Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts

Mission:

At Thrasher-Horne Center, our mission is to:

• present the very best of the arts through professional music, theatre, and dance.
• provide theatres, galleries, and meeting rooms for civic, cultural, and commercial events relevant to our community.
• serve diverse audiences of all ages comprised of residents and visitors of the Northeast Florida community.
• exceed our customers’ expectations by treating them with care, consideration, and compassion in a first-class, state of the art facility that is accessible, comfortable, and convenient.
• strive for excellence in all we do.
• be the cultural flagship of St. Johns River State College.

Vision:

At Thrasher-Horne Center, we aspire to become the premiere gathering place; the intersection of arts and commerce; the hub of community, education, and culture in Northeast Florida.

History:

We are a 1,750 seat performing arts venue and 6,200 square foot conference center located at St. Johns River State College in Orange Park. Our $22 million, 84,666 sq ft Thrasher-Horne Center opened in the Fall of 2004 as the realization of a dream by former St. Johns River State College President Robert L. McLendon, Jr. Our building is named for former Senator John Thrasher and former State Representative Jim Horne, who were instrumental in procuring funding for the Center. Together these men worked with the Clay County Chamber and Tourist Development Council to secure our permanent home on the Orange Park campus of St. Johns River State College. Dr. McLendon appointed Tony Walsh as the Center’s first Executive Director and tasked him with bringing the space to life. Mr. Walsh remained Executive Director from 2004 until his retirement in 2013, when he was succeeded by current Executive Director, Denton Yockey. The Center has played host to hundreds of events since its inception, including nationally touring musicians and performers, Broadway musicals, and a variety of other cultural offerings. In addition to the Main Stage Theatre, the Thrasher-Horne Center boasts a 220 flexible-seat Studio Theatre, two Visual Arts Galleries, a full Dance Studio, Scene Shop, and modern dressing rooms with full artist amenities. The Gathering Place, our full service conference center, offers 6,200 square feet of rental space divided into six flexible multipurpose rooms with an ample main lobby, a full catering warming kitchen, and direct access to our Studio Theatre for additional accommodations.

For more than 50 years, our parent organization - St. Johns River State College - along with the Florida School of the Arts, have been providing educational, technical and cultural opportunities to the residents of Clay, Putnam and St. Johns counties. Clay is one of Florida’s fastest growing counties, and the addition of the Thrasher-Horne Center provided the area with its first major flagship cultural arts facility. Thrasher-Horne Center’s large, modern theatrical and event spaces match in quality those found in performing art centers throughout Florida. We offer both superior entertainment and educational value as well as a direct economic benefit to Clay County.