Open House to Feature Renovated McAninch Arts Center, P.E. Center and Library

College of DuPage invites the community to explore the renovated McAninch Arts Center, P.E. Center and Library during the Community Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. For more information about the Community Open House, visit www.cod.edu/openhouse.

The free event will feature a variety of activities in each facility, including presentations by Chris Jones, Chicago Theater Critic and author of the new book "Bigger, Brighter, Louder," and Raymond Benson, College of DuPage adjunct faculty member who is the first American author to be commissioned to write official James Bond novels. Attendees who visit all three facilities can enter a grand prize drawing to win a three-performance subscription to the MAC, a one-year membership to Chaparral Fitness, or a Kindle.

College of DuPage President Dr. Robert L. Breuder said the Open House is a way to thank the community for supporting the 2010 bond referendum, which funded the renovations to the MAC, P.E. Center and Library.

"We could not have addressed the needed upgrades to all three facilities without the community," Dr. Breuder said. "In addition to academic offerings, each one of these facilities offers many activities and services for community members, so this is an opportunity for them to see what College of DuPage has to offer."

The schedule of events hosted by the Library is as follows:

1 p.m.

The James Bond Phenomenon: Book Talk/Lecture by Author Raymond Benson

Student Resource Center, Room 2024 (Library)

Raymond Benson has been an award-winning and best-selling author, composer, computer game designer, stage director, film historian, and film genres instructor for more than 30 years. He is also the fourth official author of the James Bond 007 novels.

3 p.m.

"Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago's Front Yard" Student Resource Center, Room 2024 (Library)

Long considered the showplace and cultural center of Chicago, Grant Park has been the site of tragedy and tension, as well success and joy. Throughout his book, Cremin shows that while Grant Park's landscape and uses have changed throughout its rocky history, the public ground continues to serve "as a display case for the city and a calling card to visitors."

The schedule of events hosted by the McAninch Arts Center is as follows:

1 p.m.

Performance by New Philharmonic Trio

MAC lobby

New Philharmonic is a fully-professional, 80-member orchestra in residence at the MAC that has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for nearly four decades.

Performance of scenes from the College Theatre's recent production of "The Dreams of Antigone"

Playhouse Theatre

Director of Theater Connie Canaday Howard's staging of Curt Columbus' adaptation of Sophocles sheds a contemporary light on the classical characters, bringing to stage what it means to be a person who acts in an extraordinary fashion while misguided power dictates fate.

2 p.m.

Chris Jones Lecture/Discussion and book signing

Belushi Performance Hall and MAC lobby

Chicago Tribune Chief Theater Critic Chris Jones discusses his new book "Bigger, Brighter, Louder: 150 Years of Chicago Theater as Seen by Chicago Tribune Critics" in a free lecture/discussion. A question and answer session will follow, after which Jones will sign books in the lobby, where books will be available for purchase. Advance reservations recommended. Visit atthemac.org.

3 p.m.

Piano performance by 90.9FM WDCB's Bruce Oscar

MAC Lobby

Jazz pianist and WDCB radio host Bruce Oscar will perform solo piano jazz in the MAC Lobby.

Excerpts from COD's Spring Dance Concert

Belushi Performance Hall

COD dance students provide an encore performance of works choreographed by dance faculty and selected student choreographers.

COD Music Student Recital

Playhouse Theatre

Vocalists, pianists and instrumentalists who take private lessons or perform in College of DuPage Music ensembles give encore performances.

The schedule of events hosted by the Physical Education Center is as follows:

1 p.m.

Can you get a hit?

PE Arena

Faculty and students demonstrate tips on pitching, fielding, catching and more.

2 p.m.

Golf Tips

PE Arena

Faculty members provide tips and demonstrate ways to help improve your golf game.

3 p.m.

Martial Arts Demonstration

Mat room

Faculty and students demonstrate stances, blocks and mental techniques behind the popular martial arts disciplines including Tang Soo Do, Karate and more.

In addition, each facility will feature a variety of information tables, contests/giveaways and refreshments. Chappy, the College's mascot, also will be on hand at the P.E. Center.

The MAC renovations include updates to its three performance spaces, construction of the new Cleve Carney Art Gallery and the Lakeside Pavilion, improvements to the infrastructure and patron service areas, and new windows and renovated spaces for such programs as art, graphic design and music.

The most dramatic transformation in the Physical Education Center is the new two-story entrance on the south side of the building that eliminates entry confusion. Also new are Chaparral Fitness, an 11,000 square-foot fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, and the varsity athletic addition, which includes men's and women's locker rooms, a strength lab and a training room.

The Library features a reconfigured Reference Desk; two new entrances on the upper level, one from the south staircase of the Student Resource Center and one connecting with the Academic Computing Center; six classrooms in which librarians can teach research and information literacy skills; and student spaces that range from all-quiet zones to group study rooms outfitted with technology.