Arcadia Performing Arts Center opens with aul Anka concert Oct. 27

Arcadia Unified School District is set to open the doors  to its spectacular new $20 million dollar state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center later this month with a host of events leading up to the grand opening night benefit concert, “An Evening With Anka,” on Saturday evening October 27, 2012 (theperformingartscenter.ausd.net).

The exclusive Paul Anka opening night fundraiser/concert is presented by the Arcadia Unified School District and the Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, established to support the Performing Arts Center.  Monies generated from ticket sales for the event are donations to Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation and will benefit the Performing Arts Center, art education and art programming for the community.

The schedule of events leading up to “An Evening With Anka” is as follows:

Thursday October 18, 2012

4:30pm Ribbon-Cutting     

6:30pm Arcadia High School Student Showcase

Friday October 19, 2012

6:30pm First Avenue, Baldwin Stocker and Holly Avenue Student Showcases

Saturday October 20, 2012

2:30pm Dana, Camino Grove and Longley Way Student Showcases

6:30pm Foothills, Highland Oaks and Hugo Reid Student Showcases

The student performances are open for the entire community to enjoy.

A premiere 40,000 square foot, 1200 seat, high-concept state-of-the-art facility located on the Arcadia High School campus, the Performing Arts Center was designed to benefit Arcadia students and the San Gabriel Valley as a whole.  The modern glass and brick architectural center serves as an inclusive hub for all of the performing arts. 

Among its many distinctions, the Performing Arts Center boasts a performance stage that accommodates 200 musicians, variable acoustics and orchestral shells and professional lighting and sound systems.  There is also an additional Black Box theater with a separate control room and flexible seating that can host 125 guests. The sound attenuated orchestra room contains instrument storage, practice rooms and a music library. 

A professional dance studio with sprung wood floors is also housed in the Performing Arts Center as are comfortable dressing rooms, scene prop and costume storage space, back of the house stage crafts areas and a concessions booth.  The superstructure is further adorned with a dramatic internal courtyard, lobby and outdoor pavilion areas.

Ticket order/donations to “An Evening With Anka” are available online at

theperformingartscenter.ausd.net.  To order by mail or in person, the address is 234 Campus Drive, Arcadia 91107- Attn: Rachel Abeyta, AUSD Superintendent office.  For more information, or to purchase tickets by phone, please call (626) 821-1781.