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Shopping Centers Today -> October 2001
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MACERICH, GALLO HOST VINTAGE REOPENING PARTY
By Debra Hazel
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| The new Vintage Faire will be made of glass and steel and have upholstered chairs instead of wooden benches. |
Often, the party the night before a mall grand opening or reopening raises funds for a local charity, and the ticket generally runs three figures per person. But not at Vintage Faire in Modesto, Calif.
When the center celebrates the opening of its $10 million renovation on Nov. 17, the gala ticket will cost just $25 per person, due to an unusual partnership that will link the center to its Wine Valley region in even more than name, and give The Macerich Co., the center’s owner, a cost-effective event.
The gala’s theme, “Arts for All Now,” pertains to the fund-raiser’s beneficiary, the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts, the future home of Modesto’s symphony, ballet and other performances. The center’s chief patron, Marie Gallo of the Gallo family, which owns Gallo Vineyards, has taken the reins for the gala, her first partnership with a shopping center company.
Brought together by a mutual acquaintance, Macerich’s corporate marketing team and Gallo immediately connected.
“I’m very impressed with the people I’ve been working with,” said Marie Gallo, in a rare interview.
One reason may be because the Macerich team had an eye on helping build the Performing Arts Center since acquiring Vintage Faire from original developer TrizecHahn in 1998.
“On my first site visit to Modesto, the company brought up the very strong possibility of renovating that mall,” said Susan Valentine, SCMD, senior vice president of marketing for Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich. “I’d heard of Marie’s dream of building the Arts Center, and I said the first item on my wish list would be to help.”
About $24 million of the needed $30 million to begin the arts center has been raised by previous donors, and the project is expected to break ground in the fall. The city of Modesto has donated land in the downtown area for the center. Funds from the gala will go both to the construction and toward creating an endowment that will keep ticket prices low, and pay for students to see special performances at the completed center.
“The Central Valley doesn’t have a center; we have a symphony, we have a ballet, but nowhere for them to perform,” Gallo said. “I have to hand it to Susan; she stepped right up and said, ‘I want to help.’ It’s really amazing that they’re taking us on.”
Not so amazing, according to Valentine.
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“The center’s goal was the same as the mall’s: bringing the performing arts and entertainment to everyone. It was a perfect match between what she’s doing and what we do on a day-to-day basis,” Valentine said. Macerich also is making an as yet undetermined corporate donation to the arts center.
Vintage Faire’s stores will close at 6 p.m., and the party will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The gala’s low price is possible due to the generosity of area businesses: Naturally, Gallo Vineyards is donating wine for the event, but Marie Gallo also has approached neighboring vineyards to supply refreshments, and local restaurants to donate foods for the party.
“I’m getting everybody,” Gallo said.
That kind of partnership “is a marketing person’s dream,” Valentine said. “She’s been very generous in opening that to us. A small suggestion at one meeting is done by the next.”
Multiculturalism is a key element of the gala’s offerings. Entertainment will include mariachis and a dance performance by some of the area’s Orthodox Jewish children. The local Greek Orthodox Church is making baklava, and other groups and restaurants are making traditional foods. The Los Angeles-based catering company that has worked at several other Macerich openings will travel to Modesto to coordinate the food donations and create the visual presentations.
The extensive donations also will help Macerich’s bottom line. While the event’s overall budget had not been finalized by press time, Valentine noted there is generally less money available for renovation celebrations than for the grand opening of malls.
A second party, for the top donors to the Arts Center, will be held at the mall’s Sweetriver Grille restaurant at the same time; after a more formal dinner, those guests will join the party throughout the mall.
But the opening will be about more than just food and wine. A silent auction will offer such goodies as a visit to the health spa, and perhaps a trip to Italy. The auction also provides a second fund-raising opportunity, critical because the gala tickets are so inexpensive. Fireworks will conclude the event.
“They’re just pulling out all the stops on this one; Modesto will be totally in awe of what we’re going to do,” Gallo said.
Macerich is hoping that the community is equally impressed with the new Vintage Faire, which first opened in 1976. The interior renovation has replaced the original dark wood and wine theme with glass and steel, and upholstered furniture is replacing wooden benches. Additional restaurants have been added in a cafe area called Restaurant Row. The exterior has been redone as well.
The mall’s 1.05 million square feet may be able to hold up to 1,700 people, and the group was hoping for 1,500 guests, giving the center a nice boost, and making it a “people’s opening.”
“It’s a huge mall, so we can get more people in the mall. I didn’t want it to be exclusive,” Gallo said.
The next day will not feature a ribbon cutting; rather, Vintage Faire will continue the “Arts for All Now” theme, with some of the same performances from the previous evening.
“We’re highlighting the mall, but also honoring the performing arts and the culinary arts,” Valentine said.
Given the ticket price, the team said it would be pleased if the event raised $75,000 for the center. And for the mall’s help, Gallo is thankful.
“This will be a wonderful occasion for our county,” she said.
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