Arts center meets fundraising goal

Tabor College has secured the final $150,000 in donations needed to make the new Shari Flaming Center for the Arts debt-free.

At the center’s dedication last month, Tabor president Jules Glanzer said the nearly $13.6 million center, planned for six years, needed that amount in additional donations.

“Our donors met every challenge we gave them,” Glanzer said in a news release Monday. “They have given of their hearts and in many cases, they have given sacrificially. We are humbled by the love our donors have shown to Tabor and our students through their gifts, and we can’t thank them enough.”

In all, 1,128 people contributed to the center’s $1.2 million Grand Finale fundraising drive.

“Some of our alumni and supporters have been waiting more than 50 years to have an auditorium and dedicated performance space on campus,” said Ron Braun, vice president of advancement. “This is truly a dream come true.”

More than 800 people attended the dedication Dec. 9. The Tabor College Oratorio and Alumni Chorus and Community Orchestra performed Handel’s “Messiah” for 1,100 guests the next day.

The building will be used for student and guest performances, including a weekly chapel starting in the spring semester.

The first guest performance in the building’s Richert Auditorium will be a winter classics concert at 4 p.m. Jan. 28 by Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra.