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Vera Project Grand Opening: Welcome Home

On Tuesday, February 20th, the locally renowned Vera Project will officially open the doors of its new home in Seattle Center to folks all over the Seattle area. After almost a year of acting as makeshift music venue, the always all-ages club will host a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by three concerts over the following weekend. As a thank you to the community that helped build Vera’s new location, every single one of the opening week events will be completely FREE!

Kicking off the festivities will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on February 20th at 3 PM sharp, complete with food, refreshments, and the Mayor of Seattle. In addition to Mr. Greg Nickels, Vera’s faithful supporters will also surely be in attendanc—community members young and old who are excited about the possibilities this new facility brings to the Seattle music scene. Fortunately, the party doesn’t stop here. Planned are three consecutive shows in the new space, a sort of “breaking in” of the new venue for the many acts to follow.

The first night, Friday February 23rd, will be a massive hip-hop showcase. Hometown heroes Common Market will headline a solid line-up, including Grayskul, and Bay Area sister organization, Oakland’s own volunteer-powered Youth Movement Records. Saturday night will see the house brought down by These Arms are Snakes and Kane Hodder, and Sunday brings the celebration to a close with familiar faces such as Mt. Eerie, Holy Ghost Revival, and Tiny Vipers. While such amazing weekends are commonplace at the Vera, it is not often that so many great artists are featured free of charge. Such magic could only happen at the Vera Project.

So why all the hoopla? Well, the Vera certainly has a lot to be excited about. The new location, situated on the corner of Warren and Republican streets in Seattle Center, has potential that previous sites never had. Besides a vastly improved silkscreen studio and an expanded art gallery, Vera will also have tools such as a fully equipped recording studio for educational and public use. However, while Vera has come a long way in terms of its physical presence, it has retained its dogged earnestness in educating and entertaining the youth in Seattle that walk through its doors. Opening weekend is the perfect chance to witness how far Vera has come in its six years and what the future holds.