Tulare County’s creative spirit runs just as deep as its agricultural roots. We have historic theaters, hands-on museums, and vibrant art spaces. There’s no shortage of ways to experience culture and art here in the Valley.

At the heart of our local history is the Tulare County Museum, located inside Mooney Grove Park. With pioneer buildings, agricultural exhibits, and rotating displays, it offers a meaningful look at the region’s past. Check out the Tulare Historical Museum and stop by CACHE in Exeter to learn more art, culture, & history. 
 

Near the gateway to Sequoia National Park, the Three Rivers Historical Museum and the Giant Forest Museum connect visitors to our area’s rich natural & cultural history and the grand beauty of the giant Sequoias.
 

Families love the interactive exhibits at ImagineU Children's Museum, while agriculture comes to life at AgVentures in Tulare. In Porterville, the historic Zalud House offers a glimpse into early Central Valley life.

Downtown Visalia shines with the beautifully restored Fox Theatre, hosting concerts, touring acts, and community performances year-round. The L.J. Williams Theatre brings larger productions and special events to the stage, while Tulare’s Encore Theatre Company delivers intimate, local productions that highlight homegrown talent. We only grow the best here! 

And the newest entertainment gem of our area, the Adventist Health Amphitheater has quickly become a true community gathering place. Located in the heart of downtown Tulare, this open-air venue brings renewed life to the historic buildings that line the streets, hosting concerts and seasonal events that fill downtown with energy, music, and community spirit under the Valley sky. 

The visual arts thrive at Arts Visalia, a contemporary gallery space showcasing regional artists. The Arts Consortium supports cultural initiatives countywide, helping ensure the arts remain a vital part of our community. 
 

The Art of Living Here

The Artist of the Year invites newcomers into Tulare County’s collaborative, community-driven arts scene.

By Rosalinda Verde Alexander, Artist of the Year

When people first move to Tulare County, I hope they’re pleasantly surprised by how much art already lives here. We might be known as cow country, and I’d also like it to be known that we are an artist country as well. We have art not just on our big stages or gallery walls, but in community theaters, school cafeterias, halls, churches, music studios, music schools and even backyards. The arts scene here is very grass roots. In this region you will find filmmakers, studio musicians, bands, script writers, actors, singers, drum circles, dancers, sculptors and more. Our art was built on relationships, storytelling, volunteering and a strong sense of community. Three Rivers and the mountain artists were some of our founding directors in the mid 1900s. What I most want new residents to understand is that the arts in Tulare County are driven by people who work hard to keep creativity alive, because they care about their neighbors, about access, and about making creativity participatory. Over the past years we’ve had studio tours where you can go inside people’s houses and see where they create.
 

Creating and presenting work here is unique because the community is close-knit. Reach out to one artistic person, and it will lead you to a large yarn ball of connected masters. If you decide to do art here, don’t disappear into the crowd, bring your creative juices and power this artistic machine. When an artist creates something in Tulare County, whether it’s a play, hosting a watercolor workshop, taking an adults dance class, painting a mural, organizing a mariachi youth program or coordinating a musician’s porchfest, one can feel the impact almost immediately. We have a very, “if you build it, they will come” attitude. The audience often includes people you know, people you taught, people whose kids you’ve worked with, or elders and ancestors whose stories shaped the piece you’re presenting. 
 

Tulare County artists are innovative problem-solvers. We build things from the ground up, whether it be a community theater like the Ice House, a huge professional symphony, fully staged operas or grass roots arts festivals, we find beauty in limited resources and meaning in shared effort. Check out our community music video “You can’t stop the beat” by the Sequoia Symphony on youtube. Comparative to an LA or Bay area budget, we kicked butt in this music video; and we did this during the covid era. Mostly volunteers sang, danced and played in this number. We chose to do it when we needed hope and performance. This landscape we live in- the farmland has taught us to be resourceful. The heat has taught us how to slow dance or cumbia during the cool summer evenings. The trips to the mountains give us nourishment and inspiration. The Giant Sequoias are our muses and our oxygen, the water a place to brush off when we fail, or think we suck at the arts (you don’t). I think the fact that we are surrounded by nature has allowed us to focus on the beauty of a slower paced living. We are connected to our roots and do our best to remain grounded. 
 

Looking ahead, I see a future where the arts in Tulare County continue to grow in ways that can beautify our everyday life. For newcomers, my invitation is simple: jump in. Find a local arts organization and help them grow. Create something if you see a need, people will help if it’s for the greater good of all. The arts here are waiting for you, and there’s room at the table.
 

About the Author
Named 2024–2025 Artist of the Year by the Arts Consortium, Rosalinda Verde Alexander is a multidisciplinary performer, producer, and arts advocate. Founder of Green Rose Productions, she champions accessible, community-driven creativity through opera, theater, music, and immersive storytelling across Tulare County.