What: A festive groundbreaking ceremony for UC Davis' Center for the Arts, including music by the Cal Aggie Marching Band, remarks from center supporters and refreshments. When: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Friday, May 19 Where: At the site for the new center, approximately at the corner of Old Davis Road and Mrak Hall Drive. Who: Speakers will include UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef; Sacramento Ballet artistic director Ron Cunningham; Elizabeth Langland, dean, UC Davis Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies; D. Kern Holoman, music professor; and Brian McCurdy, director, University Cultural Programs and UC Davis Presents. Visuals: Cal Aggie Marching Band, festive outdoor atmosphere, turning of the ground using cello-handled shovels. Background: When completed in the fall of 2002, the new UC Davis performance hall will feature an 1,800-seat main hall with state-of-the-art technology for excellent acoustics and a studio theater that will host dance and choral performances, lectures and theater productions for audiences as large as 250. A total of $60.9 million will be spent to build and operate the performance hall, including $53.5 million to construct the building, $2.4 million for startup costs and $5 million for an initial operating endowment. The center is being financed through a $30 million fund-raising campaign, a $15.4 million UC Regents' loan and $15.5 million in campus funds. To date, nearly $11 million has been pledged in the fund-raising campaign, which will continue throughout construction of the building. A visible symbol of the campus's commitment to the performing arts, the center will serve as a valuable cultural resource for the entire regional arts community. Media contacts: -- Lisa Klionsky, News Service, (530) 752-9841, lrklionsky@ucdavis.edu -- Lisa Lapin, News Service, (530) 752-9842, lalapin@ucdavis.edu