Claremont Lincoln University Community Performance Stage Dedication Ceremony Held at Shelton Park

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Jan. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- On Saturday, January 9, the Claremont Lincoln University (CLU) Community Performance Stage became a reality as business leaders, city officials and university representatives celebrated the unveiling of the new performance stage at Shelton Park in Claremont.

“Without Claremont Lincoln University’s very generous contribution, this stage would not have been completed,” said Village Marketing Group representative Diana Miller, who spearheaded and coordinated the project beginning in 2011. “The park and stage are right in the heart of downtown. We have a plaza on the east side of the village where we have events, and we have events at the depot to the south,” she said. “I thought this would pull the whole village together. We’re truly one entity; we’re one village.”

CLU’s Founder David Lincoln was on hand to help cut the ribbon, since CLU was a title sponsor of the stage.  “We’re honored to be a part of this project and have a lasting legacy that contributes to this vibrant community,” said Mr. Lincoln.

CLU President Eileen Aranda called the Claremont community a part of the university’s “extended family.”  “We are very pleased with the outcome and today’s celebration,” she said. “My husband, Luis, and I are especially delighted because we eat lunch at this park almost every day.”

The CLU Community Performance Stage will provide a venue for local organizations and private citizens to gather and share their talents and voices with others.  CLU helped to fulfill a community-wide effort to raise money to build the stage by donating the remaining funds necessary to ensure the construction of the $250,000 project. Pomona College and Claremont Community Foundation were also significant donors. The city spent another $250,000 for landscaping and turf removal.

The celebration included food, catered by Bardot restaurant, and music performed by community organizations and musicians including “Bear Brass” and the Inland Valley Repertory Theater Company and Ophelia’s Jump Theatre Company.

Local architect Paul Wheeler of Wheeler and Wheeler AIA Architects, Inc. designed the stage in a Craftsman-like style to blend with the character of surrounding homes and the community.

About Claremont Lincoln University
Founded in 2010, CLU is a unique, pluralistic graduate university that offers innovative, 21st Century educational programs with a secular global perspective designed to bridge the social divides by cultivating the engagement skills of mindfulness, dialogue and collaboration that transcend cultural, religious, ideological, and economic barriers.  The university offers Masters programs in Social Impact, Ethical Leadership and Interfaith Action.  Students are taught to integrate self-knowledge with critical perspectives and contemporary skills to create sustainable social change.  For more information visit us at https://www.claremontlincoln.org or connect on Twitter  @C_Lincoln_Univ and Facebook at www.facebook.com/claremontlincoln .

Photo Caption: L-R Maureen Aldridge, CEO Claremont Chamber of Commerce; Corey Calaycay, Mayor City of Claremont; David Lincoln, Founder Claremont Lincoln University; Diana Miller, Village Marketing Group; Paul Wheeler, Architect Wheeler and Wheeler AIA Architects; Marylou Ferry , VP-Chief Communications Officer, Pomona College