Anniversary Celebration Just the Ticket for Plaza’s 1 Millionth Customer

Connie Harman went to see a musical Thursday night at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and expected to see spotlights. But not on her.

Surprise.

Harman and her husband, Gary, attended the Cabrillo Music Theater’s production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” at the 400-seat Forum Theater to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary, which falls on Valentine’s Day. Without warning, the couple received an early anniversary gift. Several, actually.

Harman, a Thousand Oaks resident for past 10 years, became the 1 millionth patron at the Civic Arts Plaza since it opened Oct. 21, 1994, and she was showered with a reception fit for a queen.

“I said ‘Wait a minute, I don’t even play the lottery, because I don’t have any luck,’ ” said Harman, who described her age as “fortysomething.”

“I feel so special,” she said moments after being announced as the winner.

Theater officials said the customer milestone came about a year and a half earlier than was predicted.

Harman, who, along with her husband owns Joy’s gift shop in The Oaks mall, gasped when officials identified her by her row and seat number. She instantly jumped from her seat and said, “Thank you!”

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Civic Arts Plaza and Thousand Oaks city officials bestowed Harman--who holds season tickets for the plaza’s 1,800-seat Charles E. Probst Performing Arts Center--with a post-show backstage pass to meet the cast of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ”. Then they loaded her up with a gift basket of sparkling cider, truffles and other edibles, along with a cookie bouquet.

Harman also received a pair of tickets to six upcoming Civic Arts Plaza events, including the New York Theater Ballet on Monday and the Civic Arts Plaza Foundation’s presentation of “Don Juan in Hell,” featuring Ed Asner, on June 6.

“We took the night off to celebrate our anniversary. This is unbelievable,” said Gary Harman.

It was a night of smiles for most of the crowd, including outgoing City Manager Grant Brimhall, whom officials jokingly said engineered the festivities to coincide with his last day at work Thursday.

The $64-million Civic Arts Plaza, which also houses City Hall, has not been without its critics or problems. Some residents have complained that tax money that was lent for the plaza’s construction would have been better used to repair sewage lines throughout Thousand Oaks, one of which recently ruptured. The city also had trouble collecting money pledged from the namesake of its performing arts center and had to threaten a lawsuit.

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But before the Civic Arts Plaza opened nearly 3 1/2 years ago, supporters promised that the Forum Theater and the Probst Center could be operated without a dime of public assistance, and that’s been the case, said Patricia Moore, executive director of the Alliance for the Arts foundation.

Community members and private businesses have so far pledged more than $11 million to the foundation to be used for annual productions, Moore said. The foundation hopes to receive an additional $4 million in pledges by year’s end, she said.

And this week, the foundation announced that it had reached its goal of a $3-million operations endowment to help cover ongoing maintenance costs at the theaters.