Groundbreaking Kicks off on October First Friday

A traditional groundbreaking complete with hardhats and shovels will take place at 4 p.m. on the new performing arts center site on Oct. 6, 2006. The public and invited guests will gather at 17th and Wyandotte to watch the earth move. Guests will also hear brief remarks from Julia Irene Kauffman, Mayor Kay Barnes and design team leaders Moshe Safdie, Richard Pilbrow and Yasuhisa Toyota.

From 5 to 8 p.m. the action moves to the old fire station at 19th and Central (and a nearby parking lot) to become part of the First Friday festivities. You’re invited, and here’s what you can expect:

• A tenth-scale model of the concert hall is being built in the old fire station at 215 W. 18th Street. The public will be invited inside to take a sneak peek at this model under construction which will be used to test acoustics and perfect design concepts. The model is no tiny treasure: it will be 15 feet high and 18 feet wide.
• A stage will be erected in the parking lot at TakeTwo Productions at 1906 Wyandotte to accommodate the steady stream of entertainment that will take place throughout the evening. Enjoy musicians from the Kansas City Symphony, dancers from the Kansas City Ballet, a bit of drama from Lyric Opera performers. And that’s not all, as representatives of other arts groups are being lined up now.
• Meet the Ambassador volunteers and learn how you can become involved.

If you’re at First Friday on September 1st, keep your eye out for Ambassadors in special blue t-shirts. They’ll be drumming up interest in the groundbreaking activities, handing out invitations and showing some off-the-wall-video projections.