Our History
Today Redding Civic Auditorium is an anchor for arts, entertainment, and education in the North State. But it took about 25 years of perseverance to take the place from vision to venue. Businessman and former Redding Mayor Carl A. Williams raised the idea for the cultural center in the mid-40s; the building finally opened its doors in 1970 to the sounds of the legendary Ray Charles. Since that time a myriad of entertainment icons--Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, to name a few--have followed in his footsteps. Redding’s location between San Francisco and Seattle places The Civic in a prime position to snag top performers between big-city gigs.
While some may say it was Williams’ audacity that brought the building into being, the fact is community support stood strong. In turn, The Civic strongly supports the community to this day by providing a place for a load of local events to be held: conferences, expos, annual firework displays, and much more. As of now, Redding Civic Auditorium has provided over 50 years of good times. Even so, the best is yet to come.
Our Vision
Establish Redding as a leading cultural, educational, and economic center in the Northwest
Our Mission
Promote and facilitate events that inspire and encourage our community to cultivate and elevate our city’s existing and future potential
Our Values
Excellence in everything
About Us
Advance Redding is a 501c3 non-religious, public benefit non-profit established in 2011 to manage and revitalize the Redding Civic Auditorium. Our approach is to promote shows in-house, as well as work with outside promoters and organizations, to offer a quality lineup of diverse programming for the greater North State region.
When Advance Redding assumed management of The Civic, the facility had become an economic drain on the city’s resources, and the venue faced closure or potential demolition. Since that time, Advance Redding worked towards establishing a sustainable business model, creating a vibrant path forward for the auditorium and the community. In a normal non-COVID year, The Civic hosts a variety of events resulting in $46m of economic impact annually.
