Past Events

The National Willa Cather Center welcomes photographer Richard Dickson of the United Kingdom as artist in residence from July 2 to August 12, 2019. Throughout his stay in Red Cloud, Dickson will create a body of photographic artwork pertaining to the Cather sites and the scenic landscapes in Webster County. The new work created as a result of this residency will be shown in a gallery exhibit titled Beauty in the Ordinary.

On displAY

August 9 to September 30, 2019

artist lecture and reception

Friday, August 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The charming story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who longed to become a real, live boy, comes to life in an original musical adaptation.

Please join us for a free concert on Friday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m. Featured artist is Andrea von Kampen from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Please join us in Willa's first home, in Frederick County, Virginia, for the 17th International Willa Cather Seminar.

Please join us for the Spring Conference banquet and the debut of, A Little Pleasure, a new work, adapted for the stage by Julia Hinson from Cather’s short fiction, criticism, and biography.

The enchanting sound of English handbells will enliven the Grace Episcopal service in Red Cloud on Saturday, June 1 at 8:30 a.m. An ensemble group of Bell-issimo, an auditioned community handbell choir of Lincoln, makes its Red Cloud debut as part of Spring Conference. The bell choir will begin playing at approximately 8:15 a.m. There is no charge to attend the service, but seating is limited. Priority seating will be given to registered conference attendees.

Join us as we celebrate the return of the Willa Cather State Historic Sites, the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial Collection, and unveil a new vision for our future. Highlights will include:

3:30 to 4:00 p.m.

Welcome and remarks

Join us in Red Cloud, Nebraska, for this year's Spring Conference as we explore Willa Cather's relation to the theater.

The Red Cloud Opera House is thrilled to collaborate with Impact Nebraska, a juried group of nationally-known artists living and working in Nebraska, to present Impact Willa Cather! This brand new fine arts exhibit features works inspired by Willa Cather's own words and paired with a brief descriptor—perhaps it shares an artistic technique, tells a story, gives insight into the artist's world, or provides the source of inspiration from Cather's writing. 

On display

May 29 to August 7, 2019

Please join the Cather Project and the Willa Cather Foundation for the premiere of Prairie Songs: Remembering Ántonia by Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, May 5th. A reception at 4:00 p.m. will take place at the Great Plains Art Museum, followed by a discussion at 5:15 p.m. with Maestro Ed Polochick and the Cather Project's director Guy Reynolds. The performance, Pines of Rome and Prairie Songs, will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.