Past Events

join us for a day in Red Cloud, home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather! On this one-day bus trip, you will experience the “Divide” as described in O Pioneers!, tour the recently restored Willa Cather Childhood Home, and visit other settings from her acclaimed novel My Ántonia. $125 per person includes motor coach fare, lunch, guided tours, and refreshments.*

Observe National Nebraska Day by learning more about the complex history of the state's south central region. Author and historian Gail Shaffer Blankenau will join us in person for a talk and signing of her new book, Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters' Escape from Nebraska Territory, at the Red Cloud Opera House auditorium at 1:00 p.m. central time. Blankenau's book signing will be followed by opportunities to take a guided tour of historic sites related to Willa Cather, and an artist reception for oil painter Jonathan Goodding.    Funding was provided by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

Take a trip to 1930s Omaha and its fictionalized criminal past in Little Underworld, a new noir mystery from Nebraska novelist Chris Harding Thornton! Hear an excerpt from her book and learn more about how she drew from Omaha's early 20th century history to create this twisty tale. Funding was provided by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

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. 

Welcome Sandhill crane season and early spring with Switchback! An award-winning duo of Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack, Switchback draws on traditional Celtic music and original Americana songs that reflect their Irish heritage and Midwestern roots.

We are excited to welcome guests to the opening of our newest permanent exhibit, Making a Place: A Long History of Red Cloud, on March 1, 2024!  As we celebrate Nebraska's Statehood Day, we hope you will join us to dig into the history of the Red Cloud area, from its earliest inhabitants to today. The exhibit will be open free of charge from 3:00 pm. to 6:00 p.m., with light refreshments served.

Join us in Ames, Iowa at the Ames Public Library for an evening of readings to celebrate 150 years of Willa Cather, one of the most significant and treasured American writers of the 20th century.

The Red Cloud Opera House and the Red Cloud Area Artists Club will once again be hosting the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs Award of Excellence traveling show, February 28 to March 27, 2024. 

Step into the world of bird-watching just ahead of the annual Sandhill crane migration! Join us for an evening with Thomas C. Gannon as he shares a reading from his new book, Birding While Indian: A Mixed-Blood Memoir, an intriguing meditation on the intersections between nature and identity. Have your questions ready for what is sure to be a lively discussion following Gannon's reading!

Funding was provided by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

Join Benjamin Taylor, author of Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather, and our executive director, Ashley Olson, for a "Literary Cocktail Hour" at the end of the work week! This live, virtual event is free of charge and hosted by the Brattleboro Literary Festival in Brattleboro, Vermont. [NOTE: This live event is in Eastern Time.]