Celebrate. Appreciate. Create.

When Palos Verdes Estates was nothing more than a planned development on the Peninsula map, a cultural arm of the community was already in the works. The proposed Palos Verdes Art Center’s exhibitions, education and outreach programs would make visual arts available, accessible and affordable to all. Eighty years strong, the non-profit continues to enrich the lives of the residents, from free exhibitions and studio art classes to art scholarships and children’s programs.

Spring is one of the center’s busiest seasons, and this anniversary year is no exception.

First up, the Home Tour Extraordinaire on April 15 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nearly 38,000 square feet of private historic homes in Palos Verdes Estates are featured this year. Rarely open for public viewing since the 1920s, touring these wonderful residences makes for a truly unique opportunity.

On the heels of the home tour is the 2011 Palos Verdes Dream House Raffle, and this time the stakes are even greater. Instead of offering a home as grand prize, one lucky winner will be awarded $2 million to put toward the residence of their choice, be it a home, a yacht or vacation property. Only 27,000 tickets will be sold at $150 apiece for the scheduled May 24 drawing.

Proceeds from both events benefit the PV Art Center’s ongoing visual arts education, exhibition, community and outreach programs. Tour tickets, order forms, complete rules and further information about the raffle are available at pvartcenter.org.

The Art At Your Fingertips, Partners in Art, and High School Art exhibitions will feature work from both public and private elementary, middle and high schools across the Peninsula. The three exhibitions will run simultaneously from May 6 through 28.