The Lynnwood Event Center celebrated its 20th anniversary Wednesday evening with about 50 people in attendance, including city officials. The event also unveiled a new timeline exhibit in the main hall that shows how the land near the event center had changed since the early 1900s, along with past events since 2005. The historical photos were supplied by the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association.

The event featured five speakers, including Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, Public Facilities District (PFD) board members Wally Webster and Rosario Reyes, Director of Development and Business Services (DBS) David Kleitsch, Marketing and Communications Manager Julie Carlos and Executive Chef Michael Felsenstein.

For years, Webster had wondered what the big hole in the ground was for when he used to drive by the future site of the Lynnwood Event Center in the early 2000s. Even when the event center opened its doors in 2005, Webster said that he had no idea what the building’s purpose was.

“I didn’t even feel it was intended for someone like me,” he said during his speech. After several years of declining having his name put in for the board of directors position for the PFD, Webster accepted the position in 2017. (The PFD board oversees the event center’s operations.)

“I witnessed the participation and transformation of this facility into a major economic driver in our community,” he said. “I saw this event center evolve become not just a community, but truly a part of community. I’m involved in the master planning process that will reimagine and transform this 13-acre property into a vital part of the Lynwood City Center.”

Reyes said the reason she accepted the invitation to join the PFD in 2016 was to bring a different perspective and help foster greater diversity. “I’m proud and humbled to be contributing to a more diverse and inclusive board, she said. “I was excited to get involved with PFD board [with the] possibility for participating in the development of this 13-acre site. And as Wally said, I had drove by many times before I got involved, thinking that was not part of the community that I reside.”

“The possibility of having housing for the people who work in Lynnwood was also a tremendous possibility of getting involved,” Reyes continued. “The dream now to develop a site and contribute to making Lynnwood a safe place where people can trust their neighbors, as well as realize their full educational and professional potential, despite the overwhelming disparities that we have today. A housing development–like the one the PFD is intended to bring, has the potential to address critical needs and break down these existing barriers.”

Mayor Christine Frizzell said that planning a public gathering place, such as an event center, had been discussed in Lynnwood since the 1980s. She said she has a copy of a 1993 document, signed by 200 community members, that memorializes the event center and the coming of Sound Transit to Lynnwood.

“We need places where we can come together and feel like we’re in community. And back in the ’80s, that was a big thing,” Frizzell said.

She said that Washington state introduced the concept of funding public facilities districts in 1999 to create a separate taxing entity, adding that the Lynnwood Event Center has been a “catalyst for over $200 million in economic benefits” to Lynnwood.

“The city doesn’t get to own this property,” Frizzell said. “The state provided funding for public facilities, districts and this tool allocated state-collected sales tax revenues to support regional projects, such as [the Lynnwood Event Center] without imposing new taxes on our residents.

David Kleitsch said that he was involved in the event center’s development since the beginning, starting with the PFD’s acquisition of the 13-acre parcel in December 2001. This was followed by the facility design in 2002, construction in 2003 and grand opening in 2005.

“It’s come a long way from conferences and conventions. It’s now a community space,” Kleitsch said. “Since opening, the event center has been a place for community events, meetings, banquets, galas, weddings and so much more. As the facility has matured, it is serving a much broader audience. Both the Lynnwood Event Center and I have evolved. The Lynnwood PFD has embarked on a master plan for the district, envisioned as a phase mixed-use development in the heart of our community.”

Julie Carlos thanked Executive Chef Michael Felsenstein for his service since the opening of the event center. “[Michael] has been the heart of what we do, not just through the incredible food and service, but through the way he leads and inspires everyone around him,” Carlos said. As she spoke, several pictures of Felsenstein were shown on the display on the lectern, including him working in the kitchen with staff members.

“Chef isn’t afraid of mistakes. He treats them as opportunities to teach and encourage, not criticize,” Carlos said. “He imparts the wisdom to set us all up to succeed. Every day that he walks into the building, he constantly inspires us to think about how we can improve the quality of our guests’ experiences.”

Carlos led the attendees to the unveiling of the new exhibit, where they celebrated with champagne and other bubbly drinks.

“Here’s to the past that shaped us, the present that brings us together and the future we’re looking forward to,” she said. “Cheers!”

Many attendees raved about the lemon cake made by sous chef Nichole Sinarmanto.