Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation
The three historic theatres in the center of Cache County were built by visionary business leaders in the early twentieth century, including the Ellen Eccles theatre. They have been a large part of the community for decades. In 2006, Logan City was having difficulty providing funds for the Cache Valley Center for the Arts and had to withdraw their annual support. Dell Loy Hansen met with the Logan City mayor to ask what he and other Wasatch investors could do to help.
In September of 2006, Dell Loy Hansen proposed a foundation that would supply urgently needed operational support to the Cache Valley Center for the Arts. Dell Loy, along with other Wasatch investors including Robert and Annette Saxton, Anita Lockhart, Curtis Anderson, Don Gerszewski, Janice Sackett, Morworth Enterprise, Paul Willie, Randy Hansen, and Tony Johnson came together and donated $4,080,000 of stock in Camelot Lakes Holdings, and $22,750 of stock in River Oaks Holdings. The first foundation meeting was held on May 18, 2007. Dell Loy Hansen decided to further his support of the arts in 2015, donating an additional $850,000 of stock in what is known as the European Collection apartment communities. As of December 2023, the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation has contributed more than $3.5 million to the Cache Valley Center for the Arts from the foundation's annual earnings.
Funds from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation support the important operational expenses that make all the performances in the Ellen Eccles Theatre, the classes in the Bullen Art Center and Thatcher Young Mansion, and all the community events at the Center possible. The foundation helps the Center to replace vital equipment and pay for utilities. Funds from the foundation help the Center compensate the staff who provide ticketing, custodial, event management, technical, marketing, and bookkeeping support to all users of the space and ultimately keep the doors open to the many community groups that rely on the space to achieve their artistic visions and performances.
“The Ellen Eccles Theatre has been home to our ‘Christmas from the Ellen Eccles Theatre’ since December 2010. We hear from many patrons about how much they love the atmosphere of the theatre at Christmas time. The CVCA staff and crew are always a pleasure to work with. They make each experience very positive. We thank The Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation for your continued support of the arts, and art funding, especially for Cache Valley and the Cache Valley Center for the Arts.”
Because of the support of the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation, Cache Valley has a venue for performances, a home for arts education, a marketplace for artists, and a gathering place for the community. More than 111,000 people and $1.8 million flow through the Center annually, for more than a dozen different arts organizations. Support from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation helps keep usage fees within an affordable range for local groups and small arts organizations, opening the greatest possible access to Cache County's flagship theatre. This support enables the Cache Valley Center for the Arts to truly serve as an arts incubator, nurturing creative entrepreneurs with subsidized rent and back-office support, and serving as a fiscal sponsor for the future of the arts.
Because of the economic support received from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation, Cache Valley will have a place to immerse themselves in the arts for many years to come.
“The Ellen Eccles Theatre is an incredible gem of a theatre! How fortunate the residents of Logan Utah are to have such a spectacular showplace in their very own backyard.”
Annual Distributions Donated
The Foundation is run by a Board of Trustees
2024 Board Members:
Wendi Hassan
Tom Jensen
Bruce Cook
Dell Loy Hansen
Frank Coppin
As of 2024, the foundation has an asset value of $6.1 million. Those assets earn over $200,000 per year.
Since inception of the foundation over $3.8 million has been given. Less than one half of a percent of foundation income is consumed by administrative expenses.
A Venue for Performance
The Ellen Eccles Theatre is the workhorse of the historic theatre district, hosting over 100 performances each year by dozens of producing organizations. CacheArts Presents continues the vaudeville tradition of nationally touring artists, carefully curated by the staff of Cache Valley Center for the Arts, to augment local arts offerings and connect to the community through education and outreach activities.
Resident groups such as Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Cache Valley Civic Ballet, American Festival Chorus, and Pickleville Playhouse return year after year to perform at the Ellen Eccles and call our theatre home, Other national and regional groups, such as Brian Regan, Gary Morris, or Voice Male rent the theatre when they want to bring their productions to Cache Valley audiences. These engagements are frequently scheduled more than a year in advance, and it’s hard to find an open date on the calendar. Funding from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation helps us keep rental rates within the reach of Cache Valley’s most grassroots performing arts organizations.
“The center is consistently providing opportunities for the growth of the local arts organizations and community exposure to the arts through networking and guest artists. In January [2016], valley Dance Ensemble benefitted greatly from a weeklong residency with Repertory Dance Theatre, our children’s company had a wonderful time learning new styles and ideas from professional dancers in a private workshop and our adult performing company was able to work daily with performer and choreographer Justin Bass. This not only added validity to our small developing company but also helped us gain exposure and an audience.
We were also pushed to explore new movement ideas and possibilities helping us grow as artists. We look forward to continuing our relationship with RDT because of this experience. The RDT workshops were arranged by the Cache Valley Center for the Arts and held for local schools and other organizations, exposing many to the beauty of modern dance. I’m sure we will be seeing a growing interest in the art form as a result.”
A Home for Arts Education
Arts learning spaces were a priority in the remodeling of the theatre in 1993. The Bullen Arts Center and Thatcher-Young Mansion offer classrooms, dance rooms, visual art rooms, a ceramics studio and kiln, musician’s studios, and gallery space. Some of our arts education programming has a legacy going back more than 50 years, while other programs are less than a year old.
Programs range from those organized by Cache Valley Center for the Arts to independent nonprofits who simply rent space and everything in between. CVCA serves as an arts incubator, nurturing creative entrepreneurs with subsidized rent and back-office support and serving as a fiscal sponsor for arts startups. The operational support of the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation helps to hire the talented arts administrators who provide these services and the budget flexibility to make these services possible. These services include 31 arts education programs with over 10,475 students.
