Renovated Arts Center Opens With New Look and Better Acoustics

After nearly 30 years without any major renovations, the Oxnard Performing Arts Center will open its doors today with a new look, state-of-the-art lighting and finer acoustics.

Although its outer decor is still a reminder of late-1960s architecture, gone is the brown and gold paint peeling on the inside walls. The uncomfortable, thin-cushioned green seats and the tattered green carpeting have been replaced with plush, comfortable seating and lush new carpet.

Jack Lavin, the facility’s manager for 22 years, has seen the center at its worst, when audiences would complain about the pain of sitting in the hard seats while listening to a long symphony.

The center’s $650,000 face-lift has been a three-year planning effort that Lavin says will help propel the center into the 21st century. With the center’s new speakers, microphones and amplifiers, Lavin said, the sound will be enhanced.

“The seats were hard; we had duct tape on the carpet,” Lavin said. “We literally wore the carpet out.”

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The center was closed for renovation in July and August but opened for ballet performances in September, Lavin said.

Councilman Andres Herrera, who will perform with his musical group at the official reopening tonight, said it was about time the center got a face-lift.

“This is the grand old lady of performing arts venues,” Herrera said. “And one of the things we felt we had to do is bring it back to its original self. This weekend is going to be a very auspicious occasion.”

The Oxnard Performing Arts Center, formerly known as the Oxnard Civic Auditorium, was the first center of its kind built in Ventura County, according to Lavin.

The decision was made in February 1961 to build a center that would be the cultural center of Oxnard, if not the county.

Even the now-defunct Oxnard Press Courier wrote an editorial in support of the project saying: “Let us dream a bit . . . of public meetings on significant topics, of addresses by leaders of political thought, of plays and dance programs for the enjoyment of thousands.”

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The dreams came true to a certain extent, with the center having hosted more than 2,700 performances, including such greats as the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Russian Ballet and political speakers such as Ronald Reagan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

“This is a very, very important venue between San Francisco and Los Angeles,” Herrera said. “It’s not glitzy but it has a sense of foundation which is very important.”

The center is also a local gathering place, where generations of families have volunteered and performed, Lavin said. Many Oxnard children have been ushers, then held their weddings in the courtyard and later baptized their children at the center, said Lavin.

“It has been a tradition here in the community,” Lavin said. “When the center was first built in 1968, the community kicked in $100,000.”

The center’s show is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Performances will include mariachis; Ixya Herrera, a 16-year-old local singer who has sung with Linda Ronstadt; and a group from Veracruz, Mexico, that includes Andres Herrera.

Tickets range from $10 to $30 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office.

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Oxnard Opening Ceremonies

6:30 p.m.: Reception at the courtyard with strolling mariachis.

7:30 p.m.: Mexico Musical, featuring traditional music from Mexico, including Ixya Herrera, music from Veracruz, Mexico, by the Conjunto Hueyapau and the Mexico City-based trio Grupo Tradicion Mexicana.

Other performers will include the Mariachi Tlaquepaque, the Conjunto Erandi and classical performer Zeferino Nandayapa.

For ticket information, call: 486-2424