National Willa Cather Center News
Visit this page often for the latest Cather-related news as well as information about the Willa Cather Foundation's programs, collections, and events.
A Lifetime of Giving: Yost and Leak Join Cather Legacy Society
“I feel blessed that I’m from Red Cloud. There is exactly one small town in Nebraska that can claim one of the most famous authors in the world, so I’m happy to have the opportunity to give back, in light of all that I’ve been given.” – Jay Yost
Philanthropy goes back a long way in the lives of Wade Leak and Jay Yost, who both started giving to their churches at a young age. “I started tithing the minute I earned 25 cents,” says Wade. “Honestly, it taught me the importance of supporting in a financial way the things you care about.”
Bostocks Honored with Mountford Volunteer Award
John and Bethann Bostock of Red Cloud were recently recognized by the Willa Cather Foundation with the 2016 Miriam Mountford Volunteer Award. The Bostocks have been volunteering for the Willa Cather Foundation since the opening of the Red Cloud Opera House in 2003. Consistently conducting their volunteer service in an upbeat manner and with a smile on their faces, they can often be found operating the popcorn maker at Opera House performances.
2016 Scholarship Recipients
A springtime tradition, the Willa Cather Foundation is pleased to announce the 2016 recipients of the Norma Ross Walter and Antonette Willa Skupa Turner scholarships. Ashley Morrison of Millard South High School received the Antonette Willa Skupa Turner Scholarship. Recipients of the Norma Ross Walter Scholarship included Kathleen Walenta of Omaha Central High School; Sarah Niemeier of Heartland Lutheran High School; and Abigail Richling also of Heartland Lutheran High School.
Artist Reception for Shane Booth and Book Talk with Alan Wilkinson
Get ready for a day of fun, art and education on Saturday, June 25th. The Willa Cather Foundation will host a prairie photo walk, and an artist reception and book talk. Photographer Shane Booth will complete an artist’s residency in Red Cloud during the week of June 20, culminating with a lecture and photo walk. Author Alan Wilkinson will join us on June 25, for a book talk. Times for these free events are:
Willa Cather Spring Conference Offers FREE Events
The Willa Cather Foundation hosts their 61st annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, June 2–4, 2016. As the world remembers the sacrifices made during the Great War, the conference will explore the war’s impact not only on Willa Cather’s life and war-era writings but on those of her literary contemporaries, as well as the legacy of the war on American culture.
Nebraska Writers Guild to host Retreat at Cather Second Home
The Nebraska Writers Guild is pleased to announce its first annual Summer Poetry Retreat to be held June 10th-12th, 2016 at the Willa Cather Second Home in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Registration must be completed at nebraskawriters.org by June 7th, 2016.
Local artists' exhibit at the Red Cloud Opera House
The 61st annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, “‘Both Bitter and Sweet’: Cather, Literature, and the Great War,” will focus on World War I and its effects on American life and culture. Summer Snow: A Celebration of Landscape features the work well-known regional artists and will be on display in our Red Cloud Opera House auditorium from May 1 to July 31, 2016.
The Marriage of Figaro comes to Red Cloud
Cunning, love, deception—all of these elements are present in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. This world-renowned opera will make its way to the Red Cloud stage on Friday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m. thanks to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Opera department. This event is free and open to the public!
Spring Conference Line-Up Announced
The Willa Cather Foundation hosts their 61st annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, June 2–4, 2016! As the world remembers the sacrifices made during the Great War, the conference will explore the war’s impact not only on Willa Cather’s life and war-era writings but on those of her literary contemporaries, as well as the legacy of the war on American culture.
New Book in the bookstore!
You might spot a familiar landmark on the cover of Local Glories: Opera Houses on Main Street, Where Art and Community Meet, by Ann Satterthwaite. The book, which charts the histories of many opera houses across the country and their roles in the lives of small town Americans, features our own Red Cloud Opera House on its front cover, which is only appropriate, given the book's close look at how opera houses continue to play a vital economic and cultural role in their communities.