Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Officially Becomes Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Officially Becomes Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Prestigious Arts Center to Unveil New Brand Elements March 12

SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, among California's largest performing and visual arts centers, has announced that its official change of name to Wells Fargo Center for the Arts will take place on Sunday, March 12, with a gala ceremony and performance. Among the many milestones acknowledged on that day will be the unveiling of the new arts center brand displayed prominently on the new electronic marquee facing Highway 101. The name change is part of a partnership with Wells Fargo that will provide much-needed funds to strengthen, sustain and revitalize the Arts Center's mission -- "to enrich, educate and entertain; connecting our community through the arts" -- and to support its dynamic range of arts programs and community services.

"We are thrilled to open a new chapter in the Arts Center's history," said David Fischer, executive director. "Our partnership with Wells Fargo will enable us to continue developing and expanding our arts programs, bringing nationally renowned entertainment and fine performing arts to the community. Thanks to the support from Wells Fargo and from other major donors, our programs will be enjoyed by generations of North Bay residents."

"The Arts Center is the heart of cultural enrichment here in the North Bay; as an independent nonprofit organization, it depends on the support of the very people it serves," said Greg Morgan, Community Banking President for Wells Fargo's North Coast Valley region. "As a part of the Santa Rosa community, we are honored to share our name with such an iconic organization and we are proud to help it thrive and grow."

Invited guests and ticketed audience members in attendance on March 12 will enjoy "Classical Mystery Tour" with the Broadway stars of Beatlemania in performance with the Santa Rosa Symphony, part of an on-going "Pops" partnership between the Symphony and the Wells Fargo Center.

The Wells Fargo Center, an independent, community-supported non-profit arts organization, will receive $3.75 million from Wells Fargo over 10 years in return for naming rights. The Arts Center, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, was established by community leaders in 1981 under the aegis of the Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, which will continue as the directing body of the Arts Center's operations and programs. The Foundation originally was named in honor of Luther Burbank, a historic horticulturalist who is remembered as one of the Santa Rosa region's finest and most renowned citizens.

In addition to serving as an arts education leader and as a popular venue for touring national headline performers, the Arts Center is the longtime home of a variety of local arts producing organizations, including Ballet California, the 54-year-old Santa Rosa Concert Association, the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, and others. The Arts Center has also played a pivotal role for the past 16 years in the county's educational enrichment programs and is one of the few arts centers in the country that works to unite curriculum requirements from both state and federal governments. Recently, the Art Center has earned a wealth of distinctions, including recognition from such prestigious organizations as the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., the National Endowment for the Arts, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo opened its first Santa Rosa office in 1861, offering financial, delivery and sales services to the burgeoning farming community. Consistently honored as a model corporate citizen, Wells Fargo has given more than $1.6 million to Sonoma County non- profits and arts organizations, including $824,000 specifically to Santa Rosa non-profits.

About The Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Located on 53 acres in the heart of California Wine Country, the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts (formerly the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts) is an independent, community-supported non-profit arts organization, widely recognized as the North Bay's premier arts center. The Arts Center is nationally heralded for its diverse performing arts programs, which include top rock, pop, jazz, folk and country musicians; dance, theater and comedy productions; "Reader's Series" presentations; family-friendly productions; and a wide array of presentations by local arts organizations.

The Arts Center has brought to the North Bay such wide-ranging acts as Carole King, Deepak Chopra, Jose Carreras, Jewel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Cosby, Pinocchio by American Family Theater, Johnny Mathis, Joan Baez, Enrique Iglesias, Alvin Ailey II and Pepe Aquilar, to name but a very few.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $482 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than 6,200 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the United States to receive the highest possible credit rating, "Aaa," from Moody's Investors Service.

Source: Wells Fargo & Company

CONTACT: Caroline Handorf or Kanchan Achar of Glodow Nead
Communications, +1-415-394-6500, for Wells Fargo & Company

Web site: http://www.wellsfargo.com/

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