PACE Mid-Year Update Highlights Community Impact and Future Growth 

Posted September 16, 2025
Posted by Board of Supervisors and Public Relations

Council Bluffs, Iowa — Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment (PACE) continues to enrich the county’s cultural life and strengthen its economy, according to CEO Danna Kehm’s mid-year update to the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. 

PACE manages the 95,000-square-foot Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, a vibrant hub for theater, dance, educational programs, the children’s chorus, community events, art galleries, and artist studios. The organization also oversees ticketing, customer service, and maintenance for its own programming while subsidizing key partners such as American Midwest Ballet and Kitchen Council. 

Through its own programming, PACE delivers an impressive array of offerings including: 

• Chanticleer Community Theater: Five mainstage productions and 32+ performances annually. This year’s children’s production, Annie Jr., involves 64 young performers from more than 20 communities. Sponsors make participation free for children, removing barriers for families, nearly half of whom are at or below the poverty line. 

• Council Bluffs Symphony Orchestra (CBSO): Four concerts each year. 

• Children’s Chorus: Newly launched for grades K–5, with auditions complete and rehearsals underway to help fill the gap left by reduced school vocal-arts funding. 

• Educational Programs: More than 150 annual classes in pottery, painting, culinary arts, and more. 

• Hoff Fourth Fridays: Ten annual events featuring Kitchen Council pop-ups, live music, open galleries, and artist studio hours. 

• Gallery Exhibitions & Artist Studios: 8,500 square feet of curated gallery space with Grant Wood murals and three to four new exhibitions annually, plus five subsidized artist studios. 

PACE also supports county museums and is collaborating on the upcoming exhibit “Our Home, Your Story,” opening October 17, 2025. The exhibit will spotlight little-known Pottawattamie County tales including disappearing hogs from 1887 and a phantom engineer whose runaway train traveled three miles unattended. 

Through the years, PACE’s reach continues to grow: 

• Visitors: More than 105,000 people visited the Hoff Center in 2024, surpassing the goal of 90,000. 

• 71% of visitors are from Iowa, with about 70% of those from Pottawattamie County, primarily Council Bluffs. 

• Programming: Over 250 events, classes, and exhibits take place each year, including the free Music in the Park series, now in its 30th year with eight concerts annually. 

• Mid-Year 2025 Progress: As of June, PACE has already welcomed 47,165 visitors and logged 23,324 program participants, on pace to exceed its 2025 goals. 

• Economic Activity: PACE generates $3.25 million annually, supports 9 full-time and 21 part-time employees, and engages 40+ creative contractors and 50+ consignment artists. 

“Our impact survey shows that we make our community a better place for families to live, work, and play,” adds Kehm. “One of my favorite responses was, ‘PACE is one of the reasons I moved to Council Bluffs.’” 

PACE’s revenue model mirrors national arts benchmarks, with 36% earned income (tickets, rentals, programs) and 64% contributed income (grants, donations, government support). 

With robust attendance, diverse programming, and strong county support, PACE is well positioned to keep arts and culture accessible while drawing visitors and talent to Pottawattamie County.