Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month

The Atascadero Printery Foundation formed in 2015 to save and repurpose the historic Printery for community use in the Arts and Education. Press Building of the Women's National Publishing Company, aka the Printery, was the first civic building, housing the operational center of the new City and the Women's National Republic, a rich history which has qualified the facility as a National Historic Place.

Through 109 years, the Printery has served many uses, eventually serving as the Community Center. It will once again play a vital role in the Atascadero Region as a Community Cultural Center. Northern SLO county is all but devoid of opportunities in the Arts and Cultural Experiences. With over 20,000 square feet on just over one acre, the Printery will host a vast array of opportunities. Indoor and outdoor stages and large and small gathering spaces will be filled with Cultural Events, Performing and Visual Arts Education, daily social activities for all ages among others.

The process of raising funds is underway, with very positive community support and grants. The Foundation is seeking further donors and resources to complete the project. More information is available at www.AtascaderoPrintery.org or call 805 466-1961.

Cal Poly Arts is a premiere arts presenter - bringing world-class professional artists in music, dance, Broadway National Tours, speakers, and so much more from across the globe, directly to California’s Central Coast community.

We're not just bringing it to the stage - with our Poly Arts for Youth (PAFY) program our world-class touring artists engage directly with children in their own classrooms or small-group workshops, allowing for impactful cultural and artistic experiences.

We are a member of your community - Cal Poly Arts believes the performing arts should be available and accessible to ALL, regardless of one’s socio-economic status. With this notion in mind, Cal Poly Arts has created the Passport to the Arts program, providing free or deeply subsidized performing arts experiences on the Central Coast to communities who have not historically had access to high-quality, live, artistic programming.

Canzona Women’s Ensemble, a select auditioned choir of 28-32 female singers from throughout San Luis Obispo county, is dedicated to enriching the musical and cultural life of our community through diverse and captivating performances. Our repertoire includes a wide variety of choral repertoire for women’s voices, from classical to modern, ethnic to traditional, and sacred to secular, which has earned us a well-deserved reputation over the past fifteen years. Canzona was conceived and brought to life by artistic directors and co-conductors Cricket Handler and Jill Anderson in the summer of 2009.

Canzona’s mission is to inspire our singers and audiences through the performance of diverse choral repertoire for women’s voices, with an intent to champion works by female composers. Through our performances and community collaborations, we seek to uplift the voices of women in the arts, providing them with a powerful platform to express their creativity and musical prowess. Our concerts not only deliver exceptional entertainment but also serve as advocates for the recognition and appreciation of women’s voices in the broader cultural landscape.

Through performances in San Luis Obispo County's many diverse venues, and by providing multiple points of entry into the world of classical music, Festival Mozaic deepens the experience for its participants. Our programs provide access to the art form through professional performances by outstanding visiting artists, outreach, education, dialogue, and content creation. Festival Mozaic provides a premier destination music experience unique to San Luis Obispo County, appealing to a wide-ranging demographic by enriching and transforming the way people hear and interact with classical music.

The Foundation provides and promotes an extraordinary and accessible center for the performing arts that elevates the arts in our community, in collaboration with our partners, California Polytechnic State University and the City of San Luis Obispo.

In 2016, the Foundation achieved a significant milestone by launching the Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund, a grant program that offers additional support to local community nonprofits performing in Harold J. Miossi Hall & the PAC Pavilion. The Foundation also funds the PAC Outreach School Matinee Program, which gives thousands of local public, private, and homeschool students the opportunity to attend educational live arts performances at the PAC each school year. Thanks to the generous support of our School Matinee Program presenting sponsor, the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust, as well as donations from local businesses and individual donors, all costs associated with attending School Matinee shows are subsidized for every student, teacher, and chaperone attendee. Through our donors’ generosity, we can cover transportation expenses for schools, making the program entirely free of charge.

The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale is dedicated to presenting major works for chorus and orchestra through public performances and educational programs, enriching the performers, audience, and community.

Beginning as a Cuesta College class in 1984, the Master Chorale was offered through Cuesta’s Community Programs division before it was granted a nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, later becoming a wholly independent organization and formally changing its name from the Cuesta Master Chorale to the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale.

One of only three choruses between Los Angeles and San Francisco that specializes in masterworks for chorus and orchestra, the organization consists of over 100 singers auditioned and conducted by its founder, Dr. Thomas Davies, plus an orchestra of approximately 50 musicians.

San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (SLO REP) is San Luis Obispo County’s only nonprofit, professional regional theatre company featuring a year-round season of live theatre in its intimate downtown San Luis Obispo venue at 888 Morro Street. SLO REP welcomes nearly 20,000 people through its doors every year for unique, entertaining, and enriching live theatre performances.

Established in 1947, SLO REP believes that live theatre’s powerful storytelling connects people in ways that open the mind, nourish the soul and illuminate our shared humanity. SLO REP strengthens theatre’s cultural influence and enriches the Central Coast by producing professional theatre, nurturing artists, and providing theatre education for children and adults.

SLO REP also manages the Academy of Creative Theatre (ACT) a year-round theatre arts education and training program operated out of SLO REP’s Headquarters at 3533 Empleo Street in San Luis Obispo. ACT serves more than 600 students every year with camps, classes and professional quality performance opportunities.

Founded in 1954 (later incorporated in 1961), The mission of the San Luis Obispo Symphony is to support an outstanding community orchestra, to foster symphonic and chamber music education, and to contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of the central coast community. Since its founding in 1961, the SLO Symphony has been an artistic, economic, educational, and community-minded entity in the Central Coast of California. The orchestra’s season includes an annual performance of “Pops” at Avila Beach, a bi-annual New Year’s Eve Pops concert, and occasional chamber opportunities in more intimate venues. In addition, we perform five Classics in the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.