Where a 1950s era armory once sat in quiet disrepair, Chewelah’s Center for the Arts now hums with life. Audiences fill the seats for mainstage performances, youth gather for theater programs, and nonprofits rely on the space for fundraising events.
The transformation hasn’t happened overnight. After Chewelah Performing and Cultural Arts (PACA) purchased the armory in 2015, it took three years of cleaning, painting, pouring concrete, and rebuilding to prepare the facility for its debut. Countless hours of volunteer work and a generous community made it all possible.
“Ninety percent of everything we’ve done has been done by local volunteers,” shared Bud Evans, PACA Board Member. “I think the most outstanding thing is that every Saturday there are still 4 or 5, sometimes a dozen, volunteers working on projects that keep us going.”
Giving tours of the renovated center is a testament to the community’s support and a favorite activity for PACA Board President Sharon Ludwig. She points out all the objects gifted to the center — a grand piano from owners of a nearby ski resort, kitchen cabinets crafted by a local woodworker, and an on-site washer and dryer. As the community poured into their theater, Innovia helped fill gaps along the way.
“It was this older building that needed a lot of love,” shares Debby McConnell, PACA Treasurer. “Innovia has been there for every need we’ve had.”
Awarding nearly $70,000 in grants to the theater since 2017, donors at the Foundation have supported projects at every stage of the process — adding bathrooms to the facility, constructing a scene shop, and this year, supporting live theater programming for elementary children.
Over 1100 children enjoyed a live theater performance at the center this year — many for the first time — thanks to support from the Foundation’s Community Grants Program. Inspired by their experience, some children have returned to take the stage themselves through the center’s youth programming.
Long-time board members like Bud, Sharon, and Debby are proud to call the center a thriving cultural hub. Through the years, they’ve seen its impact spread across Chewelah into the surrounding areas as adults and children alike travel to participate in the magic of live theater.
Looking to the future, the trio only hopes to see this impact grow and endure. In 2025, the PACA established the Chewelah Center for the Arts Endowment Fund at Innovia in pursuit of their vision. The fund is dedicated to sustaining and enriching the creative landscape of the region and will exist for generations to come, supporting arts and cultural initiatives in Stevens County.
Our director always says to the actors, ‘My goal for you isn’t to be a famous Hollywood star. My goal for you is to have community theater enrich your life, whether you go watch performances or you’re in performances.' That’s what we want for the center too — to have it enrich the people in our community.”
