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Students from Loudoun School of Ballet in Leesburg performed Saturday at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Visitors to Saturday's opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center mingled around food tables in the main lobby outside the entrance to the theater. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Brittany Thomson, left, and Taylor Fortunato, both members of the Loudoun School of Ballet, get ready in the green room before their performance at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center in Purcellville. In the background is Taylor Gladstone, left, with Emily Biesler and Giselle Tirado. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Singer Dolly Stevens performed Saturday at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center in Purcellville. The $4 million center has been under construction since the original barn burned down in 1997. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Spectators had one last chance to look through a glass window into the old barn's silo before it was closed up forever. The 13,000-square-foot facility includes exhibition space for visual artists and a green room for performers that will double as a classroom for children's art and music lessons. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Students from Loudoun School of Ballet in Leesburg performed jazz and company dance at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center in Purcellville. The center, which opened Saturday, is the first theater and concert facility in Loudoun that is not attached to a school or university. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Students from Loudoun School of Ballet in Leesburg performed Saturday at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. The theater has digitally controlled sound and a stage floor made of Masonite, to which set designers can affix artificial grass, trees and other scenery. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Students from Loudoun School of Ballet in Leesburg performed Saturday at the opening of the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. The theater has a roll-out floor for dance groups. (Richard A. Lipski)

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The exterior of the arts center is shown in this photo. The $4 million facility was constructed in an old dairy barn in Purcellville. (Richard A. Lipski)

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There are 275 seats in the auditorium in the newly opened Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center in Purcellville. Saturday's opening ceremony drew a large crowd. (Richard A. Lipski)

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There are 275 seats in the auditorium in the newly opened Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center in Purcellville. Saturday's opening ceremony drew a large crowd. (Richard A. Lipski)

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The Hamilton Trio performed at the opening ceremony for the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. Louise Fenn Howard, left, plays the flute; John Howard plays the violin and Elizabeth Kellogg plays the cello. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and other special guests were part of Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. (Richard A. Lipski)