Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - The Woodlands, Texas - Outdoor Amphitheater

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater situated at Lake Robbins Drive in The Woodlands, Texas. It is surrounded by lush forests and provides the Greater Houston region with performing arts and contemporary entertainment. This Pavilion is owned and operated by The Center for the Performing Arts at The Woodlands, a nonprofit organization, and is governed by a volunteer board of directors.

The pavilion was the idea of George P. Mitchell and his wife Cynthia Woods Mitchell back in the 1970s, with their vision becoming a reality when it opened in 1990, and now approximately 75 events are presented at the pavilion between March and November each year. The shows vary in style and include opera, contemporary American ballet, pop, country, jazz and classical music with the Houston Symphony Orchestra resident here every summer since 1992. Many well known names have performed here such as Frank Sinatra, Bette Midler, Van Halen, Tina Turner, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Britney Spears, and Cher as well as the Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera.

The overall seating capacity at the venue is approximately 16,500 with 6,500 of those covered seats. There are certain areas with accessible seating for people with mobility impairments, and also some reserved at the front for guests with visual or hearing impairments. Tickets can be purchased online or direct from the Pavilion Ticket Office located at the north entrance of the pavilion between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Located in the north, south and lawn plazas throughout the pavilion are concessions for guests to purchase food and beverages. These sell hot dogs, pizzas, burgers, fires, chicken in a basket and nachos as well as beer, wine and non alcoholic beverages. Visitors may not bring beverage items into the venue at any time and food is permitted at Performing Arts events only but for all other events, food is prohibited.

Private events can be catered for at the Woodforest Bank Club, which is located in the grounds of the pavilion. This 1,600 square foot facility contains four Plasma TV's with updated controls and a 10-foot HD projection screen with DVD and multimedia presentation capabilities making it an ideal venue for meetings, conferences or presentations. For larger gatherings there is also the Event Tent available for hire, which can cater for between 200 and 500 guests, and is ideal for receptions or large dinners, although neither this or the Bank Club can be used during pavilion performances.

There are education programs provided by the organization aimed to encourage younger people to enjoy and take part in the performing arts. Complimentary tickets are often distributed for the performing arts events held at the pavilion to economically challenged people, senior citizen organizations and charities in the area. Free parking is available inlighted and patrolled lots near the pavilion and for most events, lots open 90 minutes prior to performances, whilst guests can also obtain pre-paid preferred parking in the Gold Lot garage.