Event Archives

The evocative and impressionistic prairie landscapes of Yelena Khanevskaya will light up the Red Cloud Opera House gallery this autumn! Based out of her Wildcat Hills studio in western Nebraska, Khanevskaya uses her paints and canvases to translate commonplace occurrences into stunning glimpses of natural beauty. Whether it's a cloud formation, a long-abandoned homestead, or the outstretched shadows of a winter dawn, Khanevskaya both documents and elevates the subjects of her work.

Do you love art but don't make any yourself? Would you like to explore a new creative outlet with friends? In this program series hosted by the Red Cloud Opera House and National Willa Cather Center in conjunction with the Red Cloud Creative Arts District, adults learn the basics of drawing through sketchbook exercises. Under the guidance of professional artist and art educator Yelena Khanevskaya, participants will be introduced to drawing techniques and prompts that encourage observational and expressive drawing.

Join us for a production of The Little Mermaid featuring local youth! Deep in the salty water of the Sassafras Sea, there lived a Little Mermaid. In a new version of the age-old tale, lots of music, plot surprises, and humor await the audience.

Join us for a production of The Little Mermaid featuring local youth! Deep in the salty water of the Sassafras Sea, there lived a Little Mermaid. In a new version of the age-old tale, lots of music, plot surprises, and humor await the audience.

We are excited to present All Aboard the Orphan Train, a special traveling exhibit curated by the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, Kansas! This mini-exhibit will be on view at the newly reopened Burlington Depot in Red Cloud in time for Street Car Days!

An open house will be held at the Burlington Depot from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, August 1. Admission to the depot and the orphan train exhibit will be free during this time!

Willa Cather (1873–1947) stands among the most distinctive American novelists of the twentieth century.

Join us for the premiere of an original play Tropic Trouble featuring local children who attend the Valley Child Development Center! Each summer, area youth spend a week composing, writing, and designing a play to perform at the Red Cloud Opera House with teaching artists from Blixt Arts Lab–stay tuned for more details as the cast and crew create their masterpiece.

The National Willa Cather Center is pleased to partner with Theater Latté Da for a celebration of Willa Cather (1873–1947), one of the most distinctive and enduring voices in 20th-century American literature. A peer of Wharton, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and Hemingway, Cather charted her own path through determination, struggle, and artistic vision.

Join us for the finale of the 71st Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference! Adapted by Brenda Withers from Cather's short story “The Bohemian Girl,” this unique and special production features actors Jonathan Fielding and Brenda Withers from the Harbor Stage Company. 

We are pleased to welcome author Rebecca Romney! Her lecture on "Willa Cather, the Archival Chain, and the Making of a Literary Legacy" considers the effects of archival collections on the writing of literary history, with special emphasis on Cather’s posthumous legacy. Such collections are not formed accidentally. They exist through the efforts of individual people, archival agents who save material, become its long-term caretakers, and make it accessible for study. The decisions of archival agents, big and small, can cause ripple effects across the stories we tell.