Venue View: Washington Pavilion

By Darrin Smith

President & CEO

Washington Pavilion Management, Inc.

The first cornerstones were set in place for the former Washington High School nearly 150 years ago. When the people of Sioux Falls voted in 1993 to fund its renovation, no one could have envisioned what the current Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science would mean to this community. While the building itself is owned by the City of Sioux Falls, it’s managed by a nonprofit organization—people who understand the Pavilion’s significance and their role in its success. It’s an honor for me to lead an organization that I know is so beloved in our community and region.

Mary W. Sommervold Hall

Today, the Washington Pavilion is a place where people go on their first dates and then months or years later book for their wedding celebrations. It’s a place where children are inspired to act through the Dakota Academy of Performing Arts (DAPA) and then appear later in life in traveling Broadway shows again on our stage. It’s a place where people of all ages discover their favorite bands, learn about science and appreciate the visual arts.

We’ll announce the lineup for our 25th all-Broadway Pavilion Performance Series this spring. This upcoming season is shaping up to be the best ever, hands down. Yes, I say this every year, but it’s absolutely true every year, and each year our community comes out in droves to support us. As I write this, nearly 3,500 people are enjoying our current Broadway series as subscribers—the most in our history—and we’re looking forward to a strong second half of the season with Tootsie, My Fair Lady and our blockbuster Dear Evan Hansen still ahead.

But our Pavilion Performance Series is just six shows over 25 performances. What happens here the rest of the days of the year? Our Mary W. Sommervold Hall stage is booked nearly every day with shows and concerts brought in by other promoters as well as local performance-based organizations, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra performances and private events. The smaller Belbas Theater’s schedule is full of performances, too, by Good Night Theatre Collective, third-party promoters and at times DAPA, our youth theatre organization.

Have you ever seen one of their plays? The talent of these young thespians is astounding, and they are putting on professional shows with elaborate sets that some adults are too afraid to tackle. Check out Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. and The Spongebob Musical this spring at the Orpheum Theater Center, a city-owned venue we also manage. In addition to its role as an incredible performance venue, the Orpheum also is home to the Premiere Playhouse, Lights Up! Productions, Downtown Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Arts Council and CityLink.

The Washington Pavilion is of course not just a performance venue, either. We’re one of only a few facilities in the world to bring together under one roof the performing arts, visual arts, interactive science and educational opportunities. We offer hands-on learning about space, paleontology, anatomy and more in the Kirby Science Discovery Center and educational and Hollywood movies in the Wells Fargo CineDome. We host exhibits from amazing South Dakota artists and exhibitions of original pieces from famous artists like Andy Warhol in the eight galleries of our Visual Arts Center. The Graham Academy Preschool introduces our next generation to how fun STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) can be. Our restaurant provides an affordable lunch, and our spaces welcome business meetings and corporate events.

We provide ticketing services to additional venues like the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance and management services to other small arts organizations like SculptureWalk Sioux Falls and the Sioux Falls Municipal Band. We even offer a variety of services off-site like art curation and consultation to businesses and homeowners.

And the future? How exciting will it be this summer when we open the Sweetman Planetarium, one of the most advanced planetariums in the United States, made possible by a transformational gift from the Dick and Kathy Sweetman family. We envision stargazing date nights for the couple looking for a unique outing, live space-launch viewings for the curious explorer-at-heart and tens of thousands of children and adults alike learning about space and space exploration.

We’re finalizing plans to renovate and rebrand the café and adding delicious new menu options. We’re implementing technology that will make your ticket-buying experience better. We are partnering with additional donors who want to invest in our museums and continue to update our exhibits.

In 2024, we’ll invite the community to celebrate our 25th anniversary with us. The Washington Pavilion opened to the public on June 1, 1999, so while this building is historical, this organization is in the prime of its life. Come discover something new in this old building with a modern mindset. For nearly 25 years, the Washington Pavilion has been YOUR building. YOUR place. And it always will be.