Community Day

Austin Opera is opening its new home, the Austin Opera Butler Performance Center, with a community day on Saturday, September 26. It runs from 2 PM to 6 PM at 5811 Trade Center Drive, Building 1, and the whole afternoon is built for all comers rather than opera subscribers. Food trucks, face painting, and an instrument petting zoo run alongside the music, and the day closes with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The music comes from the Austin Opera Resident Artists, who'll be performing throughout the afternoon, and a presentation by Roy Lozano Ballet Folklorico. The centerpiece is Ofrenda, the company's first Spanish/English opera commission, which gets its world premiere here. It's a bilingual work, and its premiere is accompanied by a community altar that stays on display through Día de los Muertos.

Between the performances, there's plenty to do if you're not just here for the singing: the food trucks, the face painting, and the instrument petting zoo are all part of the day. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of the Butler Performance Center, so the whole afternoon is as much about the new space as it is about the music. It's a free event and tickets aren't required, though they do ask for an RSVP. The day runs from 2 PM to 6 PM on Saturday, September 26, at the Austin Opera Butler Performance Center, 5811 Trade Center Drive, Building 1.