Agata Popęda here, flipping through the photos I took yesterday, Aug. 26 at a special gathering in the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel—the launch of Century of Creativity, a five-year community campaign which celebrates Sunset Center as a performing arts landmark.
That means a packed 2026/2027 season, and much, much more. There will be performances, exhibitions, educational programs and initiatives to honor the legacy of the historic campus. The center was built as a school in 1926, exactly a hundred years ago, and its theater marks its centennial in 2031.
The stage, described by Sunset Center Artistic Director Christine Sandin as “the beating heart” of the building, was built in 1931, and changed the fate of the center forever.
“The arts took the center stage,” Executive Director Beth Bowman said during the ribbon-cutting celebration on Wednesday, Aug. 26. “The building was built for learning, and expanded for the arts.”
Soon after opening, the theater at Sunset became an important stage utilized by local music societies and associations. It also witnessed the birth of the Carmel Bach Festival in 1935. With time, it became an important venue, bought in 1965 by the City of Carmel (city representatives were present at the ceremony, which was hosted by the Carmel Chamber of Commerce). This stage has seen giants, from Joan Rivers to Joe Biden.
“It is a story about the building, but it’s also a story about people,” said Graeme Robertson, vice chair of the Board of Trustees for Sunset Center, talking about the thousands of people who went to school there, played there, attended an event, donated to or volunteered at Sunset Center.
One of the Century of Creativity events on the horizon is the Centennial Community Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 25 (1-4pm), a free, family-friendly afternoon with performances by resident theater companies and an open gallery. The culmination of the campaign, marking 100 years of live performance at Sunset Center, is coming in 2031.
Currently, there are two special exhibits at and around the Marjorie Evans Gallery in the building. There, a collection of archival photographs show the campus of Sunset School in the olden days—showing student faces from a century ago, captured in time. Some of the photographs are absolutely stunning.
Right around the corner, Sunset Center staff organized a “hall of fame,” lining up posters from countless shows that took place in the theater over the decades. “We honor a century of imagination,” Sandin said.
As for Carmel students, Sunset Center is not a school anymore, but Carmel Unified School District students regularly visit and find out that this shining venue was once a charming campus.