Free to the public at Cary’s beautiful new performing arts pavilion on Symphony Lake, the festivities will include a back stage tour of the new pavilion and feature
fireworks, WRAL’s Bill Leslie as Master of Ceremonies,
The North Carolina Symphony, and Cary’s 5th Annual "Play With The Pros"

Cary, NC --On Tuesday, May 21, the Triangle is invited to celebrate an exciting new season of entertainment at the gala opening night festivities at the Amphitheatre at Regency Park, Cary’s award-winning new $14 million performing arts pavilion. The festivities will end with a lavish display of fireworks over Symphony Lake at 9 p.m.

WRAL news anchor Bill Leslie will be Master of Ceremonies.

The event is free, and everyone is welcome to celebrate the Amphitheatre’s season premier. The North Carolina Symphony will perform and during the last three sets, 50 people from across the Triangle will join the symphony for Cary’s 5^th Annual Play With The Pros.

The evening’s schedule of events is as follows:

• 6 p.m. – Open House and backstage tour of the new performing arts pavilion.
  
• 7 p.m. – Dedication of "Overture," the new $20,000 gate created by nationally renowned sculptor, Jim Gallucci. The gate will be presented to the Town of Cary as a gift from Cary Visual Art, a non-profit visual arts organization. Gallucci is possibly best known for his current project, a memorial to the victims of September 11, crafted from the steel remains of Manhattan’s Twin Towers.
  
• 7:15 p.m. – Dedication of the new $14 million performing arts pavilion on Symphony Lake. The pavilion has already won several architectural awards for design excellence, including the

2001 Award For Design from the Boston Society of Architects and the 2002 Honor Award in Architecture, United States Institute for Theater Technology. The dedication was originally scheduled for Sept. 15, 2001, but was rescheduled in the wake of the events of September 11.

• 7:30 p.m. – The gala inaugural performance of the North Carolina Symphony’s summer concert season at the new performing arts pavilion at the Amphitheatre at Regency Park.

• 8:30 p.m. – The 5^th Annual Play with the Pros performance, where fifty Triangle residents have been chosen to perform Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance #4, Mendelssohn’s Symphony #5, Movement IV, and Sibebelius’ Finlandia with the NC Symphony for the final sets of the evening.

• 9 p.m. – Display of fireworks.

• 9 p.m. – 11 p.m. -- Private, invitation-only champagne reception for the media and town officials and a formal announcement of the season schedule.

"This is going to be a wonderful night, as we usher in a new era of entertainment at this stunning new facility," said Lyman Collins, Cultural Arts Supervisor for Cary. "With the 2002 season, we are poised to expand the opportunities for the Triangle to experience the best in the arts and live entertainment. In addition to being the summer home of the North Carolina Symphony, we will be bringing in nationally-known performers, adding a rich new dimension of performances to the Triangle’s cultural life."

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For additional information, call Glenna Musante or Allie Mock at WordSmith Communications, Inc., at (919) 782-2360 or go to www.townofcary.org. WordSmith is a Raleigh-based public relations firm working with the staff at the Amphitheatre at Regency Park to bring information to the media regarding season events.