[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO PACIFICA PERFORMANCES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 24, 2006

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to honor the Pacifica Performances on the 30th Anniversary of its 
founding. Pacifica Performances is a non-profit, primarily volunteer, 
arts organization based in Pacifica, California, which is located in my 
Congressional District. This extraordinary organization is dedicated to 
ensuring there is a professional quality performing arts programs for 
the residents of Pacifica, as well as other communities on the 
Peninsula.
  Pacifica Performances was organized in 1976 as the Pacifica Arts and 
Heritage Council, a nonprofit musical organization offering a variety 
of classes in music, dance and calligraphy. Its original venue, the 
Pedro Point Firehouse in Pacifica, offered Jazz and Classical 
performances for the community on Sundays. Since then Pacifica 
Performances has grown exponentially and occupied numerous homes in the 
beautiful coastal community of Pacifica, California including St. 
Edmund's Episcopal Church and most recently the Sanchez Art Center 
which houses a 175-seat concert hall equipped with a new stage and 
professional lighting equipment as well as office space.
  Mr. Speaker, it is truly amazing that this picturesque town of 44,000 
inhabitants is able to provide its citizens with approximately 60 world 
class performances per year spanning the widest array of performing 
arts including jazz, blues, piano (ragtime and classical), chamber 
music, opera, Celtic, Bluegrass Latin, world, pop and guitar, as well 
as dance and drama. Pacifica Performances truly lives up to its mission 
of providing diverse musical and cultural programs to Pacifica, and the 
rest of the Bay Area.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in saluting and 
congratulating Pacifica Performances for the invaluable cultural and 
educational service they bestow upon the community on the occasion of 
their 30th Anniversary.

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