First came the Fall Convocation (Oct. 2, 2002) at the Mondavi Center, then the ribbon-cutting and grand opening, Oct. 3, with coverage by then-Assistant Editor Ellen Chrismer of Dateline UC Davis. This story appreared originally in the special section "Celebrating the Arts," Oct. 11, 2002.

By Ellen Chrismer

Last Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 1 and 2, 2002), a stiff north wind blew across campus whipping and scurrying everything in its path.

But on Thursday (Oct. 3), the day the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts held its ribbon-cutting and grand opening, the wind blew just right — that is, not at all.

Instead, under a clear, still sky that morning, a large crowd gathered and happily celebrated a new era for the arts at UC Davis. "The Creator has given us such a lovely day to be out in the sun," said Paula Lorenzo, tribal chair for the Rumsey Tribe of Wintun Indians, which donated $1 million to the campus, including $625,000 for the Mondavi Center and its programs.

With the erection of the state-of-the art center and an expanded performance schedule, more than 100,000 guests are expected to attend center performances in its opening year.

Ceremonies held at the front entrance of the $57 million center, named for primary donors Robert and Margrit Mondavi, focused on the past and future of the facility and the site on which it sits — the ancestral home of the Patwin Indians.

"This is a historic day for UC Davis," remarked Ines Hernandez-Avila, associate professor of Native American studies. "It’s a historic day for the ribbon-cutting of the Mondavi Center, but it’s also a historic day for California Indian and indigenous people everywhere."

For the first time, she said, the University of California has acknowledged that its land once belonged to a particular group of native people.

To honor the spirits of the Patwin people, dancers from the Big Valley Rancheria Pomo Shakehead Dance Group performed a traditional California Indian dance, and Bill Wright, a Patwin elder, blessed the center.

With the center’s opening, UC Davis is off to a great beginning in its quest to create a national hub for the celebration of wine, food and the arts, said Robert Mondavi. Along with donating $10 million to the arts center, the Mondavis have also given $25 million for the Institute for Wine and Food Science, to be built adjacent to the arts hall.

The idea for a project blending those passions is an old one, too, he said. The Romans held symposiums celebrating the pleasures of wine, food and the arts. And Thomas Jefferson, while at the University of Virginia, also espoused the idea. But no one but the Mondavis and UC Davis had the vision to plan one.

"I can really honestly say that the whole world will look at this center," Mondavi said.

Barbara Jackson — the tireless local arts supporter for whom the Mondavi Center concert hall is named — invoked the words of early Christian philosopher St. Augustine to express her sentiment on this day.

"‘Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure. Where your treasure, there your heart. Where your heart, there your happiness.’

"I can’t think of a more appropriate legacy than the hours of pleasure (the center) will bring to people for a long time," said Jackson, who made a $5 million donation to the center.

Among the proclamations and pronouncements from dignitaries on stage, the ceremonies also had a distinctive, casual UC Davis air.

Students and faculty and staff members wandered by on bikes. Arboretum joggers paused at the periphery of the festivities as they finished their morning workouts. Community members from Davis to the suburbs of Sacramento watched, too, waiting for the public tours to be held afterward.

A crowd of about 30 members and supporters of campus labor unions, carrying signs and banners criticizing UC Davis’ labor practices, also stood close by.

Fourth-year student Sean Soares spent most of his morning out at the ceremony watching the goings-on.

"It seemed like a good thing to do," said the history and anthropology major. "When I come back to campus, it will still be here, and I can say I was here when it opened."

The opera and symphony fan planned to attend the San Francisco Symphony’s performance that night.

"With student prices, it’s not that bad," said Soares, who paid $62 for his half-price ticket.

Joe and Bernadette Baniecki had come from Citrus Heights in anticipation of a tour of the center.

"I just love what they are going to do here," said Bernadette, who was hoping to land tickets to some dance performances.

After ribbons were cut, officially opening the Mondavi Center’s venues — the center itself, the Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall, the Rumsey Rancheria Grand Lobby and the Studio Theatre — everyone wandered over to the south side of the center to watch innovative Bay Area dance troupe Project Bandaloop.

The crowd oohed and aahed, clapping intermittently, as six dancers performed aerial twists, cartwheels and spinning duets, all the while tethered to ropes draped down the side of the center.

"You had the sun and the shadows and the bodies giving a wonderful dimension to the performance," said Elizabeth Langland, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, and a leader in the Mondavi Center project.

The morning couldn’t have gone off better, she added.

Mondavi sparks during opening gala