Crown Point Venues to Build Community and Culture
A unique characteristic of human beings is our ability to look into the future and take actions to improve life for ourselves and others we care for. Dr. George and Jo Ann Rebane recently found an action they could take that will significantly improve cultural and civic life in their Western Nevada County community. They’ve made a $1 million dollar investment in a project that will sustain and grow the area’s rich cultural and civic life by creating much-needed spaces for a wide variety of events and activities.
George and Jo Ann were ready with golden shovels at the August 2024 Groundbreaking Ceremony commemorating construction of Crown Point Venues.
The project, Crown Point Venues, was sparked several years ago when an anonymous benefactor donated $2 million to InConcert Sierra for the sole purpose of building a concert hall with excellent acoustics. The donor chose InConcert as the recipient because of its history of top-quality performances since 1946 and record of careful financial management. After a search of several years for the right space, a 42,000 square foot office building was purchased. Because the building was larger than needed for a concert hall, community input identified additional needs for cultural and civic spaces. The project, now well under construction, is creating three unique and purpose-designed spaces: a state-of-the-art acoustically-perfect concert hall, a true black box theater, and a high-capacity conference and convention center.
George and Jo Ann immediately saw the potential for these spaces to enhance cultural and civic life in their adopted home community and realized they could help make them a reality.
Leaving Los Angeles in 2002, Jo Ann says they were “blown away by the spirit of giving” in Western Nevada County, and that prompted them to become active philanthropists themselves. In addition to their foundational gift to InConcert Sierra, they have become regular generous donors to Music in the Mountains, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation and Project Heart, along with many other local organizations.
George Rebane, ICS Artistic Director Ken Hardin, ICS Executive Director Julie Hardin and Jo Ann Rebane toast to new beginnings in gratitude for the Rebanes $1million pledge to the project.
George says, “As a child, student and defender of western culture, it’s tremendously important to us to create a truly unique opportunity to expand access and audiences for classical music and theater performances.” Jo Ann adds that “The loss of the Foothills Event Center a few years ago created a vacuum in the community for spaces to hold events, and the conference center part of Crown Point Venues will fill a huge void and bring a strong economic stimulus to our town.”
As founding donors, the Rebanes are joining with others in naming rooms, spaces and features of the project to acknowledge their generous investments. George’s technical engineering background brought an obvious choice to place the Rebane name on the extensive network of technology--audio, visual, IT and communications components--throughout the complex. An appropriate plaque honoring the donation will be prominently displayed.
Following the lead of the Rebanes and other founding donors, over 300 others who also see the project’s immense community benefits have pledged and donated nearly $7 million to make it happen. Over 240 of those gifts have been $1000 or more, and those will be recognized by a permanent name plate attached to a seat in the concert hall.
Many in the community are aware that within 36 hours of the purchase of the building in March 2023, a massive, wet snow load caved in a portion of the roof. The roof was temporarily supported while the existing occupant’s property was safely removed. Assessing the damage, the project team quickly realized that mother nature had done them a favor; the areas where the roof collapsed were where it was to be raised anyway to accommodate higher ceilings for the theater and concert hall. As a result, the entire project could be completed at one time, instead of in phases, and the roof strength more than doubled at the same time. While remodeling the entire building at one time brought many economic and operational benefits, it has also meant the date for opening has been extended and is now expected late this year or early in 2026.
To help members of the community understand the scope and impact of the project, walkthrough tours are offered on most Saturdays when construction activity allows. The public is invited to schedule a visit online or by calling InConcert Sierra’s Production Manager, Micah Cone, at 530-273-3990.
The Rebane’s gift and hundreds of others have provided the funds to continue construction while the remaining “bridge” financing--to complete the project while donor pledges continue to be received--is being arranged. Every generous gift helps reduce the amount of funds needed from bank financing and moves Crown Point Venues one step closer to the day when the community celebrates the opening of much-anticipated spaces for a wide variety of events and activities.
Because of their interest in improving their community, the names Dr. George and Jo Ann Rebane will be prominent among those philanthropists who make up the historical record documenting those who have acted with wisdom, compassion and generosity to make Western Nevada County a great place to live and a testament to the important values of western culture.
