Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Children’s Fairyland puppets Karl the Elf and Quercus kicked off the opening festivities on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the East Bay’s most iconic landmark, the newly reopened Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. Two decades after the venue was shuttered, visitors were allowed to tour the 215,000-square-foot event space, which cost East Bay real estate firm Orton Development about $100 million to restore. The weekend celebration started on Friday with a roller skating party on the smooth arena floor followed by a full schedule on Saturday of performances by local artists, tours and refreshments. The day ended with theater performances and storytelling in the Calvin Simmons Theater.
The venue, which first opened in 1915, features a massive hardwood arena with stadium seating, a 1,350-seat theater, and several smaller gathering spaces, including a banquet room overlooking the lake.
Sunlight streams through the windows as visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Taiko Japanese druming performers entertain visitors at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Kids react as they watch a Children’s Fairyland puppet show at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Nainique Younger, 16, of the Prescott Circus, walks around with a spinning plate as visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Sunlight streams through the windows as visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) The Alameda County Superior Court building is reflected in a window of the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts during the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, joined by Children’s Fairyland puppets Karl the Elf and Quercus, welcomes guests and community members to the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Visitors tour the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) An aerial view of the newly-reopened Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. The building has been closed for 20 years and the grand opening is on Saturday. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) A "Welcome Back!" digital sign is displayed atop the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts during the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)