(Radio Iowa) – The Immersive Music Experience will open next month in the new Music Enrichment Center beside the Surf Ballroom & Museum in Clear Lake on the late Buddy Holly’s birthday. The center promises to be a permanent, first-of-its-kind experience honoring the legacy of Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.

Surf CEO Brian Luallen says cutting-edge technology will tell the story of the ballroom’s history. “When I say immersive, what I’m talking about is the fact that you are surrounded by incredible original art, archival videos, special effects on all surfaces,” Luallen says. “It really responds to the fact that younger kids just consume information in a different way, and we need to make sure we’re preserving the Surf’s story and legacy for future generations.”

Holly, Valens and Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake in 1959 following a show called the Winter Dance Party at the ballroom. Luallen says new center will allow an array of artifacts from that era to go on display.

KLKK photo

“We’ve also had the original microphone from the very last performance at the Winter Dance Party that Buddy sang into return to the fold, and that’s going to be on display with a brand new jacket that Buddy Holly left after his last performance in San Antonio. These are really powerful items,” Luallen says. “It also gives us a chance to take several things that have been in our collection that are intimately associated with those three stars, and many other musicians, and put them on prominent display.”

Opening festivities start on September 4th with a book signing and a special preview, leading up to the full exhibit debut and ribbon-cutting on September 7th, what would have been Holly’s 88th birthday.