Our mission is to inspire, educate and entertain with outstanding performing arts and diverse cultural experiences while preserving a unique historic landmark.
The Paramount Theatre, originally designed and built to show motion pictures, has provided an intimate venue for a variety of performances since it first opened in 1931. The artistic vision of the Arts Center is to create a cultural environment that reaffirms the area's Appalachian traditions while broadening the region's aesthetic parameters. We accomplish this vision by presenting several interdisciplinary series of arts programming - both in the historic venue and in identified outreach areas. The vast majority - 89 percent - of Paramount sponsored events focus on educational opportunities for the youth in our tri-state area.
Operating as a non-profit organization since 1972, the Paramount Arts Center, as we are now called, offers the best of the performing arts to our patrons. The theatre has seating for 1400 people and an average of 120 performances per year. Approximately 120,000 individuals attend these events with an economic impact to the community that exceeds $4 million annually!
