Event Archives

Join us at the National Willa Cather Center as we partner with Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary and the Willa Cather Archive for an ecotourism day-trip! Begin your day with a sunrise viewing of Sandhill cranes on the Platte River in Rowe Sanctuary's viewing blinds, followed by a short charter ride to Red Cloud, the hometown of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather.

My Ántonia, Willa Cather’s seminal novel of immigration on the prairie, comes to life on the RCOH stage in an award-winning theatrical adaptation by Illusion Theater. The timeless saga is told by narrator Jim Burden upon his return to Nebraska to see Ántonia Shimerda, a Bohemian immigrant girl who shaped his understanding of people and life. Theater-goers will experience firsthand Cather’s tale of the people and land of the Great Plains.

Red Cloud Opera House is pleased to host the traveling exhibit of the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs (ANAC) Tuesday, Jan. 22 through Saturday, Feb. 9. The exhibit is open for viewing in our second-floor auditorium during regular business hours. The works on display consist of 24 Award of Excellence winners from ANAC’s 2018 juried art conference. Also on exhibit is "CatTails" by Gwen Lewis of the Red Cloud Area Artists club. Lewis' work garnered an Honorable Mention at the 2018 conference.

Featured Artists and Clubs

The Red Cloud Opera House will be brimming with enticing aromas as local chefs dust off their favorite recipe for the 5th annual Soup Showdown. The event is open to the public from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for a free will donation. Warm up by sampling a variety of soups and participate in the fun and lively competition by casting your vote for the “Best of the Showdown!”  There are even more chances for your favorite chef to win with additional awards for taster's choice and presentation.

Rave On! re-invents the ordinary tribute show with an electrifying, high-energy, rock n' roll extravaganza featuring America's premiere Buddy Holly interpreter, Billy McGuigan, who is a “spitting image” of the legendary rocker. Backed by the rockin' Rave On! Band, McGuigan’s incredible musicianship helps to ignite the stage and breathe new life into the music of Buddy Holly.

Catherland Through My Lens is currently on display at the Opera House gallery, now through April 1st. An artists' reception was held Friday, Feb. 8 at the gallery. Featured local artists are Linda Brinda and Liz Rasser, both avid photographers with "Catherland" as their subject matter. Brinda, a ranch wife, lives near the Cather Prairie. Her images capture the splendor of rural life, large- and small-scale; as well as document the ranching lifestyle. She finds photography “therapeutic, challenging and exciting,” as will the viewer of her photographs!

Join author Steven Rothenberger in the Red Cloud Opera House gallery as he talks about his first full-length book, Scottsbluff in ’62: A Rock 'N' Roll Retrospective of Small Town America. Beginning in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the cruisin’ capital of western Nebraska, the 60s music scene is quickly expanded to reflect rock ‘n’ roll on a regional and national basis with mentions of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Woodstock Music Festival.

Join us in celebrating Willa Cather’s birthday! The National Willa Cather Center and Red Cloud Opera House will be open for guests to view the facilities, shop our bookstore, and enjoy a piece of cake.

Family-friendly, youth-centered entertainment is on tap when The String Beans visit the Red Cloud Opera House on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. The Lincoln-based group will perform a variety of original songs about all the things kids love: animals, cartoons, food, sports and more. The hilarity and spontaneity of The String Beans is designed to get audiences singing and dancing to the music. There is no charge for this event and pizza will be provided.

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