Sunset Stories

My dad attended Sunset School in the 1940s and 1950s and I started ballet lessons at age 4 with Linda Fisher in Sunset Center in the early 1980s. The photo of us young ballerinas in our pink tutus, waiting for our turn to perform on stage, is one I cherish. My brother and I performed in holiday recitals with our classmates from River School (he once fell off the top riser during one!), and we staged homecoming floats for the parades that started in the Sunset parking lot. As CHS seniors, a classmate and I were awarded the "Spirit of Carmel Award" at Sunset. It has always been a community hub.

I was fortunate to learn music in the Carmel schools and community – including through Youth Music Monterey – with professional jazz musicians offering clinics starting at CMS. I volunteered as an acolyte during the Bach Festival and babysat the daughters of two visiting musicians during the festival for at least two years running, while they stayed in a house just a couple of blocks away from Sunset.

Fast forward to 2024, my husband and I got married at Sunset. It was an awesome day – truly magical. My bridesmaids, including one who was in Linda Fisher ballet with me, and I got ready in the Green Room, and our ceremony was in the lobby, my husband and I framed by the original doors as we exchanged vows. It was extra special that the lobby is named after the Doolittles, who are family to us and hosted our rehearsal dinner at their home. We held the reception on the terrace, with the music of River Voices (a group we'd seen perform at Glen Deven Ranch and again at Terrace Hour) playing throughout the evening.

In his toast, my dad said something like, "I went to school here, and my class was where the photography center is now. If you had told me I'd be walking my daughter down the aisle here 70 years later, I wouldn't have believed it." We had at least a half a dozen Sunset School alumni in attendance at our wedding along with several CHS alumni from 1958 to the 1990s, and future alumni in the class of 2028 and beyond. It was the perfect venue for us.

Since then, I've come back to Carmel for performances at Sunset, including Samantha Bee and I'm With Her, and it's been a joy to reconnect with Sasha and Lori, among other amazing staff members, and friends in the community. Supporting Sunset's efforts to sustain artists and give community members access to the performing and visual arts remains important to my husband and me. We will keep coming back!

What Sunset means to me today: Home, community, connection.

My hope for the next 100 years: Sunset Center is a thriving community center and cultural center fostering artistic expression and appreciation for the arts. Sunset Center is a place where locals and visitors alike experience the magic of it, as a historical place that has been thoughtfully updated and adapts to remain relevant and in service of the arts and the community while being cherished by new generations of community members.