FPU Warkentine Culture and Arts Ribbon Cutting Is May 25

Architectural rendering of the new Fresno Pacific University Culture & Arts Center at the main campus.

Fresno Pacific University will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Warkentine Culture and Arts Center at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, with refreshments and self-guided tours at 10:45 a.m.

The RSVP deadline is May 11 at fpu.edu/ribboncutting.

The approximately 26,000-square-foot center – located on FPU’s main campus at Chestnut and Butler avenues in Southeast Fresno — is named for Al and Dotty Warkentine, both longtime friends of Fresno Pacific. Al is a retired dentist, businessman and member emeritus of the FPU Board of Trustees. A harpist, Dotty has been a patron and participant in university arts programs.

With its main stage theater, black box theater, grand foyer and art gallery, the CAC will bring together the arts at FPU, which have moved through a series of improvised venues over the years, to the benefit of students and faculty involved in music, theater and visual arts, as well as their audiences. It will also welcome community members and events of all kinds.

Flexible spaces allow for multiple uses: the mainstage theater, for example, seats 400 for a staged concert or play, but movable seating creates opportunities for dinners, lectures, holiday celebrations and other uses.

Please contact Helen Bailey in the Advancement Office with any questions at 559.453.3450.

See the FPU Magazine story.

Also: A Diamond in the Rough: Culture and Arts Center to be FPU’s Crown Jewel