NPAC preparing for gala celebration

We are now officially one month away from our BIG “Ten Years of Wow!” Gala Celebration at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio.  A lot of work has gone into this celebration in the planning stages and we are now getting to the details.  I want to just paint a picture for you of what you can expect on April 1.

The day will start for 200 guests at Willow Bend Country Club at 5 p.m. for a Happy Hour leading up to the dinner. Sometime before we are served dinner, a few honored guest speakers will share thoughts and perspectives of how we got started, how we’ve grown and how we look forward to the exciting future of the Niswonger. We also have a very special publication we have prepared just for our guests with the history of the Niswonger with all kinds of fun facts. The attire for the occasion is optional black tie. Formal attire will be the dress for some, while others may want to be a little less formal.  Either is fine.

Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and will be the kind of meal befitting the occasion. I told the country club I wanted the meal to be one of the finest they have served!  We still have room for about ten more guests at the tables. If you want to be a part of this pre-concert event, call the box office immediately. We would love to have you share in our celebration.

After a delicious dinner at Willow Bend, we will make our way to the Niswonger for the 8 p.m. Gala Concert with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and Bernadette Peters. Doors to the lobby will open at 6:30 p.m., giving attendees plenty of time to take in the splendor of the decorated Van Wert Federal Grand Lobby.  Pictures will be taken in the upstairs lobby for those concert attendees who would like a memento of the evening.

The Visual Arts Committee of the Niswonger has been busy designing and planning a festive look for the Lobbies.  I am sure it will be beautiful inside and out and you will want to take it all in.  There will be much to see, plus you will want to visit with friends who are travelling from all over the country to be with us that night!  You will also enjoy beautiful music in the lobby as you await the opening of the doors to the Van Wert County Foundation Saltzgaber Music Hall.

After a brief curtain talk from a special guest or two, Maestro Keith Lockhart will give the downbeat to The Boston Pops playing the overture from “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” This will be followed by the very descriptive and beloved Gershwin piece “An American in Paris.”  We will then welcome pianist, Michael Chertock to the stage for the all-time favorite “Rhapsody in Blue.”  Following a 20-minute intermission, Broadway, film, TV star, actress and singer Bernadette Peters will join the Boston Pops for a memorable second half.  Be ready for some special surprises during Bernadette’s portion.  Then at the conclusion of the show, be ready for a finale like none you’ve ever seen before.

Once the concert has concluded, we take the celebration to the Wassenberg Art Center for our Afterglow Party. There will be lots of fun surprises in store as well as delicious hors devours and music provided by the Paul Keller Trio out of Detroit.  We will have the chance to casually mingle and visit with friends, make new friends, and enjoy food, drinks and other activities throughout the night.  Stay as long as you can, we have until 1 a.m. if you can make it!  The Afterglow is also on sale through the box office and on-line.

We still have some good seats available for the Gala Concert and Afterglow.  Get them now and be a part of our “Ten Years of Wow!” celebration.  You will never forget it.

Don’t forget, it will “Rain” on Monday, March 6, at the Niswonger PAC. Broadway’s “RAIN — a Tribute to The Beatles” will be performing at 7:30 p.m.  I see 12 available seats for this performance as I look today.  I’m not sure if it will continue to rain by Saturday, March 11, but it will be an Artrageous night at the Niswonger.  Don’t miss Artrageous, the live concert and portrait painting extravaganza.  Tickets are still available for this unique concert experience.

Well, that about wraps up this week with Music in Van Wert.  Good luck to those local school bands and choirs competing at District Contest this weekend at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center and Van Wert High School!

FINÉ.