OXNARD PACC
THE BUILDING
The Oxnard Performing Arts & Convention Center (Oxnard PACC) was built by the people in 1968 as a venue for community and cultural events and as a testament to the importance of the arts in our daily lives. Under Cleo La Bonte’s strong female leadership, it took 10 years of fundraising to build this two-city-block complex featuring a 1,604-seat theater, ballrooms, classrooms, and courtyards that adjoin neighboring Hobson Park East. Back then our facility was known as the Oxnard Civic Auditorium and Community Center. The Center was rebranded in the 1990s to its current name.
Since its opening in March 1968, Oxnard PACC has hosted thousands of performances reaching more than 3 million people. Outstanding Broadway musicals, prominent guest speakers, and musical acts and plays have all graced the center's stage. Annually we welcome over 350,000 visitors to over 1,500 events. The Center continues to be the largest complex of its kind in the Western half of Ventura County.
OPAC
THE NON-PROFIT
The Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation (OPAC) was established in 1998 as the administrative, programming, operations/management, and fundraising arm of the Center. OPAC supports, produces and presents theater, dance, music, and media/visual arts, festivals, residencies, and outside-the-box programs that are of, by and for Oxnard.
We’re home to the Center's resident companies, including New West Symphony, Ventura County Ballet, Oxnard Musical Youth Theater, and Hip Hop Mindset. We facilitate iconic annual functions such as the Ventura County Martin Luther King Celebration, Mother’s Day Mariachi Festival, and the Vietnamese New Year, and are a go-to destination for important community conversations and town halls.
THE CANYON
CURRENT MANAGEMENT
The Center benefited from a City government-nonprofit management hybrid until 2019, when the City could no longer afford to subsidize operations. On March 1, 2020 the City of Oxnard entered into a five-year management with The Canyon, a Ventura County-based, family-owned live entertainment company with 8 venues in Southern California. The Canyon presents top tier musical and comedic acts, while OPAC continues to be the center of Oxnard's artistic, educational, and economic life by inviting residents to discover, create, and connect through engagement with the arts and each other.