CPAC marks 20th year

    This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Caribou Performing Arts Center (CPAC), which opened in January 1988. CPAC is gearing up for a celebration in which all of its patrons in greater Aroostook and New Brunswick are encouraged to participate.     Since January 2008, Ginny White, CPAC’s director, has collected almost $4,000 from area citizens and businesses that wish to sponsor the anniversary celebration and to demonstrate their continuing support of programming at the Center. White’s goal is to acquire $10,000 in local sponsorship before June 2008.
    In May, a handsome wooden plaque will be mounted on the wall of the corridor leading into the Caribou Performing Arts Center. The plaque will bear the names of all donors, grouped according to their level of giving and engraved on individual metal plates.
    There are five sponsorship levels: gold ($1-5k), silver ($500-900), bronze ($300-400), friend ($100-200) and member ($75).
    Donations will be accepted throughout the 2008 season and additional metal plates will be added to the plaque, but all individuals and businesses who want to be recognized for their support in May are asked to mail their checks to the Caribou Performing Arts Center no later than April 30.
    The money collected will be used to secure and promote performances in the 2008-’09 season beginning with The Glen Miller Orchestra appearing on Tuesday, May 20. Tickets will appear at local outlets on Monday, April 7.
    The Glenn Miller Orchestra travels over 100,000 miles every year and plays nearly 300 dates. It has been “on the road” longer and more continuously than any other Big Band. With a repertoire exceeding 1,700 compositions, it is still the most sought after Big Band in the world. Well over fifty years after the orchestra was formed, tunes made famous by the Glenn Miller Orchestra are frequently performed by high school and middle school jazz groups and show choirs. This year, in fact, Vicki King’s award winning Caribou Middle School show choir is including “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” in its program.
    Other events in May that are also part of the twentieth anniversary celebration will include “Evening at the Wind Symphony,” concert presented by the Caribou High School Symphonic Band and several guest musicians, a weekend of Maine Dance Academy Recitals and another special treat in The Kentucky Headhunters, presented by the Caribou Council for the Arts on Saturday, May 31.
    Special performances are also being considered for the fall season. Donations from the general public will help secure a high caliber of programming. Please call Ginny White at 493-4278 with your inquiries, ideas and suggestions.
    Some of the amateur highlights include, the Caribou Choral Society, many musicals produced and directed locally and the very popular annual dance recitals of the Maine Dance Academy, the MoonDance Studio and the recently established Small Steps Studio.
    CPAC is also the site for many fundraising endeavors for many community groups and organizations, of which the Aroostook Idol finale is a notable example.
    Professional entertainment at CPAC has included symphonic and classical offerings vaudeville acts, puppetry, live theatre as well as a wide variety of popular and roots musicians. World-class banjo-pickers, fiddlers and Celtic step-dancers have graced the stage. Natalie MacMaster has played at CPAC on three separate occations.