We Are Port Ludlow Performing Arts
&
This is Our Story
NOW AND THEN
PLPA has been presenting outstanding live entertainment to Port Ludlow and the surrounding community since 1991, when a group of visionary Port Ludlow residents began to envision bringing live performing arts to our small community, gathered volunteers and supporters, brought live talent to the stage and PLPA was born. PLPA's Board of Directors is grateful to the founders and all the volunteers and supporters who have come before us over the last three decades. It is our honor and privilege to continue their legacy.
Our Mission
Port Ludlow Performing Arts enriches Jefferson County residents by presenting diverse, professional performances and supporting local music education, giving every student access to the life-changing power of the performing arts.
Our Vision
Port Ludlow Performing Arts envisions a vibrant community where all Jefferson County residents can experience the transformative power of the arts. Through diverse performances and strong support for local music education, we aim to inspire, connect and empower future generations.
Core Values
Entertainment - Education - Excellence
Us Now and Then
PLPA has been presenting outstanding live entertainment to Port Ludlow and the surrounding community since 1991, when a group of visionary Port Ludlow residents began to envision bringing live performing arts to our small community, gathered volunteers and supporters, brought live talent to the stage and PLPA was born. PLPA's Board of Directors is grateful to the founders and all the volunteers and supporters who have come before us over the last three decades. It is our honor and privilege to continue their legacy.
Six Season Performances
PLPA strives to bring a memorable journey of entertainment, featuring talent from around the world; ranging from classical piano, jazz, blues, traditional pop, vocals, to Irish folk songs, a little comedy, dance and even a ventriloquist thrown in for fun. One of the many ways we continue to bring varied and outstanding talent is due to our dedicated Booking Team. Each year our team attends an annual five-state Northwest Regional Arts Conference to preview live talent from around the world, providing the Board of Directors with the opportunity to continue to offer a wonderful array of performances to our community. We present six live performances each season in the 220 seat auditorium at the Bay Club in Port Ludlow. In addition, we bring local musical talent to a free summer concert, where you might join with your neighbor dancing on the green. Speaking of meeting your neighbor, many patrons look forward to enjoying a glass of bubbly while visiting with their neighbors and friends before the concert, and browsing through the art gallery of local artists, making it a truly social event.
Our Board of Directors
& Volunteers
None of this would be possible without our fabulous board of directors, who keep the wheels turning and the lights on. Many other volunteers are the unsung heroes who make every event run smoothly. You will notice them, whether they are passing a tray of treats, checking you in at the ticket table, pouring you a glass of wine, greeting you at the door, and helping you find a seat. From the very beginning, the one thing that has remained a constant and has been the primary reason for the continued success of Port Ludlow Performing Arts has been the volunteers, underwriters, sponsors, advertisers and donors.
Our Funding Sources
Along with our volunteers, who give of their time, those who also support us with their dollars have been and continue to be critical to the continuing success of PLPA. You might be surprised to learn ticket sales cover only a little over 50% of our operating costs.As ticket sales have remained fairly steady over the past few years, the costs of performer fees, lodging, travel and other operating expenses have continued to increase. Your donations continue to provide musical opportunities to the students in our local schools, while maintaining the high quality entertainment our audiences enjoy. To ensure our audience has top-notch audio-visual experience, we also have invested over $14,000 in new sound equipment, and $15,000 in new camera and video equipment. Click on the Support Us button below to learn more about how you can support PLPA and the performing Arts.
Our Education Outreach Programs
Along with providing our adult community with the opportunity to experience the arts, we endeavor to inspire future young artists in our local schools. Through our Education Outreach program we support Adventures in Music (AIM), which brings local musicians and performers to curate captiviating mini-concerts for our elementary students. We present an annual concert featuring a performer from one of our season series for the older students in Chimacum, Quilcene and Brinnon. We offer resources and instrument rental for aspiring students. We offer scholarships for students going on to higher education in the arts. Funding continues today through donations to the
Martha's Fund.
Martha's Fund
Martha Dawson, who began working on the PLPA board in early 2000, was instrumental in expanding the role of PLPA in education outreach to the local students. Martha, who was an accomplished cellist and a former music teacher, sadly, passed away in 2013. The Martha Dawson Fund was established at that time for the purpose of providing musical outreach services to our area schools. This insured the continued growth and support for the outreach program which has become such an integral part of who PLPA is today. All donations to Martha's fund go towards our Education Outreach programs.
Port Ludlow Performing Arts is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization allowing all monetary contributions to be tax deductible.
Annual Season Program
Each year PLPA creates a colorful, professionally produced season brochure, featuring our performances, our volunteers, donors, sponsors and advertisers. 100% of the profit from this season program goes directly to the education outreach and scholarship fund. Advertisers can benefit by reaching a wider audience in Port Ludlow and the surrounding area, exposing their business to the patrons of PLPA. Learn more by clicking on the Advertisers button below.
