Events

We welcome oil painter Jonathan Goodding to the Red Cloud Opera House gallery this spring! Goodding's paintings capture the energy and wonder of the ever-changing Great Plains sky. With vigorous marks and bold colors, native-Nebraskan Goodding recreates a dynamic and awesome horizon that is familiar to residents of the state. 

Travis Hencey's work may be familiar to regular attendees of our gallery exhibitions. Since 2013, he's been a contributor to our invitational exhibitions, exhibiting work that featured collaged paper and graphite drawings that drew on Cather's featured novels in those years. Simultaneously familiar and fresh, these works featured aged paper and book components in new compositions, punctuated by Hencey's drawings in graphite.

In 2023, the Associació Internacional Duana de les Arts presented, for the fourth consecutive year, a catalogue of graphic arts contest winners in an exhibition called Hommage à trois. Each year this contest has been structured into three categories designed to honor the memory of three literary figures on the occasion of the celebration of their birth centenaries. The authors chosen in 2023 were:

Willa Cather (1873–1947)
Federico Garcia Lorca (1889–1936)
Wislawa Szymborska (1923–2012)

Our 69th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, "Willa Cather and the Readerly Imagination," will examine Willa Cather's bookish interests. Cather was an avid reader; she enjoyed sharing her book recommendations with friends, and she was pleased by hearing the comments from her own readers. From an early age, she established her “library,” with her books labeled and sometimes numbered. As our conference explores the many facets of Cather’s interactions with both her books and her readers, we hope attendees will be inspired to examine their own relationship to Cather's writing.

Join us for a FREE performance of an original play featuring local area children who attend the Valley Child Development Center! Established in 2015, Blixt  provides innovative programming, education, and high quality arts experiences to communities across Nebraska. 

Join us for a production of Peter and Wendy featuring local youth!

Join us for a production of Peter and Wendy featuring local youth!

Get ready to take a musical tour through the regions of Mexico with Marimba Sol de Chiapas! These touring artists of the Mid-America Arts Alliance will be coming to our community to share their knowledge of the marimba, "the wood that sings" and will showcase their talent while four musicians play one instrument, together, at the same time!

Centered around Staff sergeant Clarence Williams' personal letters home, Not Too Far Distant honors the experience of the American soldier and reminds us that we all have the power – and the responsibility – to help create a brighter future.

Plan to spend the first Saturday in December (and Willa Cather's birthday) listening to Edem Soul Music! You won't want to miss this eclectic, one-of-a-kind performance.