Willa Cather Foundation Events

This summer, the Red Cloud Opera House is excited to welcome artists Steven Tamayo, Paul High Horse, and Anne Steinhoff as they present We're Still Here: American Indian Spirit in the Unmade Place. These Native American artists have brought together a number of cultural touchstones and mediums as they respond to our Spring Conference theme, "Cather's House: Examining Built and Natural Environments in Her Work."

Kick off the 70th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference with a talk from Ann Lundberg, English professor and longtime interpretive ranger, about Cather at Mesa Verde.

This event is weather-permitting and depends on partly cloudy or clear skies.

Join author and tour guide Garrett Peck as he leads a special stargazing program at the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie for our second year! As you prepare to participate in this nighttime prairie event, please do the following:

The Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s Art of Imagination program, in collaboration with University of Nebraska Omaha professor and screenwriter Todd Richardson, has created two short films based on excerpts from two Willa Cather novels.

The first film, “Tom Outland's Story,“ is from Cather’s novel The Professor‘s House and is about discovering an ancient cliff city. The other is excerpted from My Ántonia. This film chronicles the difficulties living through Nebraska winters in the 19th century.

We are delighted to welcome Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley! Her talk on "Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer" will mark the conclusion of a year-long celebration of Cather's 1918 novel as a title selected by the National Endowment for the Arts' 2024-2025 Big Read program. Join us in the bookstore following the event for a book signing. 

The talk will be broadcast live on YouTube and a recording will be available for 2 weeks after the event.

Join Peter Cipkowski for a conversation with Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses of The Kilbanes, the acclaimed musical duo currently adapting Willa Cather's My Ántonia into an original stage musical. Commissioned by Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis, their adaptation reimagines Cather's masterpiece through their distinctive blend of storytelling and music. The panel will explore the Kilbanes' creative process, their decision to bring My Ántonia to the stage, and how their musical style shapes the emotional and narrative contours of the work.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion with three scholars who will discuss architectural and interior styles, powerful landscapes, and domestic scenes that all feature prominently in Cather’s writings. These important backdrops to her novels were illuminated through her gift for idyllic description and acute observation. Join Claire Schmidt, John Swift, and Steve Tamayo for this popular and perennial event that further explores our annual conference theme.

The Kilbanes (Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses) are a married composing and performing team and recipients of the 2024 Jonathan Larson Grant. Their rock musical Weightless (WP Theater, A.C.T., Public Theater’s Under the Radar) was nominated for Lucille Lortel (Best Musical), Drama Desk (Best Music), and Off-Broadway Alliance (Best New Musical) awards in 2023.

"The end is nothing, the road is all.” – Willa Cather, 'Old Mrs. Harris'

This program will be held in-person at the Newberry in partnership with the National Willa Cather Center.