July 26, 2022

The Washington Pavilion has received its largest donation from an individual — a woman who enjoyed the arts and bringing kids to visit there.

Patricia Knutson, who died in 2020, named the Pavilion as one of the beneficiaries of her estate.

Knutson was born in Vermillion and grew up loving music. In her obituary, her family called her a gifted pianist. She had a master’s degree in speech pathology and worked in the Black Hills and Iowa. An international traveler, her interest in the Russian Orthodox religion led her to spend two years at a New York seminary, where she completed a Master of Divinity.

She returned to South Dakota to care for her parents and moved to Sioux Falls where she also became a caretaker for two little girls. She enjoyed bringing the girls to the Washington Pavilion, said Kerri DeGraff, the Pavilion’s chief operating officer.

“It’s that vision of creating a better community, a better tomorrow that leaves a legacy, and we’re thankful that Patricia decided to do that right here at the Washington Pavilion,” DeGraff said, adding the funds will be dedicated to the Kirby Science Discovery Center.

“We have some very fun and exciting projects in store with these dollars.”

The donation is the latest of several high notes for the Pavilion, which experienced an all-time attendance record at its museums in the past year, a record number of subscribers to its Broadway series and its highest level of support in terms of donations and sponsorships.

Still, from a philanthropic standpoint, “this is nearly an entire year of giving,” CEO Darrin Smith said. “It’s very significant for us.”

While the Pavilion learned several months ago it was named in the estate, the amount was unclear as it depended on land sales. At first, a $400,000 donation was shared with the understanding there would be a second portion to the gift, he said.

“We thought the second amount would be less than the first, so you can only imagine our delight when we learned it was essentially twice as much as the initial amount and the total of $1.2 million,” Smith said.

“We have a very good idea what that first project is going to do, and I think the community and the kids in particular are going to be very excited about it.”