Gallo Center, proving skeptics wrong for 10 years, invites you to its birthday party

They built it, and many have come.

So this weekend, Modesto’s Gallo Center for the Arts will open its doors to the public to celebrate a decade of success that some doubted possible and others outright scoffed at back when the downtown venue was proposed.

A free 10-year anniversary open house will be held 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the downtown Modesto arts venue with live entertainment, light refreshments, backstage tours and more. The first 100 guests will receive a commemorative souvenir.

“We want to celebrate our 10 years of being in existence with the community at large,” Chief Executive Officer Lynn Dickerson said. “There have been thousands and thousands of people who helped make (the center) successful over the years.”

Among the highlights will be a chance to see the lively backstage “signature walls,” with hundreds of names signed and artwork created by entertainers who have graced stages in the venue’s Mary Stuart Rogers and Foster Family theaters over the years.

The realization of a dream – and much hard work – by Modesto’s Marie Gallo, the doors opened on Sept. 27, 2007, when Tony Award-winning Broadway diva Patty Lupone kicked off what now stands at more than 2,800 performances.

Dickerson provided a series of statistics from the center’s annual Report to the Community that show the Gallo Center’s impact. The center has sold more than 1.6 million tickets, with an annual average sold at 77 percent – an admirable number for a performing arts venue, she said. A commitment to sharing arts with the region’s youth has brought more than 271,000 students from 386 schools in for performances. And the center’s diversity outreach has seen 30 percent of all its tickets sold to the Latino community.

The Gallo Center’s 200,000 annual visitors have had a $14 million economic impact on downtown Modesto and surrounding businesses, according to the report. Of ticket buyers, 71 percent patronize local restaurants and bars. In addition, 442 local jobs are supported by the center.

Today’s positive numbers belie the controversy and outcry from some in the community two decades ago when funding was being sought for the $48 million venue.

The City of Modesto was to partner with the county in the building, but ultimately pulled out of its $15 million commitment, leaving Stanislaus County’s $15 million and private contributions to fund the center. Donations from Modesto’s Gallo families and the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation went to an endowment to cover operating costs. Meanwhile, some in the community questioned the need for such a center in Modesto and strongly doubted it would be successful.

“There were lots and lots of naysayers around,” Dickerson said. “A lot of people who thought it would just be for rich old white people, and we’ve proven them wrong.”

Adding to the successes, the center has reduced its debt from $14 million to $5.9 million, she said, and continues to see positive ticket sales, having recently closed its eighth consecutive season in the black.

Saturday’s open house comes as the center kicks off its new 2017-18 season with a roster of national stars as well as shows from the Gallo Center’s six resident companies: The Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Central West Ballet, Townsend Opera, the Modesto Community Concert Association, YES Company and Modesto Performing Arts.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Gallo Center, proving skeptics wrong for 10 years, invites you to its birthday party."