Justin Dionne, the Cain Center’s executive director. / Sean Meyers Photography

Feb. 5. By Mark Washburn. With its marquee a-sparkle and campus expanding, Cornelius’s Cain Center for the Arts draws the curtain this month on its third year with vibrant ambitions and a touch of Disney dust.

Opened in January 2023, the center provided Lake Norman a sizable performance venue that instantly energized Cornelius’s downtown. It unleashed a diverse, eclectic menu of programming ranging from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra to performing dogs. This year’s schedule is as varied.

Catering to Lake Norman’s booming family audience, “Finding Nemo, Jr.” debuted Jan. 30 starring Ave Buesing. Last year’s Disney production of “Frozen, Jr.” was one of the center’s best-sellers.

Spring’s schedule includes bluegrass favorites Gibson Brothers, Americana stars Damn Tall Buildings, Celtic rockers Tartan Terrors, and jazz from the Ben Rosenblum Trio. A series of tribute bands are booked as are stand-up comics William Lee Martin, Killer Beaz and Heather Land.

Cain Center for the Arts opened January 2023 / Jason Benavides photo

Jon Lehrer Dance Company will bring contemporary dance, a genre that the center hopes to grow in the region, says Justin Dionne, the Cain’s executive director.

Variety shows have been particularly successful in drawing families, Dionne says. Stunt dog acts like Puppy Pals are expected to appeal to young audiences along with magic and illusionist performances.

“Solstice,” featuring acrobats and magic, will come in February and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus – The Musical!” is scheduled for April. For Black History Month in February, the center will present the Jazz Legacy Project presenting “Billie Holiday: God Bless the Child” with vocalist Maria Howell.

Cain’s mission statement is a broad one: provide exceptional visual arts, performing arts and social experiences to Lake Norman, says  Dionne. It provides plenty of latitude to experiment and learn what inspires the region’s audiences.

“It’s still early in our organizational life,” he says. “We’re still very much a start-up.”

Center’s foundations

Cornelius residents overwhelmingly approved a $4 million bond for downtown redevelopment in 2013. Town leaders decided that an arts center would enliven Old Town with creative energy and started raising money to add to the bond.

Bill and Ericka Cain

Ericka and Bill Cain, founders of the Cornelius-based Financial Independence Group, donated $5 million to the $25 million project that included a 400-seat theatre, an art gallery, dance studio and classrooms.

Among the first partnerships with the center was with the longtime Lake Norman theater group Davidson Community Players, which signed on to bring at least eight shows to the venue.

It was hoped that the center would spur activity in the quiet neighborhood around Cornelius Town Hall. Mission accomplished, says Mayor Woody Washam.

“I thought it would be transformative,” he says. “And sure enough, it has been that and more.”

Hundreds gather when Cain has an event, he says, which brings business to restaurants and bars nearby before and after the shows.

“It has surprised us all to some degree, the magnitude of it,” Washam said, and is driving interest in the city’s downtown master plan, still under study.

Renderings by Nicole Perri Architecture

Ceramics emphasis

Now the Cain campus is expanding dramatically with the addition of a new ceramics center. Three historic properties on Catawba Avenue next to the Cain Center – including the Goodrum and Puckett houses built in 1906 – are being acquired as part of the $5 million project.

One property will be torn down, the Puckett house will be renovated into a ceramics center and the Goodrum house will serve as an arts and community space.

Between the homes will be a courtyard serving as a gateway to downtown Cornelius. Here, performances and other events can be held. Completion is expected by mid-2006, Dionne says.

Already, Dionne says, about $1.5 million has been raised for the project. A major fund-raising campaign will be publicized this spring.

More opportunities

Dionne, who served as artistic director of Lee Street Theatre in his native Salisbury before joining the Cain, says the center continues to refine its programming.

One idea the center is considering is getting into the cinema realm. With the recent closure of Our Town Theaters in Davidson, Dionne says, there may be a market for speciality programming around second-run movies like “Wicked.” Or perhaps a Halloween film festival showing classic horror movies, or Christmas-themed films at year’s end.

He says one of his primary goals is to continue to grow attendance for the center. He encourages everyone who has been to the Cain to recruit five acquaintances who haven’t, and encourage them to visit.

“We feel confident once we get them in the door,” Dionne says, “that they’ll be back.”

• Cain Center attractions: CainArts.org