PLYMOUTH, WI – Plymouth Arts Center is celebrating its 25th “Silver” Anniversary this year and invites the public to join in the festivities. Established in 1993, as a 501c3 charitable non-profit community arts organization, Plymouth Arts Center has been profoundly committed to its mission of presenting a diverse arts program for all to enjoy. As the leading cultural and arts destination in Western Sheboygan County, the PAC continues to serve tens of thousands of patrons every year since its founding 25 years ago.
Situated in historic downtown Plymouth, WI at 520 East Mill Street, the corner of Eastern Avenue and Mill and North Streets, the PAC is home to Gallery 110 North, a fine art gallery with changing exhibitions-well-known for showcasing Wisconsin artists. The PAC presents ongoing performing art events, art classes, a gift shop featuring member artwork, as well as special signature events such as Northern Moraine Spring Art Tour in June, Cheese Capital Jazz & Blues Crawl in August, Paint the Towns, En Plein Air in September, and the nationally acclaimed, New Year’s Eve, “Big Cheese Drop!” The PAC serves as a popular community center setting for special events such as weddings, showers, recitals, private parties, corporate meetings, educational activities, reunions, and more.
To celebrate its important anniversary milestone, the PAC is presenting a variety of enhanced performances and art shows throughout the year. The Anniversary theme will culminate in December with the Holiday Membership Art Exhibition/Social and the New Year’s Eve/Big Cheese Drop finale.
Image courtesy of the Plymouth Arts Center
It all started back in 1993, when founding members and the first Board of Directors, Dena Adamson, Lori Beringer, Andrea Fenner, Roger Lahm, Susan McFarlane, Jody Schetter, Nancy Smith, Christine Schumacher, Peter Wright, and the late, Betty Pardee-Arendt, Joan Kohn, and Nancy Thackray, pooled their ideas and expertise to begin a grassroots effort to create an arts center in Western Sheboygan County. This dedicated and hard-working group along with the Gentine Family Foundation, rolled up their sleeves and invited their friends and associates to join them in this labor of love. They built community awareness by manning booths at the County Fair and Mill Street Fest, organizing art demonstrations, presenting fundraising projects, conducting surveys, selling memberships, and more. The entire step by step process, over the first two-years, was highlighted in editorials and through complimentary advertising in the Plymouth Review newspaper. With the financial backing of area businesses and individuals, and after extensive remodeling of the building in 1994, the PAC opened to the public with an inaugural art show featuring the distinguished artist, the late Robert Heuel II, O.P.A, (‘Oil Painter of America.’) The Founders had positioned the Plymouth Arts Center as a vital part of community life in Western Sheboygan County, and as one of Wisconsin’s finest arts centers, as it remains today, 25 years later.
Originally, PAC’s focus was on two-dimensional art in the Gallery, but within a couple years, theater performances, concerts, and art classes were added. Over the years, more and more events were added, generating significant interest and participation in the arts by people of all ages and walks of life. The increased artistic needs of the community and the need to effectively and more efficiently use the space, led the way for a capital campaign and a renovation project. In 2011, the PAC was remodeled and expanded to meet the needs of a growing organization. The $1.5 million project was generously supported by local and regional businesses, foundations, and individual members and friends. The results of the project were a stunning, renewed Arts Center, a cultural showplace for artists and performers, a center for entertainment, and an important anchor business helping in the revitalization of historic downtown Plymouth, WI while continuing to provide meaningful art related experiences for all. President Tom Slater said, “There were so many wonderful and talented people who gave of their time and fortune to make this dream a reality. The results are a world-class Arts Center that not only serves the needs of the community but introduces the Arts experience to everyone.”
One of downtown’s finest gems, the Plymouth Arts Center, showed off its new polish and luster to the public last Friday, and the results are dazzling. The former car dealership building has moved even farther away from its utilitarian past life with an extensive $1.5 expansion and remodeling.
The new building greatly enhances the center’s ability to fulfill its mission to showcase the arts in Plymouth and provide a community space available for diverse purposes and events. The open house showed that off well, with the set for the center’s latest theater production in the great room where the remodeling effort was being celebrated and refreshments were served. The new kitchen was utilized to provide the refreshments, with the promise of being able to support more efficiently and deliciously the many community events the center hosts throughout the year. The members art show filled the new and expanded Gallery 110 North exhibit space, a bright and open area that can accommodate bigger and better shows. Dedicated classroom spaces with a more intimate ambiance were ready for eager students to come in and learn new skills or add to existing ones.
Outside, the building’s new façade and entryway welcomed visitors even more warmly than it had in the past. All of it combines to make a unique, outstanding facility of which few, if any, cities the size of Plymouth can boast. Such a vibrant celebration and center of the arts is a real feather in Plymouth’s cap and a real attraction for those who come to Plymouth, whether to visit or to live. It says so much about this community and the people who live here that not only do we support such an unparalleled facility, but we have stepped up to support its growth and expansion. Whether it’s the countless individual members and volunteers who make the many events at the center happen, or the businesses and industries who provide financial support for the center and its activities, we are all part of a facility that makes us all proud and makes Plymouth a better place.
