Lompoc Theatre Project members recently welcomed federal, state and county elected representatives, as well as Lompoc’s mayor and other city officials, to the stage of the theater as the nonprofit launched its Phase II fundraising for “the highlight of a downtown Lompoc.”
The goal of the second campaign is to raise $3 million to replace the section of roofing over the office building; renovate the façade and upstairs offices; move the historic Land Office from the rear of the property to H Street; and regrade/repave the parking lot, among other upgrades and repairs, Mark Herrier, executive director of the LTP, told attendees.
Attemding the event were U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, 24th District; State Sen. Monique Limón, 19th District; 3rd District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann; Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne, Lompoc City Manager Dean Albro; Jeremy Ball, Lompoc 4th District councilmember; and Ashley Costa, executive director of the Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization and member of LTP advisory committee.
Those who spoke praised the efforts of the Lompoc Theatre Project to create a civic asset for the city.
Introducing each guest was Lourdes Nilon, co-chair of community outreach for LTP’s Board of Directors.
“The Lompoc Theatre Project is exceptionally positioned to bring life to the theater for the first time in 40 years,” Nilon said. Soon to join Nilon as co-chair of community outreach, especially for Lompoc’s Latino residents, will be Teresa Garcia, a native of Lompoc, Herrier said.
Hartmann praised the LTP for having “a substantial foundation” already in place. “Many theater (restoration) projects have a hard time paying costs, but the LTP already owns its land and the building — and rents out space,” she said. “This theater will be an economic driver for Lompoc’s downtown.”
Lompoc, with a population that is 60 percent Latino, is Santa Barbara County’s “most diverse city,” Hartmann said. She and others emphasized the need for a cultural center in the heart of town, one that would attract families and tourists alike with live theater performances and music.
“We, collectively, have the power to change our current lack of live entertainment,” Herrier said. “This town hungers to have a new identity.”
Leo Cortez, a native of Santa Maria with a 35-year career in live theater, met Herrier when both were members of the Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) in Santa Maria. Cortez is now an LTP board member whose focus is youth education and outreach.
Children of all ages and backgrounds thrive with education in the theater and arts, and “we need funding” for students to partake, he said.
The LTP, Herrier said, has raised $500,000 since its inception by grassroots supporters in 2012. Among the donors this year have been the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, the Towbes Foundation, the Hutton Parker Foundation, the Jackson Family Foundation and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Herrier said.
Eric Oviatt, co-owner of COLD Coast Brewing Company and a Lompoc native, called the LTP “a passion project for me, too.” He and his partners opened their doors just six months ago, and he’s “tired of seeing everybody leave town on holiday weekends.”
The theater project, Oviatt said, “is the biggest cog in the machine” that is a revitalized downtown for the city of Lompoc.
The Lompoc Theater Project is a registered nonprofit for the community effort to restore the historic Lompoc Theater, to reopen as a performing arts and film center, educational and community hub, and focal point of a revitalized downtown Lompoc.
For more, visit https://lompoctheatre.org/.