Alumna Yvonne Johnson ’92 leads plans to build Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center
A Carthage alumna in communications and theatre is the executive artistic director leading the team planning the Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center. Yvonne A.K. Johnson ’92 is building on the success of Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, which she founded in 2016.
The Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center (SVPAC) has publicly announced plans to build a $36 million state-of-the-art performing arts facility. The 59,000 square foot building will house a 475+ seat Main Stage Theatre, a 200-seat flexible Studio Theatre, an Acting Conservatory for area youth, as well as event/business meeting space.
The capital campaign is well underway for the first major arts project in the inland northwest region since the renovation of the historic Fox Theatre, which was nearly 20 years ago. The SVPAC is a legacy project in the heart of the area and will be located in the Spokane Valley near the Spokane River along the I-90 corridor.
Plans for the SVPAC were sparked by the success of Spokane Valley Summer Theatre (SVST), which will become the resident theater at the facility. Since its founding five years ago, SVST has produced high-quality summer musical theatre, while setting new attendance records annually. Ms. Johnson says, “Building the Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center will not only give Spokane Valley Summer Theatre a permanent home, but it will also be a beacon of light for the performing arts in general, as well as give the region a space that will have multiple uses.” The stunning building will benefit the region not only artistically, but economically, pumping an estimated $32 dollars into the local economy per dollar spent on live theatre into the region.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for Aug. 2022, and the Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center hopes to open its doors for its first theater production in summer 2024.