'Modernized beacon of culture': Ormond Beach celebrates reopening of Performing Arts Center

The city celebrated the reopening of the building with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Feb. 15.

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The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center hasn't just been renovated — it's been transformed.

After 18 months of construction and $1.7 million, the PAC is welcoming performers once again. On Thursday, Feb. 15, local elected officials, city staff, members of the Friends of the Ormond Beach PAC and other organizations attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building's reopening. This weekend, Victor Wainwright and The Train will inaugurate the venue with a performance on Saturday, Feb. 17, and on Sunday, Feb. 18, the public is invited to tour the PAC during an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring performances from the Seabreeze High School Marching 100 and The Children's Musical Theatre. The Florida Women's Arts Association was also chosen to host the first art exhibition in the building, titled "Epic Expressions," on display through April 27.

City Commissioner Harold Briley called the PAC a "modernized beacon of culture and arts."

"The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center as it stands today is a testament to what we can achieve when the community comes together," Briley said. 

The renovation project began in 2022 and the work was completed by Bomar Construction, Inc. of Ormond Beach. The project revamped the PAC's lobby, added a donor wall and art gallery space, updated the seating in the auditorium thanks to a donation by local developer Paul Holub, and improved the exterior of the building, which was built in 1982 and used to operate as a church prior to the city's purchase of the property in 1988. It began operating as a PAC in 1991, and the city had not completed major updates on the building since then.

The project received $600,000 of Volusia County ECHO dollars, with the city providing over $800,000 in match funds. Ormond was also able to receiving three grants from the Daytona Beach Racing and Recreational Facilities District, totaling over $400,000.

But without the Friends of the PAC, and its president Lucy Jackman, who pushed for the renovation for seven years, the project may have never come to fruition.

City Commissioner Lori Tolland recalled being in a room with the Friends, talking about the future of the building.

"I was their newest member," Tolland said. "I have to admit, I was not confident that the goals were achievable. Then, a few meetings later, I was introduced to this small fireball, and I heard her spunk and her enthusiasm, and knew without a doubt, that the PAC would be something great."

That fireball was Jackman, whom Tolland said was persistent, had great ideas coupled with "unbelievable work ethic" and knew how to get the job done. Jackman, Tolland said, is the ultimate volunteer.

"Her passion and desire to rebuild an arts center in Ormnd is undeniably amazing," Tolland said.

Jackman said it was exciting for the project to be completed — and almost unbelievable after seven years of work.

"This is the epitome of it takes a village," Jackman said. "Because this took a village, it really did."

Now that the theater, what Jackman calls the "center of cultural arts" in Ormond Beach, is open, she's looking forward to seeing acts of all genres grace the stage.

"It's got to be open more, and used more," she said. 

The PAC is currently selling tickets for 13 different shows through the beginning of May. PAC Supervisor Marc Schwartz said he's excited to get back to doing what he loves to do: present shows and events for the community.

"Now is the time to elevate our game and provide all the best for our community," Schwartz said. "Now that we have a facility as beautiful as this, it has put us on the map in a way that we were not before."

His favorite word is starting to become "Wow."

"Simply because the impression that people get now when they walk into the building — especially for guests who have been here in the past — is 'Wow, what a difference,'" Schwartz said. "Because, this place has just been transformed into the grand space that a theater should be."

Civilization are often remembered for their contributions to arts and culture, said Jeffrey Ault, committee member of the Volusia ECHO Board. 

"In the year 2000, citizens of Volusia County took it upon themselves to create a quality of life program, not only to enhance the current cultural opportunities, but they also had the vision to look into the future and say, 'We want our children and future generations to benefit from these efforts,'" Ault said. "The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center fits perfectly for that vision."

Stephanie Mason-Teague, executive director of the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and committee member of the Volusia ECHO board, said the fun part of projects is seeing everything come together. 

"A community center such as this, whether you're acting on stage, behind the scenes, brings our community together in a way that other amenities cannot," she said.

 

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