ARIEL is honored to acknowledge the Sally Hughes Church Foundation as the 2026 Presenting Partner. ARIEL is also grateful to local individuals and businesses for their generous support, including 2026 Season Sponsors, Taylor Farms, Hastie Financial Group, Cardinale Moving & Storage, and Aladin Properties.
For 25 years, ARIEL Theatrical has been a fixture on Main Street, and on April 3, our doors will be open for a “First Friday Salinas” Open House.
Take this opportunity to explore our space, peek behind the scenes, chat with our staff and board, and learn more about ARIEL programs and performances.
We’ll have sweet treats and an exclusive ticket deal for our upcoming production of Merlin’s Apprentice for our First Friday friends – while supplies last, of course. We’ll be here from 5-8 pm, or until the treats run out, so bring a friend and come say hi!
This year marks a major milestone for ARIEL Theatrical – 25 years in the Karen Wilson Children’s Theatre on Main Street in Oldtown Salinas. In the early days, for 15 years prior to having a permanent home, ARIEL utilized driveways, garages, barns, homes, churches, schools, and warehouses, as rehearsal spaces. Performances were scattered around Salinas in a variety of venues, and Sherwood Hall shows, attended by tens of thousands of school children, became the main event each year.
Despite these achievements, ARIEL had nowhere to call home.
After an “all-hands-on-deck” capital fundraising campaign and years of planning and construction, ARIEL could now call the Karen Wilson Children’s Theatre on Main Street “home.” This new reality was wonderful and exciting, but not without challenge. Earthquake retrofits, electrical and plumbing upgrades, audience seating, lighting and sound equipment, and hundreds of other projects kept the early years in the building very busy – and expensive. When one problem was solved, another would not be far behind. Most notably, in 2015 a massive fire in the neighboring building put the theatre in extreme peril and caused significant damage. In 2020, the COVID pandemic closed theatre doors around the world. ARIEL continued to endure.
What began as an idea discussed decades ago at founder Gail Higginbotham’s kitchen table, stands today as a welcoming and vibrant community gathering place where engaging programs and family-friendly entertainment are available to all.
At ARIEL, young people are encouraged to make choices that will help them achieve success on stage, and more importantly, in their own lives.
Annually, approximately 500 kids perform at ARIEL, and roughly 10,000 audience members attend shows. ARIEL has seen growth and change over the years, but continues to stand firmly on its guiding foundational principles: Accountability, Respect, Integrity, Excellence and Leadership – A-R-I-E-L. Here’s to the next 25 years on Main Street!
ARIEL is honored to acknowledge the Sally Hughes Church Foundation as the 2026 Presenting Partner. ARIEL is also grateful to local individuals and businesses for their generous support, including the 2026 Season Sponsors Taylor Farms, Hastie Financial Group, Cardinale Moving & Storage, and Aladin Properties.
For more information, visit ARIEL in the Karen Wilson Children’s Theatre, 320 Main Street, online at www.arieltheatrical.org or call 831-775-0976.
ARIEL is honored to acknowledge the Sally Hughes Church Foundation as the 2026 Presenting Partner. ARIEL is also grateful to local individuals and businesses for their generous support, including 2026 Season Sponsors, Taylor Farms, Hastie Financial Group, Cardinale Moving & Storage, and Aladin Properties.
A special thank you to the Arts Council for Monterey County
for their support for this program.
If you have ever thought to yourself, “Wow, ARIEL does really great work…I hope they are around forever,” now is your chance to show your support! Donations of ANY SIZE are needed to help ARIEL continue to provide our mission-focused programs for young people.
You can make a difference by donating through the annual Monterey County Gives! campaign. It’s easy, secure, and your donation will GROW with matching funds from the Community Foundation for Monterey County. The only catch is that you have to make it happen before midnight on December 31st. It only takes about two minutes to join our “Giving Team” through the link on the Monterey County Gives! website here (click on the photo below):
Once you are on the ARIEL landing page on the MC Gives! site, type in the amount you wish to donate in the open field and click the red “DONATE NOW” button and follow the prompts. When you do, we’ll add your name to the list below. Thanks to everyone who is already on the ARIEL “Giving Team” (in chronological order as of 12/27/2025):
Tamara Harris
ARIEL Theatrical Board of Trustees
James Goulart & Carolanne Moreno
David & Heather Kirk
Diane & Carrie Creasy
Mike & Lisa McGirr
Nicholas M. Pasculli
Lanney Hulse in Memory of Barney Hulse
Stephen Hooper
Susan B. Morrow Legacy Foundation
Alex Jenner
John & Heather Higginbotham
Robin Denga
Lisa & Steve Anderson
Douglas Gutshall
Sarah Elias
Diana Snell
John Lavorato
Angela Lavorato
Don & Carole King
Jamie & Ray Del Real
Selena & Adam Herrin
Sylvia Shih
Haide & Cesar Gonzalez
Paul Silva
Dexter Farm
Paula Wilson
Philip & Heidi Daunt
Joseph & Alicia Ashby
Robert & Elizabeth Schaefer
Jim & Lynda Campbell
Linda Stoner
Natalie & Seth Gibson
Wend Grainger
Carol Rodrigues
Jeanne & Daniel Turner
David & Janis Shipley
Tobi & Mike Marcus
Lucas Rose
Alanna & David Mack
Brianda Palacios
Brian Higginbotham
Olga & Ediberto Cruz Cruz
Cath Tendler & Jan Valencia in Honor of Doug Tendler
Diane & Jeff McGirr
Mary Pommerich
Christopher & Patricia Forest
Monika Scott
Teri Breschini
Linda Coyne & Bill Deeb
Will you be next on our list???