Today, the PAC produces over 150 events each year with annual attendance topping 20,000. Programs offer the community the opportunity to be actively involved either on the stage or behind the scenes. A wide variety of volunteer opportunities exist for anyone willing to lend a hand.
Image courtesy of the Plymouth Arts Center
Image courtesy of the Plymouth Arts Center
Gallery 110 North programming for 2018 includes:
- “Intimate Visions” featuring Watercolorist Jean Crane and Fiber Artist Joan Kennedy on display now through March 9th
- Opening March 16 through May 4, the Gallery is hosting the Wisconsin Designers Craft Council Biennial Exhibition.
- PAC’s annual spring tradition is the “Alive in the Arts” Juried Exhibition/Competition. Wisconsin Artists are invited to submit a prospectus which is available on the PAC website. The judge for this exhibition is Deborah Rosenthal, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, WI.
- “The Light of Thy Favor,” opens August 10th in conjunction with the Jazz & Blues Crawl, and runs through Oct. 5th. Meet watercolor artist, Tom Kubala, and pastel artist Colette Odya Smith.
- “In Fine Form: the Human Presence,” a figurative invitational exhibition, will be on display October 12, 2018 through November 30.
2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the Cheese Capital Jazz & Blues Crawl for the Arts, PAC’s largest and most popular fundraiser, held Friday, August 10th, 2018. Additionally, it’s year 10 for “Mill Street Live,” the summer musical series. Other special performing arts fundraising events include: Keith Abler & Friends, Pilgrims & Pirates, Love @ 25 which was presented in early February and the 25th Anniversary Variety Shows April 20-22 and 27-29. Mary Calvey, Plymouth’s Irish lass, is directing Shamrocks & Shenanigans Irish Music Show for her 13th year, March 16-17. Other shows are the Joseph Sartori Classical Music Concerts, PAC Singers’ Spring and Christmas Concerts directed by Barb Zirwes-Nysse; Kids From Wisconsin at the Plymouth High School; The String Along Band-Country Music Theatre show; “Annie” the musical; and the Story of the Nutcracker; directed by Kerrylynn Kraemer. A complete schedule is available on the PAC website: www.plymoutharts.org
Donna Hahn of Plymouth is the first executive director of the Plymouth Arts Center, a position she has held since 2000. Donna is a charter member of the Arts Center and is passionately dedicated to the arts, which she believes touches the lives and souls of the community as a whole. Her arts commitment has been lifelong, and she extends an invitation to all ages to engage in the arts. She said, “for 25 years the Plymouth Arts Center has taken the lead presenting hundreds of amazing arts experiences and opportunities. I continue to be in awe of the many talented artists that have performed on our stage and have exhibited their art in our gallery. These artists, actors, singers, musicians, dancers, writers, designers, and more, are part of what makes the Plymouth Arts Center a special, welcoming organization, and the greater Plymouth area an attractive and vibrant place to live. I am grateful for the important relationships we have built over the past 25 years with our faithful audiences, our 250+ volunteers, and our generous sponsors and donors, who help to insure that the PAC remains vital. This year we proudly celebrate all we have accomplished together! On behalf of the PAC Board of Directors, I sincerely thank all our members and friends of the arts for their continued loyalty and support.”
Image courtesy of the Plymouth Arts Center
As a non-profit organization, the Plymouth Arts Center is solely supported by membership dues, fund-raising events, sponsorships, grants, and private and corporate donations. For those wishing to contribute to a specific fund, the PAC has an established Endowment Fund, Education Fund, Building Fund, and a 25th Anniversary Celebration Fund. The PAC is registered as a charitable organization on Amazon Smile. Donations in any amount are acknowledged and accepted throughout the year.
In 2017 and 2018, the PAC was awarded a Creation and Presentation Grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board. The PAC is a member of the Plymouth Downtown Arts & Merchants group and a member of the local chambers, Plymouth, Elkhart Lake, Sheboygan Falls, as well as the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce. The Sheboygan County Chamber recently announced that the PAC is one of the nominees for “Non-Profit Organization of the Year.”
2018 PAC Board of Directors are: Thomas Slater, president; Paul Sartori, president-elect; Adam Mason, Secretary/Treasurer; Barb Barrows, Barb Garton, Bob Hoopman, Linda Laible, Jerry Matzdorf, Liz Miller, Marissa Murphy, Jim Rosetti, Jim Sutton, Justin Webb, Ben Wiley, and Donna Hahn, Executive Director.
During this special Anniversary year….enjoy the many live musical or theatrical performances, visit Gallery 110 North and the Gift Shop, take a class, volunteer for an event or a committee, become a docent for the Gallery, and consider joining as a member. The PAC welcomes visitors Tuesday-Friday, 10am to 4pm, and Saturday and Sunday, Noon-3pm, or by special arrangement. Closed on Mondays and Holidays. School groups and bus tours may schedule complimentary docent led gallery visits.
For complete schedule of events or to order tickets for our upcoming special events: visit our website: www.plymoutharts.org. or call the office (920) 892-8409.
Celebrating 10 Years (2013- 2023) 