“I am so thankful for people like you who make it possible for me to use such an amazing facility for teaching performing arts. The Mansion means the world to me. Like my students, I am deeply touched by its history and beauty every time I walk through the front door.”
A Marketplace for Artists
The Cache Valley Center for the Arts ticket office processes nearly $1 million in sales each year. Including independent ticket sales, the Center generates $1.8 million in admissions, registrations, and art sales each year. CacheArts programs account for less than 20% of this activity. Most of it is in support of our many resident and renter users. Our full-service box office, online ticketing system, and facility marketing support local artists financially and help them live and provide for their families in Cache Valley.
In October 2014, a new project was established, called the Artists Gallery. It is grassroots cooperative gallery run by more than 30 local artists, which sold more than $11,000 in original art in their first year.
CVCA also coordinates the bi-monthly Gallery Walk in historic downtown Logan, raising the visibility of Cache Valley artists and partnering them with local businesses. Support from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation makes it possible to invest time and energy in these activities that build the overall market for the arts over time, even if they do not generate a large initial return.
Organizations and Artists That Have Performed on the Ellen Eccles Stage 2007-2024
American Festival Chorus & Orchestra
American Heritage Schools
An Tus Nua
Bridger Folk Music Society
Cache Community Band
Cache Regional Theatre
Cache Valley Chapter of the BYU Alumni
Cache Valley Civic Ballet
Cache Valley School of Ballet
Clark Center/USU Business School
Collin Raye, Inc.
Comerford Irish Dance
The Crawford School of Irish Dance
Dance Source
Enlight Ballroom
Exceptional Artists
Friends of Menopause
Full Circle
Gary Morris Productions
HeadSpin Events
Jay Owenhouse Productions
JMB Tours
Jones Simkins, P.C.
Live Nation
Logan Film Festival
Logan High School
Logan Regional Hospital
LOL Productions
The Lowe Family
Music Theatre West
Odyssey Dance Theatre
Pakt House Entertainment
Paul Cactus Jack La Marr
Paul Morrell Charities
Pickleville Playhouse
Precision Ballroom Company
Promethean Spark
Smiths Marketplace
Standing Room Only Productions
Stone Angel Music
Top of Utah Entertainment
Unicorn Theatre
Utah Bioneers
Utah Dance Fest
Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre
The Utah Scholarship Fund
USU Ballroom Dance Company
USU Dance Company
USU Music Dept.
Valley Dance Ensemble
Voice Male Music
Organizations and Artists That Have Provided Arts Education Classes in the Bullen Center and Thatcher Young Mansion 2007-2016
An Daire/Irish Dance
Art Classes (AVA or CacheArts)
Art Camp
The Artists' Gallery
Broadcast Arts & Media
BLOOM Vista Program
Book & Puppet Program
Cache Children's Choir
Cache Valley Conjurers Club
Ceramics Classes
Everyone's an Artist Group Guitar Class
Homeschool Ballet Classes
Let's Play Music (Group Piano)
Logan Art Club
Logan Youth Shakespeare
Mountain West Strings Association
Music for the Small & Tall
Music Theatre West Music/Magic Lessons
New Horizons Orchestra
Pilates
Photography Classes
Photographers Adventure Club
Studio 14/Dance
Summer Citizens Classes
Tai Chi
Unicorn Theatre
Valley Dance Ensemble
Writing/Poetry Classes
Yoga Classes
A Gathering Place for the Community
The CVCA welcomes more than 111,000 people through the Cache Valley Center for the Arts each year, which has a significant impact on the aging facilities. During the opera season, the CVCA goes through 2.5 cases of toilet paper (112 rolls) each week in the 5 audience restrooms alone. When the boiler and all the furnaces are running it consumes 4.62 million BTU's of energy. The CVCA finds novel and green ways of keeping the utilities costs low, from motion sensor lighting, laser toilets, and sensor faucets, to energy-saving window film, to their award-winning method of air conditioning the theatre auditorium by borrowing irrigation water long enough to cool the air. Support from the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation helps us keep up with the increasing capital needs of our historic arts facilities and the impact of heavy community use.
When the foot traffic in the theatre lobby caused the custom wool carpet to buckle, the CVCA held a public work call to "roll up the red carpet" work-raiser to remove the padding and adhere the carpet directly to the floor. Bill Sapp and Boyd Israelson turned up for the event. They were on the original restoration committee in 1993 that worked hard to lay the carpet in time for Governor Bangerter’s appearance at the grand opening.
Major Projects and Acquisitions 2007-2016
Laser toilets, sensor faucets Acoustic clouds for the theatre Lighting console/lightboard
Carousel Ballroom remodel & sound system
9 furnaces and 4 air conditioning units replaced
Fire Control panel in the cry room
Sound closet remodel
Balcony mezzanine railing Boiler upgrades
Scissor lift
Automated lights
Wireless intercom for theatre
30' genie lift
Sound upgrade, speakers & amp
10 office computers
Air conditioning unit
Restroom remodel
Ballroom sound and light upgrade
Capstan winch to load heavy scenic pieces safely
Community Outreach
Cache Valley Center for the Arts is recognized as the designated Local Arts Agency by Cache County and Logan City, charged with supporting arts activities for the entire region and coordinating with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, Utah Cultural Alliance, and Utah Nonprofits Association. The CVCA is the anchor organization and coordinator of the grassroots Cache Valley Arts Summit which convenes to coordinate calendars and directories, promote best practices, and collaborate on areas of common concern. The CVCA has also formed partnerships with Utah State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Civic Engagement and Service Learning, and the Quantitative Methods in the Arts class to pair university students with artists to analyze real-world problems through service learning projects. The financial support of the Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation gives us the resources to support these critical community-building activities that help raise the professionalism of the entire arts community in Cache Valley.
