Our History

Cedarburg Performing Arts Center: A Retrospective

For more than 30 years, Cedarburg families dreamed of a suitable performance space for their children attending the Cedarburg schools. Their enduring vision, along with their generous support, ultimately led to an approval by school district residents to build a dedicated facility on the grounds of Cedarburg High School. In 1999, their efforts were realized when the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center opened its doors. While the facility was designed to provide exciting learning and performance opportunities for our students, community residents also were promised a magnificent venue beyond school presentations.

With this in mind, several community leaders came together with the intent of creating a vehicle – Cedarburg PAC, Inc. – to produce the Visiting Artists Series. They believed such a series would showcase Cedarburg on the world’s stage. And they worked tirelessly to make this concept a reality. Those founding sponsors and our other long-time supporters made it an incredible journey… one that always reflected the organization’s mission of “supporting and sustaining a professionally managed environment which presents programming to Enlighten, Educate and Entertain our greater community.”

During the past 25 years, Cedarburg PAC has been host to a large slice of American performing arts history showcasing some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry: Bob Newhart, Doc Severinsen, The Smothers Brothers, Janis Ian, Judy Collins, Hal Holbrook, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Don McLean, Chris Botti, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Osmond Brothers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, 10,000 Maniacs, Wynonna Judd and many others. These artists come to us with varied backgrounds, perspectives, opinions, and performance styles. They give us exposure to their lives and experiences, and expand our base of knowledge regarding a part of America’s cultural history that has helped to shape our country.

Cedarburg PAC, Inc. has worked with Cedarburg School District teachers and staff members to ensure that students play an integral role in our Visiting Artists Series. Master classes with renowned artists, open sound checks, Q&A sessions, as well as opportunities to work along side the performers themselves, are part of our commitment to provide valuable educational interactions for students. A continuing source of pride has been the many students who have gone on to successful careers in the arts industry.

From its inception, the partnership between the Cedarburg School District and Cedarburg PAC, Inc. has been a wonderful example of public and private entities working together to benefit community residents and visitors. We are proud partners in this endeavor! Thank you all for being part of our amazing journey. We look forward to seeing you for another exciting season of arts and education at the Cedarburg PAC.