EDMONDS As Arlington School District moves forward in planning a grand opening gala for the new performing arts center at the high school, other regional communities, too, are enjoying the benefits of having live entertainment in their own neighborhoods.
For more than three decades, arts, civic and business leaders in Edmonds dreamed of creating a first-class, regional performing arts center.
Now an historic community treasure, the towns 1939 high school has been restored and reformed into a mid-sized, mixed-discipline regional cultural center the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
The soft opening started last week, with a barebones production of Carmen? presented by the Seattle Young Opera progra, and, ironically, featuring a young man from Edmonds, one of 12 carefully selected young opera singers from around the country.
The Peter Brooks version of Carmen was perfect for this theater in training, and the black box set with one large suitcase holding all the props worked well in this new elegant theater made of an historical old building.
While the grand gala opening is not until January, several local performance groups Cascade Symphony Orchestra, Olympic Ballet Theatre, Sno-King Community Chorale get to warm-up the brand new theater this holiday season. and, last weekend, the Seattle Young Operas production of Peter Brooks Carmen.
The Cascade Symphony Orchestra had its first performance in ECA Sunday, Nov. 19. The schedule for the holidays is as follows:
Dec. 1-3 Olympic Ballet Theatre presents Nutcracker.?For tickets call TicketMaster or OBT at 425-774-7570.
Dec. 9 Tingstad and Rumbel
Purchase tickets through ECA at 425-275-9595.
Dec. 10 Seattle Jazz Singers.
For information call 425-771-0824.
Dec. 16 and 17 Olympic Ballet Theatres Nutcracker.
Purchase tickets through TicketMaster or OBT at 425-774-7570.
Dec. 16 Sno-King Community Chorale.
Purchase tickets through ECA at 425-275-9595.

Gala opening
Jan. 6 Gala Opening
For information see www.edmondscenterforthearts.org.
Jan. 13 Coming Home with all local arts companies.
For tickets call the ECA at 425-275-9595.