SONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER

For 70 years, the Sonoma Community Center has been the cultural heart and soul of the Sonoma Valley. Originally built as the Sonoma Grammar School in 1916, the Community Center was incorporated as a public benefit 501(c)3 organization in 1952, and is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. Today, the mission of the Sonoma Community Center is to cultivate a vibrant community through extraordinary creative, cultural, and learning experiences. Driven by values of community, innovation, creativity, inclusion, and leadership, the Center offers a broad range of programs, events, and performances that encourage people from all walks of life to create, connect, thrive, and build community together. We offer over 200 classes annually in ceramics, fine art, fiber art, music, movement, culinary arts, and writing. We also host an Artist-in-Residence program that attracts expert artists to work and teach at the Center. On campus, we house and maintain valued partnerships with the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Crescent Montessori School, the Sonoma International Film Festival, and Sonoma Arts Live, our theater production partner. Our Andrews Hall Theater offers a year-round schedule of films, live music, theater performances, and more for audiences of all ages. We host a variety of creative community events throughout the year, including our annual Da de los Muertos celebration in early November, and our free Thanksgiving Dinner, a valued community tradition for decades now. The Center is also an integral part of the City of Sonoma's emergency preparedness plans; we serve on the City's Disaster Council, and serve as the Emergency Volunteer Center for the City of Sonoma during local disasters and other emergencies. In 2020-21, the Center provided virtual and in-person arts experiences to 3,844 individuals. In addition, approximately 5,000 participated in several free virtual events. Approximately 20 community groups made use of our building space for meetings or activities.