Past Events

A new exhibit on display at the Red Cloud Opera House boasts a wide range of specialties and mediums of art by artists from the Hastings area. Included in the exhibit are works by Cody Carson-Brown, Jeremy Daniels, Tom Kreager, Marcella Maley, Jane Marie, Turner McGehee, and Amy Sandeen. The public is invited to meet the artists and view the exhibit at a reception on Saturday, December 12, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

On October 22 the Willa Cather Book Club will meet to discuss the One Book, One Nebraska selection of Death Zones & Darling Spies. There are two meeting times available; 4:00 p.m. at Cherry Corner Estates and 6:00 at the Auld Public Library. 

World-renowned opera soprano and Red Cloud native Sarah Arneson returns Saturday, October 3, for a 7:00 pm performance. Arneson, accompanied by her husband, pianist George Kern, will perform operatic pieces from composers who were alive during Willa Cather's lifetime. The duo has selected opera arias from two of her favorite composers, Puccini and Verdi. The libretto to a third aria by Weill was written by Langston Hughes, the famous Kansas American poet, who corresponded with Cather.

The public is invited to meet Patricia Scarborough and preview her exhibit at an artist’s reception on Saturday, October 3, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. The reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Red Cloud Opera House prior to a concert by Red Cloud native and Opera Soprano, Sarah Arneson. The artist reception is free and open to the public. Tickets to Sarah Arneson's performance can be purchased here.

Join us! This FREE event is a perfect way to introduce prairie ecology and a chance for kids of all ages to explore the spectacular autumn prairie! Bring a sack lunch - drinks will be provided. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Tracy Tucker at ttucker@willacather.org or 402-746-2653.

Native Bees & Pollinators activities with UNL Entemology Department Graduate Students

Monarch Butterflies life cycle & butterfly release with Monarch Gardens’ Benjamin Vogt

Joy Hayden author of The 1935 Republican River Flood will be signing copies of her book on Wednesday, September 23. This event is free and open to the public. A graduate of Fort Hays State University, Hayden has spent many years studying and compiling the history of the 1935 flood, meeting with survivors, and traveling along the river to document this exciting chapter in the Republican River’s history. Hayden will speak about her research and writing at the Red Cloud Opera House, followed by a book signing.

This show takes a wry look at our crazy world through the bewildered eyes of beloved long gone cowboy philosopher, Will Rogers. Eighty years after his tragic plane crash, Rogers somehow finds himself present-day Red Cloud as he time travels through America’s pop culture. Using selected classic and familiar songs, he recalls his vaudeville past, pokes fun at the present, and hopes with us, for the future.

Road Scholar, the not-for-profit leader in educational travel since 1975, offers 5,500 educational tours in all 50 states and 150 countries. Alongside local and renowned experts, experience in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities, from cultural tours and study cruises to walking, biking and more.

Beautiful impressionist style oil and pastel paintings of Nebraska landscapes by Patricia Scarborough make up a new exhibit in the Red Cloud Opera House Art Gallery. The exhibition will be available for viewing through October 30 during regular business hours. The public is invited to meet Scarborough and preview her exhibit at an artist’s reception on Saturday, October 3, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. The reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Red Cloud Opera House.

The Willa Cather Foundation’s Gala Dinner and Performance will take place Saturday, August 15, beginning with cocktails at 5:00 p.m. in the Art Gallery followed by a dinner and performance at 6:30 pm in the historic Red Cloud Opera House. Entertainment at the Gala Dinner will feature a performance entitled The Song of the Lark, a song cycle by Barlow Bradford that received its first performance at Salt Lake City’s Intermezzo Chamber Music series in 2010.