The mission of the Park Performing Arts Center is to entertain, educate and energize our local community and beyond, especially children, with the best in the performing and visual arts.

We believe that the opportunity to be entertained, educated and inspired by the performing arts should be available to all, regardless of an individual’s economic standing.  We work in partnership with community artists, schools, businesses, foundations, governments and other organizations to make that opportunity a reality.

The Park Performing Arts Center (Park PAC) is recognized by both Hudson County and the State of New Jersey as “the only institution in the county solely dedicated to the performing arts.” Located in Union City and serving northern Hudson County, a diverse urban area, Park PAC has a distinguished history of presenting high quality arts education classes and performances that allow our patrons to experience the transformative power of artistic expression.

The center’s history began in 1932 with the construction of the Park Theater, originally built to house a local parish’s presentation of “The Passion Play.” Many people who grew up in Hudson and Bergen counties remember coming to PPAC as children for their first theatrical experience. With the Park Theater as its centerpiece, the Park Performing Arts Center was incorporated in 1983 as a private, not-for-profit arts center dedicated to presenting and producing programs for Hudson County’s diverse communities. It is identified as the only institution in the County solely dedicated to the performing arts by the Hudson County Urban Complex Strategic Revitalization Plan, produced for the County and endorsed by the State Planning Commission in January 1999.

Reflecting the unique character of our service area, we also encompass The Northeast Folk Arts Center, presenting classes and performances as well as exhibits that reflect and preserve the heritage of the many cultures here in Hudson County. Our exhibit “The Cultural Thread/El Hilo Cultural” on the history and art of the embroidery industry as expressed by multiple waves of immigrants won the Governor’s Tourism Award. Many of the classes in our education center are extensions of the Northeast Folk Arts Center programming.