So, the Hylton Performing Arts center had their grand opening this weekend. I have mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, I’m not really a fan of the City’s financial involvement in a project like that. I’ve had people ask me if I would lead an effort to get the City out of our involvement and I won’t. I don’t like it but a deal is a deal and I don’t want to the City to have the reputation for going back on our word.
On the other hand, the place is amazing. I’m not a huge theater junkie but the acoustics in the Merchant (Main) Hall are astonishing. The performances Saturday night were truly next-level stuff and not something you see around here every day. Gershwin is among my favorites and the program was heavy with his music so I loved it.
The Gregory Family theater, which is a smaller venue is very classy and intimate. I saw Vpstart Crow there on Sunday and the Community Chorale in the Merchant hall. Both were amazing. I didn’t realize that there were so many in the chorale! They looked great up on that stage too. Everybody that sees the place (including some pretty staunch skeptics I saw on Sunday) all say the same thing: I can’t believe that this is here. I can’t either. Jean and her staff deserve a ton of respect for pulling that off. It’s a great facility and the opening weekend was fabulous.
While I was sitting in the Merchant Hall on Saturday night, I was musing about the names of those theaters. Merchant. Gregory. Both families I know. Been around awhile. Community leaders. Manassas families. That makes me proud.
May 24, 2010 at 10:38 am
FYI: Councilman “Hannover”,
It is the Hylton Center – not “Hilton”.
They also would love a huge contribution
from the hotel folks, but this is named for the
family who constructed hundreds of homes
in the area.
May 24, 2010 at 10:43 am
Watch it Randolph…;) My dad actually worked for Cecil (I believe) Hylton back in the Dale City era…
May 24, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Does this mean I have lived here too long when I didn’t even think of Hilton as the hotel but the developer? Or that I know who the Merchants and the Gregorys are? Guess that’s what happens when you are born and raised in Manassas LOL
May 24, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Andy,
Ok, I’m not trying to sound mean, but….. I think it’s easy to say you don’t like it but won’t try to get the City out of the deal, when the money belongs to someone else, like our tax dollars. How hard would you fight to get only your money back if you felt you were ripped off?
Never mind the shady dealings of a certain fellow Council member.
May 24, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Tom:
The money involved there is bond money. A bond backed by the full faith and credit of the city. That’s a trust I won’t break. Keep in mind that the City requires bond funds for all manner of projects. What you are pushing for is for me to support the City walking off on its debts and I won’t do that. It would cripple us.
As for “shady dealings”, don’t use my blog to throw rocks at my colleagues. If you have a beef with someone call him or her directly.
May 24, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Can’t say enough great things about Jean and the impact she’s making in Manassas, PWC — and in the Commonwealth — with her boundless energy and positive attitude.
She missed a lunch in Richmond honoring her as one the Influential Women of Virginia 2010 because of the opening. http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/05/07/jean-kellogg/
Thank you to all those local people with vision and the cash to back it up. The Hylton Center is a gold mine. Stop wasting time on the naysayers and work the city connection.
Our resident arts groups have always been diamonds. Now they have the proper setting to really shine, and they did this past weekend.
May 24, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Once the city makes a deal it needs to stick to it. Period. The only exception is if the city is unlawfully induced to enter a deal through fraud or other misrepresentation, which has not happened here.
We need a city government that the private sector can consistently work with and rely upon. A city government that can’t be relied upon will never, ever be able to enter into any public-private partnerships or attract any businesses.
Unpredictable government action increases private sector risk, which in turn drives up lending rates and has myriad other negative impacts. If anyone thinks things are tough now, just start playing “redo the deal” and see what happens.
In the meantime, enjoy the new symphony hall and let’s concentrate on maximizing its utility to attract new resiidents and businesses.
Implications of “shady dealings” by any council member re the new hall are quite unfounded, cheap and likely slanderous. And among other things they tend to marginalize that fabulous generousity of stalwark Manassas families like the Merchants and the Gregorys, among others, to whome we are greatly indebted.
May 25, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Andy,
What a silly thing to spend bond money. Botnd money should be spent on what is needed, not what is wanted.
You know I’ll use my blog to voice my concerns over local politics. You need to get a little thicker skin, defending people just because you happen to work with them does not make good politics.
Just look at Congress, how many sleazy people are there and continue to stay there because their co-workers do not make a stand. Of course I’m not saying we are at the same level, but I would hope if there were shady dealings by a member of the Council you would be willing to stand up and do what is right, and not stand and do nothing.
Cindy,
Exactly how will the City benefit? If restaurants are built around the Center, why would people stop in the city to eat first?
Btw, How is GTS these days?
