of the Associated Students of Colorado State University; and Michael Thaut, co-director of the School of the Arts.

1:30 p.m. – A Fort Collins High School alumni "Alma Mater Sing" will take place on the UCA’s grand staircase.  

1:30-3 p.m. – Community open house.

One of three oversized Campbell’s Tomato Soup Cans signed by Andy Warhol has returned to campus and now is on display in the UCA Sculpture Gardens.

WHERE: Front steps of the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St., Fort Collins, Colo., 80523.

DETAILS:

The UCA project was completed in three phases that began in 1995 when Fort Collins High School closed its doors and the university purchased the building.

The new 330,000-square-foot facility provides five state-of-the-art performance venues: the Griffin Concert Hall, the University Theatre and Studio Theatre in the Bohemian Theatre Complex, the University Dance Theatre and the Casavant Organ Recital Hall.

Additionally, the UCA houses 11 classroom and seminar rooms; composition, computer, and piano labs; the largest instrumental rehearsal hall in the state; ensemble and performance libraries; two large acting labs; a computer-aided design lab, or CAD; costume and scenic shops and storage; three dance studios totaling more than 6,500 square feet; 36 soundproof rehearsal rooms; and teaching studios, offices and support spaces.

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