Episode Details

Sponsored by The Mountain Air | Sponsored by Benny’s Pizza | SLOFreeParking

Ron Regier has a relationship with the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo that few people could ever have. He helped plan and open the Christopher Cohan Center, spent two decades as Managing Director, retired in 2015, and then came back a decade later because the PAC’s 30th anniversary was a milestone he simply could not stay away from. In this conversation, Ron tells Adam about the moment he realized the PAC had stopped being a building and had become the community’s “living room,” what it felt like to sit alone in the balcony and pull the doors closed on his final day before retirement, and why he returned to bring what he calls “heart and history” back to the organization.

They also get into the stories that prove the PAC has always been about more than performances. Ron shares what happened when Grizzly Academy cadets walked into Miossi Hall for graduation and realized the significance of the space, how a sixth grader once convinced him to let her school musical take over the big stage and returned years later to find her signature still on the backstage graffiti wall, and why an intimate Jason Mraz performance remains one of the most powerful artist-audience moments he has ever witnessed. Today, through the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center, Ron and the team continue supporting free student matinees, local performing artists, and the long-term care of the venue itself.

And yes, there is a party. The Performing Arts Center’s 30th Anniversary Celebration: A Night on the Red Carpet happens Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 7:30 PM. Inspired by the original Hard Hat Ball, the night spreads live music throughout the Plaza, Miossi Hall and Pavilion, with performances from Hot 45, DJ MoMo, DJ Mano Gil & DJ Mermaid, Lizzy & the Triggermen, Damon Castillo, and B & the Hive, plus complimentary bites and drinks from Central Coast restaurants, wineries, breweries, distilleries and more. Tickets are currently listed at $75 to $96.

• PAC 30th Anniversary Celebration + Tickets: A Night on the Red Carpet

• Foundation for the Performing Arts Center: FPAC SLO

• Meet Ron Regier + FPAC Team: FPAC Staff & Board

• Learn the history of the PAC: FPAC History

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