Act One, a non-profit group in the Valley, is dedicated to helping people access arts, museums and cultural opportunities – regardless of their financial situation. As parents plan spring and summer vacations, the Act One Culture Pass is a great way to help families expose their children to these experiences without breaking the bank.
Did you know there’s a way to get two free tickets to dozens of museums and arts organizations across the state? With spring break here and summer vacation on the horizon, parents often worry about how to keep kids occupied and electronics off during the extended absence from school. The Act One Culture Pass is the perfect solution to this conundrum.
“Families looking to explore Arizona are in luck,” said Ann Osborne, Act One Culture Pass Manager. “Not only do we have exciting activities to explore in the Valley, but we also have excellent community partners throughout the state from as far north as Flagstaff to as far south as Tucson and everything in between.”
Act One Culture Pass provides access for students, seniors
“There are so many opportunities to take day trips and discover all that these cultural centers and museums have to offer for the price of just one tank of gas,” Osborne added.
This year there are 26 arts and culture venues and 16 performing arts organizations that are part of the programme. In metro Phoenix, the Culture Pass can be used at dozens of notable venues, including the Desert Botanical Garden, the Heard Museum, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. It also includes smaller and lesser-known facilities in the valley such as the River of Time Museum, the Caballeros Desert West Museum, and the Gilbert History Museum.
Those interested in exploring Northern Arizona can hug the pines at the Flagstaff Arboretum or spend the day taking in red rock art and culture at the Sedona Heritage Museum. In Southern Arizona, community partners include the Tucson Botanical Garden, the Tucson Museum of Art, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, and many others.
“Using the Act One Culture Pass is easy, all you need is a library card and a desire to explore our great state,” said Osborne. “Arizona residents can stop by one of over 175 libraries across the state to ‘check out’ an Act One Culture Pass. Passes are good for free admission for two people to arts and cultural institutions in their area and statewide.”
The Act One Culture Pass is also good at more than a dozen performing arts organizations in Phoenix and Tucson, including Arizona Opera, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and programs at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
The program offers more than 500,000 passes annually in 13 of 15 counties. Currently, 87 library branches in Central Arizona support the Act One Culture Pass along with 51 in Southern Arizona and 32 in Northern Arizona, with new locations being added regularly. Each library has a certain number of public passes. Once people check out a pass at a local library, they have seven days to redeem the tickets at the venue.
Since taking over Culture Pass in 2013, Act One has offered more than 3 million passes to Arizona families.
To find a library that hosts the Culture Pass program, visit act1az.org/