Many people find it curious to compare our Niswonger Performing Arts Center with other performance venues in the region.\u00a0 Being located between two larger cities, Fort Wayne and Lima, we are often compared to the Embassy Theatre and the Civic Center.\u00a0I am happy to say that many of our patrons are telling us they like our programming better than that of other performance venues.\u00a0 But I think it is important to realize the differences in operation and missions of each venue.<\/p>\n
When the NPAC was built, it was decided to form an operating body that became known as the Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation (VWAPAF).\u00a0This is a supporting foundation of The Van Wert County Foundation (VWCF).\u00a0 Since the VWCF was such an important financial and planning partner in the beginning stages of building and operations for the NPAC, it was only appropriate that they should exercise some amount of control on the organization.\u00a0It has turned out to be a very wise move.<\/p>\n
As the VWAPAF began planning the operations of the NPAC, it was decided to operate the programming in a seasonal manner.\u00a0 This is rather typical of many performing art centers and is the map I personally felt most comfortable with coming out of my background with Community Concerts.\u00a0 I think many of our local patrons also were used to this type of programming.<\/p>\n
This means that we carefully and thoughtfully plan out an entire season (typically September-May).\u00a0This also fit the seasonal pattern of musical programming with the ongoing and successful Fountain Park Summer Music Series sponsored by The Van Wert County Foundation.\u00a0Planning an entire season of programming means booking events and artists as much as 14-15 months in advance.\u00a0This is sometimes a challenge.\u00a0 However, by operating in this manner, we are able to control who and what we bring into our performance hall.\u00a0 We can also plan and budget much better.<\/p>\n
Other performance venues that choose not to program an entire season are looking for promoters (people who buy up multiple shows and concerts) to rent their venue to.\u00a0They are only interested in collecting rental money and are not as invested in the success of the show.\u00a0They collect their rental money regardless of how the show succeeds.<\/p>\n
We at the VWAPAF are sincerely invested in each and every show we choose to program.\u00a0 We need to choose wisely because our success depends largely on the success of each concert and show.\u00a0This is a great motivator to work hard!<\/p>\n
We also need to keep in mind our mission of delivering an entertainment product that inspires, entertains and educates. This is why people notice such a variety in our programming.\u00a0 We are not out to bring just anything in that will create revenue that will pay the bills. I like the idea of controlling what and who we bring in, as it fits our mission statement.\u00a0 And based on our success with patrons who are coming from far and wide (57 percent this past year outside of Van Wert County), it seems to be working.<\/p>\n
This week, we bring a group of singers, the American Spiritual Ensemble, to the NPAC on Saturday night as part of our Community Concert Series.\u00a0 There are still some good seats available.\u00a0This concert fits our mission perfectly in every way. I have personally seen and heard them and can testify that they will entertain, educate (they are giving a master class to the Lincolnview High School Choir in the afternoon) and most certainly inspire you.\u00a0Nearly 30 world-class singers come together to sing and celebrate one of African-American\u2019s most treasured gift to music, the spiritual.\u00a0There is also a tremendous finale that comes to us from Broadway and the silver screen.\u00a0You will have to come to see what I mean.\u00a0Single tickets are available at the box office and at the door: Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many people find it curious to compare our Niswonger Performing Arts Center with other performance venues in the region.\u00a0 Being located between two larger cities, Fort Wayne and Lima, we are often compared to the Embassy Theatre and the Civic Center.\u00a0I am happy to say that many of our patrons are telling us they like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 22:21:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}