Our History
by Peggy Welker
We all love to be entertained, whether it be a good movie (with popcorn, of course), a football game, a Broadway production, a National Geographic special, a reality TV show, or a great musical concert. It is our way of escaping the stress of everyday life that takes us to our own 'happy place!' However, back in the early days of Port Ludlow, entertainment options were limited ... Seattle was, and still is, a long way to go for a relaxing evening of entertainment. The internet was just gaining steam, there was no smart TV, and professional music groups had little motivation to come out to the peninsula!
The Beginning
Bev Rothenborg was one of the founders of the Port Ludlow Arts Council (now Port Ludlow Performing Arts). Here is a memory she shared regarding how the organization began: 'In 1991 the Bay Club was brand new. There were not many homes in the planned community of Port Ludlow. The Bay Club was empty most of the time. My late husband and I purchased our home in Inner Harbor that year. One day the manager of the Club asked me if I would get together some friends to sponsor a concert. Her name was Shurli Elson. She had a string orchestra picked out, and the developer Pope & Talbot would pay their fee. I contacted a few friends who all readily agreed to get on board. Those friends and founding members were Annette Koch (deceased), Janet Force(deceased), Jim and Dion Watson - all of whom still live in Port Ludlow - and me, of course. In those days there was great rivalry between North and South Bay communities in Port Ludlow, and we wanted to try to bridge the gap! We asked North Bay resident Jane Sanford (deceased) to join us, and she agreed. We named ourselves the Port Ludlow Arts Council ... we began making modest profits from the very first concert. At that time the Bay Club did not charge us for the use of the auditorium, and the manager of the Port Ludlow Inn gave complimentary hotel rooms to our performers.'
The Early Years
The original board was small, with only five directors. In the early years, most of the Arts Council entertainment was local. When the board heard a musician or group that they enjoyed, they would invite them to come. It was soon discovered that there was a wealth of fabulous talent within and around the Port Ludlow community. For example, the 1995 Christmas concert was performed by the Port Townsend Community Chorus, a group of 45 male and female singers affiliated with the Port Angeles Symphony Chamber Orchestra. In fact, The Port Angeles Chamber Orchestra was the performing group for the very first May concert in 1992, and they returned in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Today PLPA and the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra still have a close working relationship through the 'Adventures in Music' outreach program. In 1997 local soprano Althea Barnes was a smashing success, and two years later she appeared with her sons and daughters-in-law as the Barnes Family Players for a fantastic musical variety evening.
Music On The Green
The first Music on the Green concert occurred in 1998 with 'Opus One Big Band' and the 'Dukes of Dabob.' It was a huge success with more than 225 people attending and marked the beginning of a long tradition of outdoor Music on the Green concerts that have continued every summer until very recently!
A Hard Working Board
The fledgling board tried to keep expenses to a minimum by doing all of the work themselves'auditioning, booking, printing tickets, flyers and programs. Those were pre- Port Ludlow Voice and Brown Paper Ticket days, so the five directors did all their own publicity and 'hawking' of tickets. Thus was born the annual printed program, with Annett Koch initially signing up 21 advertisers. Today, our beautiful programs are a work of art and handed out at every concert. These programs are created through a joint effort of volunteers who contribute the photos, writing, artwork, printing and solicitation of advertisers. The most recent program boasts more than 50 regular advertisers.
The Baldwin Piano
In the beginning, performers had to deal with a sub-standard piano. During one of the early concerts with a wonderful jazz pianist from Cornish, the hammers on the piano became stuck and the musician interrupted his performance to stand up and fix them. After that, a committee was formed to purchase the Baldwin Baby Grand piano that we still use today. An expenditure of that amount was way beyond the Arts Council budget, so Pope Resources loaned them funds for part of the cost. Free Spirits donated $1000, and the Arts Council covered the balance. Within a year they were able to repay Pope in full. More importantly, this marked the beginning of a symbiotic relationship that PLPA still has to this day with the Bay Club and the South Bay Community Association (SBCA).
Improvements
Over the years, the Arts Council had taken the initiative to continually improve the experience of their audiences by purchasing audio and sound equipment, lighting, tents for 'Music on the Green,' a piano ramp, regular piano tuning and supporting acoustic improvements in the Bay Club Auditorium. Most recently, in 2018 a new sound system, cameras and video screens were installed as a shared expense between the SBCA and PLPA.
PLPA Was Born
In 2014, the name Port Ludlow Arts Council was officially changed to Port Ludlow Performing Arts, but the mission of the original Port Ludlow Arts Council did not change. The goal remains to bring a full range of cultural events to the community so that our residents can enjoy quality entertainment without lengthy drives to the larger metropolitan areas. Over the years, that mission has expanded to include an extensive outreach program that brings music opportunities and education to school children on the Peninsula.
