Every once in a while an event happens that totally changes the perception of the place at which it occurred. Saturday morning's grand opening of the Maridon Museum was just such an event.

The museum, located at 322 N. McKean St., gives Butler residents and tourists alike an opportunity to experience Asian culture through Asian art as never before seen in this area.

Butler resident Mary Hulton Phillips donated more than 800 pieces of Chinese ivories and jades, Japanese ivories and German Meissen porcelain figures, plus the building in which they are displayed.

"Mary Phillips could have chosen any major city in America to put this museum," said Gov. Ed Rendell, who made his third trip to Butler in seven weeks to be part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "She chose to put it in Butler."

Rendell said he spoke to some city leaders a couple of weeks ago while in town to present the city with a $1.8 million check for the Pullman Park Project about what was needed to attract tourism to the area.Rendell said it was then he learned about the museum and it's implications. He said a town needs to take inventory on things people can do when visiting, such as shopping, arts and culture and festivals while taking into account its uniqueness and heritage.Rendell said the West End Project, Pullman Park revitalization and now the Maridon Museum all give people a reason to visit Butler."Butler is in the process of revitalizing itself," Rendell said. "Local effort is the key to getting projects done and there is no better example of local effort than this museum."Mayor Leonard Pintell was thrilled to see the museum open up."This museum adds Butler to the list of destination spots," Pintell said. "It shows that we have the community involved that make this a great town."Congressman Phil English called the museum a cultural icon and a great community resource."This museum will be a major attraction, especially for people interested in Chinese art and the culture," English said.After members of the Organization of Chinese Americans performed the Lion Dance, traditionally danced at New Year for good luck,

Pintell proclaimed May 8 as Mary Hulton Phillips Day.Phillips thanked the mayor and God for providing her with so many good things during her life.Phillips said she has been collecting the art for more than 40 years. When it came time to decide what to do with one of the largest private collections in the country, she decided to donate it to the town so that everyone could share in its beauty."I was just going to put a couple of pieces on display under a few lights," Phillips said. "But through the combination of a lot of people doing a lot of hard work, we now have this beautiful museum."It's all yours now so let the city get behind it and support it."Three more good luck dances followed, including the Peacock Dance from the 14th century Mingh Dynasty; The Happy Holiday Dance, a traditional dance celebrating the arrival of spring and the New Beginning Dance, a solo dance performed by 15-year old Darlene TzouDorothy Lee Green, adviser for the Organization of Chinese Americans, said her organization was pleased to be part of the ceremonies, especially considering last week was Asian Heritage Week.

Once good luck and prosperity for the museum were insured, the doors were opened and the approximately 100 visitors got the first look at the new museum, designed and built by Springboard Design of Pittsburgh."It is every architect's dream to work on a building like this," said Paul Rosenblatt of Springboard. "We were really blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to design this museum. This building represents the values of the community and means so much to the culture."It was fitting that the dancers performed the Peacock Dance since a pair of jadeite peacocks greets visitors almost as soon as they walk in the door.Once inside, the visitor is led on a journey featuring art from 475 BC to 2002. Materials such as jade, quartz, wood, ink on paper, rock crystal, porcelain, ivory, textile, glass and coral are all represented in the art.While inside, keep your eyes open for:A scene of Hannibal crossing the Alps carved out of ivory. Made in Germany in the early 19th century, the artist's use of layering and the incredible detail, down to the barefoot toes of a soldier, are simply amazing.

A collection of 100 Netsukes, miniature sculptures between 1 and 2 inches tall that Japanese men used to secure items onto their kimonos. The collection is laid out over five rows and a guide at the bottom tells the visitor what is being depicted.A 15-piece monkey band, carved in Germany between 1820 and 1860. The band members are monkeys in human clothes and each one plays a different instrument.Japanese faces carved into a piece of red coral. The artist kept the natural shape and color of the branch and carved more than 20 faces into coral.A set of porcelain male and female figurines, owned at one time by the Shah of Iran. "A friend of mine was at the auction in Washington, D.C., when they were being sold," Phillips said.Trained docents are available to answer questions about the display.