text: The annual Apollo Night talent show draws about 1,500 people to the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (1925) to watch performances by aspiring Northern California musicians.
  Theatre
  The Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton, formerly known as the Fox California Theatre, built in 1930, is one of several movie palaces in the Central Valley. Bob Hope often came to Stockton to visit close friend and billionaire tycoon Alex Spanos, who donated much of the money to revitalize the theater after Hope's death. The University of the Pacific Faye Spanos Concert Hall often hosts public performances, as does the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium. The Warren Atherton Auditorium at the Delta Center for the Arts on the campus of the San Joaquin Delta College is a 1,456-seat theater with a  proscenium and full grid system. The Stockton Empire Theater is an art deco movie theater that has been revitalized as a venue for live music.
  Founded in 1951, the Stockton Civic Theatre offers an annual series of musicals, comedies and dramas. It maintains a 300-seat theater in the Venetian Bridges neighborhood. The company also hosts the annual Willie awards for the local performing arts.
  Other performing arts organizations and venues include the Stockton Opera and others.
  Visual arts
  Museums and galleries
  Stockton is home to several museums: