Center Celebrates Its 5th Anniversary : Entertainment: Gov. Pete Wilson is among those who turn out to mark the Performing Arts Center’s milestone at swank dinner.

Limousines ringed the Orange County Performing Arts Center as 625 patrons gathered Wednesday to celebrate the Center’s fifth anniversary with a swank dinner where tables for 10 went for up to $25,000.

Proceeds from the black-tie “Starlight Expressions” gala, attended by Gov. Pete Wilson, will be used to underwrite five anniversary activities, culminating with a free, daylong birthday party Sunday.

“Five years from now, we will have a bigger and better Performing Arts Center,” said businessman William Lyon, the Center’s board chairman, during a pre-dinner champagne reception.

The Center was the first major regional arts facility in the country to be built entirely with private funds. It serves as the home of Opera Pacific, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Orange County Philharmonic Society, Master Chorale of Orange County and Pacific Chorale.

In its five-year history, the Center has featured numerous superstar performances, including those by the Paris Opera Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov, opera stars Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti and violinists Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern.

With grand theatrical flair, rainbow-colored lights washed over the guests as they entered the Center’s Segerstrom Hall, and a starlight effect was created with 6 miles of twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling.

Chesapeake blue crab and roast loin of veal were served to patrons who dined on the stage that was extended over the orchestra pit and seats in the auditorium. A “stage on stage” also was constructed for after-dinner performances by entertainers Ann Jillian and Ben Vereen.

The celebration continues at Segerstrom Hall tonight with a Western-themed “Boots & Black Tie” gala, with entertainment by country artists Roger Miller and Hal Ketchum.

Sunday’s birthday party will be staged throughout the Center, including live entertainment, cake and punch, and behind-the-scenes tours of the facility.