May 25, 2010 at 6:22 pm
It’s not just about restaurants, it’s about drawing in businesses that want to be here because of the quality of life for their employees. It’s about the partnerships between the schools and such centers. Hylton High School in Woodbridge partners with the Kennedy Center. When artists come to the Kennedy Center, they make a stop at the Hylton HS TV studio to be interviewed by students. Think of the partnerships that could develop with Osbourn or others.
GTS is awesome. They’ve formed another community partnership to break ground on a pavilion. There’s enough paint donated from Sherwin Williams that any homeowner who wants to paint can do so. The community meetings continue and have formed two action groups, one to focus on crime, the other on alternatives for youth. They are taking the “forced momentum” of 1 By Youth day and moving ahead. If you haven’t met the new community manager there you should,
I’m in Memphis right now, headed for the National Conference on Neighborhood Concerns tomorrow, with plans to show the 12-minute video about Georgetown South in my presentation on “Connecting Your Community with Neighborhood Improvement Circles” on Thursday. I’m excited to see what I can learn and bring back to Manassas.
May 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Tom:
This is simple dude. My blog, my rules. Got nothing to do with skin. If you want to cast vague allegations around, do so elsewhere. You want to complain about me – go right ahead.
May 25, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Kudos Andy. He’s cast these accusations here several times now and I applaud your stance. He wants to keep casting them on his site or BVBL or whatever that’s up to him. But this is YOUR site and ALL should respect that.
from my BlackBerry Storm…
May 25, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Oh and thanks again for adding WPTouch.
May 25, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Having a wife who is a GMU Alumni (CNHS & SOM) and son who is a senior there, the marketing campaign for Hylton has been coming regularly in the mailbox.
Today arrived the playbill-size booklet for the Grand Opening Season, and I noticed something VERY VERY interesting on the mailing side, and also inside.
The new season sponsor of “Hylton Presents” was Novant Health. Not Prince William Hospital…but FINALLY saying Novant Health.
As some may know, I am an advocate for PWH to stop playing the silly game of saying “oh, they are our partner”. And also GREAT to see Novant stepping up to be involved in the community.
Merchant…Gregory….yes, venerable Manassas Family names. When I moved to Manassas back in ’94, a neighbor was telling me about the City and also the “Who’s Who” of certain family names. Neighbor was funny because he was ranking the four top names by “bags of money”…:-)
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going back to viewing Crystal Gayle’s photo on that playbill…still stunning as the years go by 🙂
May 26, 2010 at 6:48 am
DavidB,
I’m not the only one, and was not the one who first talked about them.
May 26, 2010 at 11:44 am
“The city is entering a political dark age.
The era will be dominated by risk paralysis,
reactionary reversals, the off pitch drone of
management working past their capabilities,
and a landscape of denied services, dead
on arrival initiatives and exclusion. The
smells of petroleum, rotting fungus and
cat piss permeate the streets.”
(Falls Church News-Press op/ed this week).
Per capita, Falls Church has the highest income
and education level of any jurisdiction in
Virginia. Its school system has the best
test scores and ,comparatively, its housing
values have been stable and its taxes low.
My point is there is no perfect place where
everyone is happy with everything, at least
none I have found, A healthy civic dialogue
is a sign of a healthy democracy, but we should
also remember to maintain our civilty and
not engage in unfounded malicious gossip
even if someone else “started it”.
May 28, 2010 at 7:24 am
Steve,
That’s all well and good. But, I hope that if there is wrong doing going on, you would be able to stand up for principal and not just cover someone because you serve with them.
Again, that’s a major reason why people are made at Washington, they see their elected officials as being out of touch, and only concerned with their own self interests.
None of the claims were disputed, which of course raises concerns as well.
May 28, 2010 at 10:13 pm
One of the beauties of being in American is Freedom of Speech – we can express what we want, and good people like Andy Harrover run a blog where opportunities are provided to express them…even within rules. Of course, that Freedom also has limitations on it, especially when crossing the line of civility as pointed out by Steve.
All that said, there are a lot of assumptions, presumptions and backroom comments about Councilman Wolfe and his role as Exec Director of the Manassas Performing Arts, Inc.
To say nothing is being disputed fits into what my parents taught me – if it is all just wisps in the wind, then let it blow.
That said, if it is going to be tossed around Mark is pursing self interests or working shady dealings with regards to the company, then those who are tossing them also should name Councilwoman Bass (President) and Mayor Parrish (one of the Directors) and also the other fine citizens involved with that Company.
Otherwise, it is all just blowin’ in the wind.
May 28, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Well, that’s the problem sometimes with small town politics, the same people have their hands in the process from the start to the finish. Plenty of defenders, etc, and next thing you know, we have a City like Chicago. Where people just say, it’s Chicago, what do you expect.