Past Events

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.

Six years after the events of "Wreck-It Ralph," Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

Admission is free, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Sponsored by Red Cloud Tourism & Commerce.

The Red Cloud Community Easter Egg Hunt will follow at 1:00 p.m. at the Red Cloud City Park. 

Mahenwahdose is a Native American performance company comprised of talented artists, dedicated to bringing to life accurate, educational, and traditional stories of Native America. Troupe leader Will Hill will present "Legends" at the Opera House on Saturday, April 13. A member of the Muscogee tribe, Hill provides storytelling, music, and comedy through his programs in schools and communities across the country.

Author Walter Echo-Hawk will present a lecture on his book, The Sea of Grass: A Family Tale from the American Heartland on Saturday, April 13 at 5:00 p.m. The lightly fictionalized family history tells the story of ten generations of the Echo-Hawk family, recounting the experiences of a people whose lives were shaped by the land, animals, and plants of the Central Plains. Their trials and tribulations are a stirring tale of resilience and survival, capturing the human spirit in Native North America.

An exhibit reception was held on Saturday, April 13.

With a voice rising “out of the Nebraska plain like cool summer swell,” Rascal Martinez blends rockabilly, folk, country and Latin sounds into covers, standards and heartfelt originals. Although still in his mid-twenties, the young Martinez’ unique roots music awakens memories of early rock artists with a sound that has been described as “resonant and fresh, yet familiar.” Martinez‘ deep, raspy country twang is mixed with strong lead guitar licks, a pounding bass guitar, strong drum beats and backup vocals.

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.