Located in downtown Carmel, just three blocks from the famed Ocean Avenue, the Sunset Community and Cultural Center is one of the hubs and main venues for the Carmel Art and Film Festival.

Established in the 1930’s, the Sunset Community and Cultural Center was originally built as the Carmel Sunset School. In the 1960’s, the city of Carmel bought the complex and converted it into a community and cultural center. In 2003, a complete renovation and reconstruction was completed at a cost of $21.4 million, bringing the facility into the 21st century in both comfort and technology.

Today the Center is a state-of-the-art complex. The distinctive, Gothic-inspired arches of the theater ceiling, previously an acoustical nightmare, had been transformed into graceful, acoustically transparent, perforated-metal ribs.

The auditorium includes 718 seats including 48 that are permanently attached to a seat wagon that rolls under the main seating area for storage in order to use the orchestra pit or thrust stage. Lighting and sound systems include a state-of-the-art acoustical enhancement system for optimal fidelity during a performance. A fully furnished Green Room with a kitchen, dressing rooms, and Rehearsal/Dance studio space completes the back-stage accommodations.

There are additional lecture rooms and conference rooms, some of which will be transformed into small theatres or lecture halls. Combined with enormous courtyards and flag stone patios, the Sunset Community and Cultural Center is the perfect setting for the Carmel Art & Film Festival.