The new Rockingham Memorial health campus, now located off Port Republic Road just south of the city, opened on June 22. File photo by Heather Bowser

Back in the’Burg, you may have noticed a few things have changed. Here’s a wrap-up of the most important, exciting and just plain fun things that happened in the city during the summer.

The Forbes Center in full swing

This year, Valerie Gibbs’ college experience will change.

A senior theatre major at James Madison University, Gibbs spent her first three years running back and forth on campus for classes and shows. From Theatre II to Duke Hall, Godwin Hall to Memorial Hall, Gibbs and many other performing arts majors were spreading themselves thin. But help is here.

This fall, the opening of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts on South Main Street will change students’ and faculty’s experience in the performing arts programs at JMU.

The two major facilities, the Dorothy Thomasson Estes Center for Theatre and Dance and the Shirley Hanson Roberts Center for Music Performance, will bring theater, dance and music majors into one building.

“Everything in the new building is all right there,” says Gibbs. “It will be nice to have that accessibility and I think it will bring everyone in the performing arts together.”

The complex boasts a recital hall with a seating capacity of 200, concert hall with a capacity of 600 and a theater with a capacity of 475. There is also a large ensemble rehearsal hall with additional practice rooms, classrooms and office spaces. The adjacent 784-car parking garage allows visitors to park close by.

“The Forbes Center gives students and faculty of the arts an unprecedented opportunity to communicate, collaborate and create,” said Jen Kulju, public relations and marketing specialist for the Forbes Center. “Students and faculty of music, theater and dance can work together on projects and performances, which both enhances the educational experience and raises the level of arts programming.”

Art students and faculty will also have the opportunity to showcase their work in the center in conjunction with performances, adds Kulju.

 “Master classes, lectures and pre- and post-performance discussions distinguishes the Forbes Center on a national stage and allows students, faculty and the community to participate in the arts like never before,” says Kulju.

Kate Arecchi, musical theater coordinator in the School of Theatre and Dance, began working at JMU in the fall of 2006, teaching classes in Theatre II and Duke Hall.

“The new facilities themselves are so lovely that just being in them will make it a better teaching environment,” says Arecchi.

For musical theater students and others in the performing arts, Arecchi agrees that the biggest challenge was traveling to classes all over campus.

“Students were all over the place,” she says. “That impacts their sense of departmental or school camaraderie. Being in the same building will be a real positive. It will foster a more collaborative energy and a deeper respect for what everyone does.”

With only three classrooms in the Theatre II building, Gibbs says theater majors “made do,” but now will have a lot more to work with.

“We were in tight quarters. We put on some awesome shows but the floors are uneven and there were other strains,” says Gibbs.

Gibbs, a music industry minor, says the location of the building, at the end of the quad, and new technology are most favorable to students.

“The center is more up-to-date and technologically savvy,” says Gibbs. “Every space is different and you have to learn how to work with it.”

Jeff Showell, director of the School of Music, says the three new halls for the School of Music will have a profound influence on the program.

“We’ve always been a terrific music school but we’ve always had a glaring lack,” says Showell. “Students are going to be able to hear, clearly, how they sound, and the same with audiences. The students will be getting much better feedback and a real world feel for what it’s like to perform. Plus, the recording facilities and the backstage facilities are absolutely state-of-the-art. Everything is professional, and the staffing there is wondrous.”

Previously, music students performed in Wilson Hall and Anthony Seeger Hall.

“We’ve gone from having inappropriate, ill-fitting facilities to having facilities that can really rival anything in the world for their size,” says Showell.

The new facility will also help the School of Music and the School of Theatre and Dance recruit faculty and students, he says. The practice rooms and computer labs are also open to all students, adds Showell, providing more resources for students of all majors.

Gibbs says she’s thankful that, as a senior, she has the opportunity to spend a year working toward her degree in the Forbes Center.

“I’m excited that the arts are finally being recognized and taken care of and we’re being put together in the same community to collaborate,” says Gibbs. “The Forbes Center is going to bring so many opportunities for us. It opens the door for us to do new things and try new things. The opportunities are endless.”

— Jacquelyn Walsh

The ’Burg gets a Best Buy

Christmas came exactly six months early to city residents as Best Buy opened for business in the Harrisonburg Crossing Shopping Center June 25. The technology and electronics store offers everything from video games and phones to appliances and computers.

“We’re very proud of opening in the community,” said John May, general manager of the Harrisonburg Best Buy. The store’s associates are excited to extend the welcome to incoming college students as well, he added.

“We know that [students] shop Best Buy where they live,” May said. “They definitely live in a connected world, and it’s important for them” to stay abreast (or even a bit ahead) of the curve when it comes to technology, he continued.

Brian Shull, director of economic development for the City of Harrisonburg, said he expects Best Buy will be “filled with a lot of new college students” this weekend. “Best Buy is a great store to have in the community,” Shull said, noting that both local and out-of-town college students will have a well-stocked source for all their needs.

And as college students (and local residents) line up to buy the HDTVs, computers and netbooks, smartphones, gaming technology and other gadgets Best Buy has to offer, the more attractive Harrisonburg becomes to other large retailers — which may, in turn, attract more students looking for an ideal college environment.

“It certainly helps” Harrisonburg look more attractive to those retailers, who look at foot traffic and sales figures for similar stores before deciding to open in an area, he added.

— Rachel Bowman

RMH makes its move

If you are unfortunate enough to get sick this semester, remember this one thing: Don’t have your roommate drive you to the large complex on Cantrell Avenue. It won’t do anything for you and the stomach bug you may be fighting.

The folks at Rockingham Memorial Hospital aren’t mean or anything, they’re just not there anymore. This summer, RMH left town, literally.

On June 22, the hospital opened its new 630,000-square-foot medical campus located just east of Harrisonburg off Port Republic Road. Affectionately dubbed by some townies as the “RMH Hilton,” the new building feels a bit more like a hotel than a hospital, complete with waterfalls, mountain views and cathedral ceilings.

The move was a big deal for folks in Harrisonburg because the hospital was at its current location for nearly a century. Plus, moving nearly 100 patients all in one day isn’t so easy.

That day, the hospital transported all 95 patients in less than seven hours. It was the last step in a long process for RMH staffers, who began planning the hospital’s move nearly two years ago.

For college students, the move is a big deal because James Madison University will create a new “North Campus” from RMH’s old 15.8-acre property, which boasts nine buildings, two parking structures and a number of surface parking lots.

JMU bought the complex in December 2004 and will take possession of the property in phases during the next 18 months, according to the school’s website.

Studies are currently under way to determine the exact use of the facilities.

So far, the most immediate impact of the move for JMU faculty, staff and students is an additional 700 parking spaces for student, faculty and staff.

Much of the new parking is already available. So, as always, pay attention to the signage. JMU’s ticketing domain is now 15 acres bigger.

— Heather Bowser