East Palo Alto City Council Prioritizes Arts and Culture Through EPACENTER Partnership

In a recent East Palo Alto City Council meeting, a significant step was taken to enrich our community's cultural landscape. The City Council voted to make collaborating with EPACENTER a city priority, a move I strongly advocated for. This partnership presents an efficient pathway to deliver a diverse range of music, art, dance, theater, and film programming to East Palo Alto residents. I have had extensive conversations with EPACENTER, and they are enthusiastic about moving forward with a mutually beneficial partnership.

For too long, our city's Community Services division has operated with limited resources. It's time for a change. Given our lean staffing, partnering with established community organizations like EPACENTER is a strategic approach. They have the infrastructure and expertise to manage these programs effectively, without overburdening our city employees.

EPACENTER itself is a premier facility, boasting a small theater, a welcoming lobby café, an outdoor performance area, and a dedicated dance studio. Think of it as a high-performance vehicle – a Ferrari – ready to take us to exciting cultural destinations. However, like any top-tier vehicle, it requires "gas money" – operational funding – to realize its full potential. While nothing is entirely free, this collaboration allows the city to activate a wealth of programming opportunities.

Here’s a glimpse of what this partnership could bring:

• Music Concerts: Imagine a vibrant music scene in East Palo Alto featuring genres that resonate with our community, including jazz, blues, reggae, salsa, banda, hip-hop, Norteno, and Mariachi. We can explore partnerships with renowned organizations like Stanford Live, SF Jazz, and Yoshi's to bring national acts to our city on their off-nights at accessible prices. Additionally, we can showcase the incredible talent within the Bay Area's regional music scene.
• Movies: EPACENTER is well-equipped for film screenings, offering both an outdoor space for large-screen projections and an intimate indoor theater. This opens the door to a wide array of cinematic experiences, from family-friendly animated movies like "Coco" and "Up" to curated film festivals. We could host a Latin American Film Festival, explore classic Ingmar Bergman films, or enjoy French New Wave cinema, catering to diverse tastes.
• Dance: We have the opportunity to bring world-class dance to our community. For instance, when esteemed groups like the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are in residence in nearby Berkeley, we could sponsor them to conduct workshops right here in East Palo Alto.
• Talks and Lectures: EPACENTER can serve as a hub for intellectual engagement. We can host speakers discussing new book releases, current events, pressing social issues, and other topics of interest to our residents. Our proximity to Stanford University provides a unique opportunity to invite distinguished faculty and researchers to share their work and insights with the community.
• Viewing of Sporting Events: NFL Games, Soccer, Baseball, the Olympics, Basketball, and all the events that are more fun to watch in community.

EPACENTER has already accomplished the monumental task of developing a $50 million state-of-the-art facility. The City of East Palo Alto now has the comparatively straightforward role of providing the necessary funding to leverage this incredible asset. This will allow us to bring much-needed art, music, and cultural events to East Palo Alto, filling a void that has been felt since the demolition of Whiskey Gulch, first for the construction of the 101 freeway and then the creating of the Four Seasons/University Circle project. It's worth remembering that Whiskey Gulch was once a vibrant area that housed a variety of businesses and clubs offering music, theater, and social spaces, including the Manhattan Theatre for plays, music venues like Club Afrique and Pena Moai (and earlier, the Reno Club), and various bars such as the Whiskey Gulch Saloon, Collins Club, The Garden, and El Bulebar, each catering to different segments of the community.

I am excited to see the city partnering with EPACENTER, and bring art, music, dance, theater, and movies to our town. I'll end with a question: what do you want to see at EPACENTER?