Brannan Center grand opening set for Oct. 3
Following five years of planning and more than two years of construction, the Brannan Center is officially slated to open to the public on the weekend of Oct. 3-5.
“This milestone is not just the opening of a building – it’s the beginning of a new chapter
for the upper valley,” Kyle Clausen, executive director of Brannan Center said this week in a statement. “We look forward to being a home for a wide range of community activities, performances, and important life events such as weddings and quinceañeras.”
The 150-year-old former Community Presbyterian Church, also known locally as the Green Church, once served as a meeting place for a wide range of local groups that included the Boy Scouts, Future Farmers of America and Alcoholics Anonymous.
The new performing arts center and events venue will be a gathering place for community activities, education and enrichment programs, private events and live performances. Since breaking ground in March 2023, it has been transformed into a nearly 11,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue, complete with two performance halls.
The last of the major construction to be completed ahead of the fall opening, Clausen said, includes installing flooring, cabinetry, ADA entry and exit controls and signage, as well as landscaping and finishing work on the catering and demonstration kitchen.
In the meantime, planning for programming is well underway, with Brannan Center staff accepting inquiries from community groups, arts organizations and individuals who wish to rent space for their programs, activities and events.
Opening weekend will kick off on Friday, Oct. 3, with a private event for donors and other key stakeholders. On Saturday, a free community open house will feature tours of the facility, performances by local arts groups and artists, interactive activities hosted by local nonprofit organizations, food trucks and family-friendly activities. The celebrations will continue into Saturday evening and Sunday with ticketed performances.
A line-up of participating artists and organizations, as well as ticket information for the performances, will be announced at a later date.
Nearly 300 donors contributed more than $11.5 million towards the Brannan Center’s construction, start-up operations and long-term sustainability. The project’s lead donors are Calistoga residents Edward and Sara Kozel.
“We are firm believers in the power of the performing arts to bring people together, spark joy and help strengthen our common humanity,” Sara Kozel said in a statement, “and we know that Brannan Center will be a vibrant gathering place for everyone in our community.”
The center was designed by architect Timothy Wilkes, and construction was led by project manager Dick Engelhard, chief financial officer Barbara Lencioni and general contractor Paul Coates.
The Brannan Center, a nonprofit, is currently governed by a 15-member board of directors, which includes Jim and Bev Barnes, Chris Canning, Aime Dunstan, Dick and Edie Engelhard, Marcela Hernandez, Edward and Sara Kozel, Barbara Lencioni, Indira Lopez-Jones, Braulio Muñoz, Gregory Newhall, Erin Smith-Hagberg and Timothy Wilkes.For more information, or to sign up for the Brannan Center’s mailing list, visit www.BrannanCenter.org/ or email [email protected]. Brannan Center is at 1407 Third St., Calistoga.
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