A small venue with a lot of history, the Cedar Cultural Center on 416 Cedar Ave. in Cedar-Riverside is celebrating 35 years of existence on Oct. 26.

The celebration will be hosted by local rapper Dessa with additional performances from local Minneapolis artists as well as the unveiling of a mural painting along the outside of the building, according to the Center’s website.

Along with music and mural painting, the anniversary celebration will have a fundraiser to help the center with repairs and paying the artists, said Cedar Cultural Center spokesperson Bo Young An.

The Cedar Cultural Center is a music venue that hosts international music and cultural events in Cedar-Riverside.

The West Bank building started as a movie theater in 1948, according to the website. In 1989, the building became a center for live music, mostly consisting of international artists and folk music.

MollieRae Miller, a historical archivist and volunteer at the Cedar Cultural Center, said the late ‘90s were when the cultural center established itself as a mainstay in the community. Miller added that the Cedar Cultural Center even became the set for a few episodes of a TV show called “The Cedar Social.”

“Cedar really founded this small venue that was bringing in Americana and international folk music in this epicenter of Minneapolis that was just rich in people in activism,” Miller said “The West Bank was totally like a scene. Just tons of hippies, tons of kinds of punks and Americana and LGBTQ was all the way up Washington Avenue.”

From 2009 and beyond, the Cultural Center evolved from hosting mainly Nordic and Folk music to more world music and local Somali artists.

Michelle Woster, the executive director at the Cedar Cultural Center, said the venue reached 35 years because of its place in the community.

“It’s truly a community-based organization,” Woster said. “It’s written in our neighborhood. We have all volunteers, every show has volunteers that work. We have paid staff as well, but volunteers give up their time all throughout the organization. And so people care about it.”

The historical exhibit will be put together by Miller and Tim Gnadt, another volunteer at the Cedar. 

Gnadt said he wants the 35th-anniversary celebration to show how even the smallest places hold years of history. 

“I’m hoping that people come in and see the fact that, if they put the effort into doing something now, in 35 years someone’s going to be digging through a box somewhere and find what you have and probably think it’s really awesome,” Gnadt said.

Andrew Boyum, a local resident, said he has gone to the cultural center dozens of times and that he is both surprised and happy that the Cedar lasted this long.

“I’m really glad and grateful,” Boyum said. “It’s kind of like any niche art, art venue where there are people who love it and you just have to be grateful that there’s been support for it over the years.”