A new partnership between the city of Gainesville and 1000 Voices of Florida will bring free cultural arts and lifestyle programming for adults, youth and seniors to the T.B. McPherson Center.

An open house on Saturday offered an opportunity for community members to be reintroduced to the building, and sign up for free programming that starts this fall.

With a strong volunteer staff, 1000 Voices will be offering adult sings, grandparent chess lessons, piano courses, gentle movement classes, theatrical training, movie nights and other activities, all for free.

“Essentially, whatever we could put into a day that someone would be interested in and gain something from, get some renewed confidence or new confidence, help enhance a skill, or just be introduced to something, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Joy Banks, 1000 Voices director, said in a phone interview. “We want this to be nine o’clock to nine o’clock every day, there’s some activity happening.”

For several years, 1000 Voices has had an ongoing relationship with the city of Gainesville, as the group has sung and led activities at various city events. As 1000 Voices continues to grow into more programming, the group needed a location to use, and while Banks said the city could not offer funding, it has plenty of buildings.

Banks said the 1000 Voices members had a particular heart for East Gainesville, which is part of how they ended up in the T.B. McPherson Center, but the programming will be open to all.

Banks said the T.B. McPherson Center has been part of the fabric of Gainesville’s history, and she wants to see it alive again. For the past decade or so, she said the once-bustling center has been left largely unused.

“We’re really excited about just kind of revitalizing that center, getting people in the neighborhood and beyond East Gainesville, getting the faith and civic organizations to where they want to come and have their meetings there, just getting it back to where it is something we can be proud of when we pass by.”

Saturday’s open house was a soft opening, but Banks said there will be a grand opening in mid-November, where the group will also unveil a Lavern Porter-Mitchell dance museum.