Venue FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have additional questions not answered on this page? Email info@multiculturalartscenter.org.

To inquire about date availability and schedule a tour, please fill out our Schedule a Tour form.

GENERAL

For spring, summer, & fall weekend dates, at least a year in advance is advised. Wedding season is generally considered to be April – early November, and those weekends tend to book first. (Although we hold weddings year-round!) We are happy to provide our availability if you inquire. There are some holiday weekends, such as July 4th, that are not available.

Our typical weekend rental period is 8 hours. The 8-hour period is also structured so that the first 2 hours are set-up time, and the last hour of the rental is clean-up and breakdown – leaving 5 hours for the event itself. Additional hours may be added at the rate of $150/hr.

All events must end by midnight.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we are unable to reserve a date until you have provided a deposit for your event. Once we have your deposit, we consider your event to be ‘booked’. A contract with your event details will be generated and the date is considered to be yours. All dates are first come, first served.

You may arrive on-site when your rental hours begin. If your rental hours are from 3:00-11:00 PM, we can only guarantee that the venue will be open and accessible during these hours. All deliveries of rental items, alcohol, etc. must be scheduled with a staff member. All vendor pickups must be scheduled during your rental time at the end of the night.

No, all your vendors and items must be cleared out of the space by the end of your event. Anything left in the space outside of your rental time must be cleared by the Multicultural Arts Center in advance.

The rental fee includes the following:

  • Up to 8 hours of access to our venue, use of the Theater, the Gallery, the kitchenette, Green Room, 2nd Floor Studios (dressing rooms), and Centanni Hallway.
  • A wedding rehearsal on-site during our business hours, as long as there are no scheduling conflicts.
  • Basic lighting design, use of our sound system, and a Production Assistant present on the day of the event. The Production Assistant is responsible for opening the venue, working with caterers, making sure lights and sound are behaving, and generally overseeing all operations at the venue. If you require a dedicated light or sound tech, there are additional fees for hiring such staff.

You can download diagrams of the Gallery and Theater here.

We encourage you to rent our chairs and tables. You may also wish to rent our projection screen, and projector, use of our baby grand piano, or obtain a permit to use the courtyard. These fees and item details are listed on the Additional Rental Items.
 
You may wish to rent additional tables, chairs, linens, dishware, or other equipment from outside vendors or through your caterer. Please also consider fees associated with hiring a DJ, centerpieces, floral arrangements, or other decorations.

No, a police detail is not necessary. A building security guard will be on-site during your event to ensure that the rest of the building’s offices remain secure and that no one damages the building or property. For Private Rentals, the security guard fee is included in your rental fee.

Our suggestion is for guests to park in the First Street Garage, a municipal garage on the corner of First Street and Spring Street. The garage entrance is on Spring Street, just a block away from the venue. More information on the Directions page.

There are a number of hotels in the area. We have relationships with the Royal Sonesta, Hotel Marlowe, and Fairfield Inn.

WEDDING

If your wedding is taking place during the warmer months, Centanni Courtyard is the perfect spot for ceremonies. Located just outside of our main entrance, the courtyard continues the historic feel of our Theater with brick walkways, lawns, and arbors. If a permit by the City of Cambridge is granted, use of the courtyard requires an additional $50 permit. We will apply for a permit on your behalf.

If your wedding is scheduled for cooler months or there is rain or other inhospitable weather forecast on the day of your wedding, you can plan for your ceremony to be held indoors in the Theater. Your guests will exit the Theater for cocktail hour, and the caterers will flip the room to re-open the Theater for the reception.

If you would like to schedule a rehearsal, we can often welcome you to do so on the Friday afternoon rehearsal of your weekend wedding, free of charge. Rehearsals must be held during our business hours. Because we are a performing arts venue, we will at times have concerts or other performances on Friday evenings, so rehearsals may need to be held earlier in the day.

CATERERS

Because we are a historic venue with a small staff, we require use of a caterer from our Approved Caterer List. Caterers on this list understand they are responsible for all set-up/breakdown/clean-up for your event, and they have all catered events here in the past. They are familiar with the venue, policies, and restrictions, and have received exceptional feedback. There are many client benefits when your selected caterer knows your venue well, and we have a wide variety of options to choose from for your special event.

We complete a catering review once a year and will occasionally accept new caterers. However, if you are planning an event here, you must use a caterer who is already on our list.

Unfortunately, no. We are a small organization with a small staff. Caterers must be hired to serve and provide all food. Caterers are also responsible for all table/chair set-up, clean-up, and hauling of event garbage from the venue.

All of our caterers are licensed and insured and can support a full bar.

RESTRICTIONS

For most weddings and functions, 150 guests is the largest comfortable capacity. If you are planning a cocktail-style reception without large tables or would like to seat guests in separate rooms (Theater and Gallery), then the capacity could be as large as 200. However, if you are planning to have other components of your event held in the Theater (such as buffet tables or stations, a live band, a stage, a large display, etc.) then this will likely reduce guest capacity.

We’re sorry, we hate fun. (Just kidding!) Because we are a historic venue located in Cambridge, we do have certain policies that must be followed. We cannot allow open flames (candles), confetti, or rice inside or outside for health and safety reasons and we cannot allow balloons indoors because if they do escape, we have no way of getting them down from our very high theater ceiling.