Yesterday was a day of cleaning and pitching at the Niswonger. I\u2019m sure you do this at your home.\u00a0 You set aside a day of cleaning up and pitching things that have accumulated over the year(s) that you no longer have need of.\u00a0 Well, the same occurs in workplaces; even a performing arts center.<\/p>\n
It has been nine years since we began operating the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.\u00a0Over those years, we have been blessed with little turnover of personnel, although there are some no longer with us and a few new faces.\u00a0One new face we have recently added is in our office area and we need to make room for another desk (workstation).\u00a0 If you have been to the Niswonger in the past few weeks, you may have noticed a young man new to our facility.\u00a0His name is Chris Fader and he is learning our box office, as well as assisting in marketing and sales.\u00a0I will introduce him more at a later date.<\/p>\n
This is all being said to lead up to the motivation of cleaning up and pitching.\u00a0As we were going through the files and drawers, I found many interesting items that made me reflect on our beginnings. One was the Gala Opening Weekend program. We opened with a Gala Weekend of concerts on March 18, 2007.\u00a0 The very first concert on the Central Insurance Stage of the VWCF Saltzgaber Music Hall featured high school musicians from the three schools in the county.\u00a0They were joined on stage by two esteemed Van Wert alumni who have gone on to outstanding music careers.\u00a0 Doug Wolf, a 1971 VWHS graduate, performed with the VWHS Band and Tom Dustman, a 1966 VWHS graduate, joined a combined chorus.<\/p>\n
We followed that Friday night concert with Country music\u2019s Lee Greenwood Saturday night and then on Sunday, appropriately featured Christian artists Sandy Patti and Larnelle Harris.\u00a0Many of you were there for those opening concerts, and you are the ones I really want to talk about.<\/p>\n
I counted over 300 individuals, businesses, organizations, and alumni who gave to the building of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Those names can be seen today under the \u201cGiving Tree\u201d on the west wall of the Grand Lobby.\u00a0A few have passed on since then, but most are still with us and have continued to support our cause with concert attendance, memberships, advertising, underwriting, and various other forms of support.\u00a0It is on the backs of many that we have built our success.<\/p>\n
So many visitors are amazed with what Van Wert has, tucked among the cornfields of the south side of Van Wert.\u00a0It is because of so many of you fine people that we can boast of one of the finest performing arts centers in the Midwest!<\/p>\n
It was interesting to be reminded of a few of the facts of our building, many of which have probably been forgotten. Did you know there are 2,650 wooden panels in the Niswonger, all made from the wood veneer of an anigre tree from West Africa in the Congo area.\u00a0The tree was 8 feet, 10 inches, in diameter and 300 feet tall.\u00a0Over 105,000 pounds of granite went into the building.\u00a0The exterior granite is from Italy while the interior granite in the lobby is from India.\u00a0 The stage area is 3,722 square feet, while the entire music hall encompasses 8,278 square feet.\u00a0 The lobby ceiling reaches a height of 55 feet, 2 inches, and the big window in the front is 33 feet, 4 inches tall.<\/p>\n
There are many other interesting facts, but I think this gives you enough talking points to share with visitors over coffee at the next show.\u00a0 And speaking of the next show, it features two performances of Mamma Mia!<\/i>, one of Broadway\u2019s biggest dance and musical shows of all time.\u00a0 November 24 is mostly sold out and the performance on the 25th is moving swiftly in that direction.<\/p>\n
If the family is coming home for Thanksgiving, why not treat them to a wonderful night of entertainment, Broadway style, and you will have plenty to talk about.<\/p>\n
FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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