After Gala’s Glitter, It’s Cleanup Time

Slowly, from bottom to top, the huge tent pavilions went up. It took 10 days to construct a covered party site for the 3,000 people who attended the gala opening night of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

It will take five days to clean and tear down the makeshift arena. Early Tuesday, the cleanup crew was busy taking down the decorations and the four 30-foot-high tents.

Stained napkins, champagne bottles and corks, even flowers, littered the black outdoor rug that had been spread atop a dirt area across Town Center Drive from the Center.

Carol Campbell, whose Newport Beach firm was responsible for planning and staging Monday night’s post-performance gala, bustled about Tuesday morning directing the crew. She wasn’t enjoying her work.

“This is really depressing,” she said, picking up armfuls of flowers from the black apron. “It was wonderful last night. Everything went off without a hitch. But it’s depressing today.”

She said that all the tents, decorations, music stages and other materials will be taken down slowly and individually, in the reverse order they were mounted.

“Everything went up bottom to top. We will take it down, top to bottom,” Campbell said.

Considering that the party-goers drank champagne and partook of the assortment of hors d’oeuvres and caviar, Tuesday morning’s scene wasn’t too tragic.

There were spots where empty bottles and corks, broken champagne glasses and wet napkins made the place look as if a fraternity had gotten a little too boisterous the preceding night. But, in general, the black rug was relatively free of debris. A small pond, in which two live swans had frolicked Monday night, was still full of water as a few flower petals and pieces of fruit floated on it.

Another monumental task Tuesday was carrying out the remaining large blocks of ice that only hours before had been seven large and beautiful ice sculptures. Workers gingerly placed the partially melted and broken blocks on flat sheets of plywood and carried them away, much like wounded warriors being carried out on a stretcher.

Some people came by and asked Campbell for leftover flowers, which included magnolias, lilies and carnations.

“Sure, help yourself,” replied Campbell, sounding as if every little bit of help counted.

Campbell said she was pleased with the way the project turned out. Two days of rain last week had given her just cause for panic.

“The rain killed us,” she said. “But it was a beautiful night last night. That really helped us.”

Across the street, at the Performing Arts Center, things were much quieter Tuesday. The great hall was empty, and only the work of the stage crew could be heard.

Leontyne Price Concert

Since the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which performed during the Center’s opening night, will accompany Leontyne Price during a concert tonight, there was little to tear down on stage, although the stage crew was maneuvering cables and other wires backstage.

The building’s administrative offices, which were active for almost 24 hours during the days leading to the grand opening of the $70.7-million Performing Arts Center, were quiet Tuesday morning.

Most of the offices were dark. Bruce Hartman, a member of the public relations staff, was groggily clipping out stories and photographs of the opening night from local newspapers.

A secretary, looking just as tired as Hartman, told two visitors not to expect staffers to be too accommodating. Most top officials, she said, would arrive at their offices very late Tuesday.

“Nobody is moving around here this morning,” she said.