The Arts Center Task Force urges Tri-Cities residents to vote YES for the arts on February 11

The Tri-Cities needs a dedicated performing arts center. 

So says Blake Smith, the Executive Director of the Arts Center Task Force. 

The Task Force has come a long way since our coverage of the nonprofit two years ago. They have worked hard doing research and gathering data to put together a comprehensive business plan and proposal to the Public Facilities District that analyzed the capacity for a performing arts center in this area. They also conducted feasibility studies and gathered comment from many community members to help inform their plans.

The Mid-Columbia Performing Arts Center will have approximately 800 seats, designed for diverse events and accessible to both local and touring performers. “This size is really the right fit for our community,” says Smith. “With our population of just over 300,000, this size of the venue will allow us to keep it working all the time: and that's the goal, to bring all kinds of opportunities  for our community to experience live arts.”

And Smith wants to emphasize that building the Center is an investment in the city of Richland and the Tri-Cities area as a whole. Not only will it bring more music and theatre to the Tri-Cities, but it will also have economic benefits. “All the studies nationally indicate that people who spend money on live arts spend money in other ways. They pay baby sitters, or they all go out for dinner or a drink afterwards.” 

Visit yes4mcpac.org for FAQs and more about the February 11th Mid-Columbia Performing Arts Center ballot measure.

The Arts Center Task Force invites community members to visit yes4mcpac.org for FAQs and more about the February 11th Mid-Columbia Performing Arts Center ballot measure.

The website also hosts a number of videos from people in the community who are in support of the ballot measure that will help make the Mid-Columbia Performing Arts Center a reality.

The ballot measure will only increase sales tax by 0.2% to help fund the construction of the Performing Arts Center. The Task Force will look to private funding and grants to provide the remainder of the $81 million project cost. The facility will most likely be managed by the Art Center Task Force under a public-private partnership, and be built on land near the Hanford REACH Museum. 

The Arts Center Task Force is excited about the cultural and economic opportunities a dedicated Performing Arts Center would bring to the region. “It won’t be ostentatious, but it will have all the technologies that may be lacking in other venues,” says Smith. “We’ll have lighting and sound, and a full-stage fly gallery for scenery changes.”

The patron experience will also be upgraded. Right now, many performances in Tri-Cities are held in a high school auditorium. The Arts Center Task Force says that the new space will do more than have comfortable seating. It will also have variable acoustics, so that different groups with different needs — for instance, a symphony versus a stage play — will have sound that is tailored to the acoustical needs of that specific performance.

Plus, there will be a lounge with concessions. “You can get a glass of wine before the show, or a beer,” says Smith. “We'll have all the amenities in a very comfortable environment, a lot of ample parking, great access from the parking to the building, accessible seating — it really will be built to, or above, the current standards for these kinds of facilities.” 

Local theatre and musical groups will also have access to the Performing Arts Center, including a flexible community room for smaller performances and activities. “We have a deeply valued partnership with the Ballet, the Symphony, the Mastersingers, and the Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre group,” says Smith. “They have advocated for the Center, supporting our efforts every step of the way. We are excited for them to fully utilize the space.”

Smith says that supporting local arts is — and will remain — one of the largest priorities of the Arts Center Task Force. To that end, they maintain a weekly community arts calendar on their website: artscentertaskforce.com. They also make their studio space, called The Studio on Symons Street, available to local groups and arts organizations. “We want to continue to be advocates for arts and culture at the legislative level and at the community level,” he says.

“This has the ability to really turn the Tri-Cities into an arts and culture hub.”

Learn more about the Mid-Columbia Performing Arts Center at: yes4mcpac.org/faqs 

Sara Quinn is the Editor-in-Chief at Tumbleweird and serves on the board of Tri-City Area Gaming. She lives with her amazing spouse (Brendan), and her doggos (Jewel and Ruby). Sara makes art, writes stuff, reads A TON, and plays a lot of video games. 💜