Presser Performing Arts Center (PAC) celebrated its 100 year anniversary on Thursday, July 18. In birthday party style, community members were invited to enjoy cake, ice cream, and live music. 

The road to turning 100 and becoming what PAC is today, did not begin without some challenges. 

 “When we first started, one of the complaints was, well, Mexico can't support a community theater. Mexico can't support an arts center,” Lois Brace, executive director for PAC since 2007 said, “They're not cultural. I said, well, then we'll grow them. Then we'll grow a culture of arts.” 

Part of that growth has included various fine arts classes, workshops and theater productions. Looking to 2025, a program that will provide more creative opportunities for the disabled community has been in talks. 

Mike Briggs has been a part of the arts scene in Mexico since the 1980s. He has been in several theater productions and will be in “My Fair Lady” this upcoming December. Over the years, Briggs has watched PAC's growth from renovation to a functioning arts center. “It’s so unique for a town our size to have such a thriving performing arts center. There are not many 11,500 towns that have what’s here. It’s a great way to plug into the community” said Briggs.

One hundred years have gone but more is still to come. 

“In another 100 years, I do believe this will still be here and any of us who are here today won’t be here then, would find it unrecognizable,” said Brace. “I think it could be a real pillar for the state. I think rural communities can have anything a metropolitan area has, they can have any of it in regards to the arts and sciences, they just have to invest in it, and I think this could grow into that. I have high hopes for Mexico.”