Sunset Stories

When Diane Simmons thinks about Sunset Center, she doesn't simply think about a beautiful venue.

She thinks about one of the places that gives Carmel its soul.

Over the years, Sunset has woven itself through many chapters of Diane's life — film, visual art, literature, philanthropy, family and community.

Years ago, she was involved with the Carmel Film Festival when it was held at Sunset, experiencing firsthand the energy that comes from bringing people together around creativity and shared stories.

In 2024, Diane returned in a very different role: this time as an artist. Four of her large paintings were exhibited as part of Open Ground Studios, a multi-artist, three-month exhibition in Sunset Center's very own Marjorie Evans Gallery.

Seeing her own art work displayed at Sunset, and how people connected to her work, surrounded and supported by the creative spirit that has long defined Carmel, was deeply meaningful to her.

She has also stood at Sunset as an author, speaking as part of the Carmel Public Library Foundation's Author Series / community night about her book, My Mother Next Door. Each year, she returns to help bring the community together as a board member and chair of the Carmel Public Library Foundation's annual fundraiser.

"Sunset Center is the beating heart of Carmel," Diane said. "It is a place where creativity is not simply presented, but experienced and shared; where artists and audiences meet; where ideas and stories find a home; and where generations of Carmel residents create memories and can move forward together."

Now a grandmother, Diane finds herself thinking about what Sunset will mean to the generations that follow.

She hopes her grandchildren will grow up knowing Sunset as she has — not simply as a venue, but as a living part of the community's identity and creative spirit.

Her hope for the next century is a Sunset where children discover art, young people find their voices, artists take risks, families make memories and people of every generation feel they belong.

For Diane, that is Sunset's true legacy.

Not simply preserving the past, but giving future generations a place to create memories of their own.