Author Archives: luannef

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association to participate in 15th Annual Give to the Max Day on November 16

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association is proud to participate in the 15th annual Give to the Max Day on Thursday, Nov. 16. Give to the Max is a statewide grassroot giving event that raises tens of millions of dollars each year for more than 6,000 causes across Minnesota and beyond.

Right now, Dawson-Boyd Arts Association needs your help. Following the recent lobby renovation, we plan to showcase student and community member visual art. Funds raised through Give to the Max will help fund the construction of a custom-built portable display case where local talent will be featured on a rotating basis.

To participate in Give to the Max, donors may visit GiveMN.org and search for the causes they care about most by name, keyword, ZIP code or related keywords. Give to the Max’s Early Giving period begins November 1 and continues through Give to the Max Day on Nov. 16, with random drawings throughout for more than $100,000 in prize grants for Minnesota organizations.

Additionally, each donation to through GiveMN.org qualifies Dawson-Boyd Arts Association for additional prize grants, thanks to the continued generosity of the Bush Foundation.  To follow along with Give to the Max and make a gift to your favorite causes, visit GiveMN.org beginning Nov. 1, and use #GTMD23 to join the conversation online.

Upcoming show November 11: Sing Me A Country Song – Great Country Duets, Hits and More!

Sing Me A Country Song Great Country – Duets, Hits and More! – November 11, 2023

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association presents Bobby Vandell and Colleen Raye performing their popular show entitled Sing Me A Country Song – Great Country Duets, Hits and More at Memorial Auditorium in Dawson on Saturday, November 11 at 7:00pm.

Enjoy the great country duets and hits through the years with Bobby and Colleen (familiar to many as Patsy Cline in a previous DBAA event). These two talented performers have a perfect vocal blend and natural rapport with the audience. You’ll hear songs from Johnny and June, Lady Antebellum, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Crystal Gayle, as well Kenny and Dolly, Waylon and Willie, Hank Williams, Allison Kraus and more.

This evening’s event includes a visual art exhibit in the lobby prior to the concert featuring J Menden Silver with her handmade silver jewelry of traditional designs and methods. Coffee will be served in the lobby beginning at 6pm. Let the evening wind down with pie, coffee and socializing immediately following the concert. Why cut a good time short – come join us afterwards.

Event sponsors are Farmers for Dawson, Johnson Memorial Health Services, and Gary & Ingrid Larson. Admission is $20 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are currently available online at dawsonboydartspresents.org or by calling the box office at 320-312-2311. Concert tickets will also be available at the door.

Upcoming show October 26: Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association presents the TheaterWorksUSA production of Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical – October 26, 2023

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association is pleased to present a live children’s theater experience for area students on Thursday, October 26 at Memorial Auditorium in Dawson.

Students from Dawson-Boyd’s Stevens Elementary, along with students from neighboring elementary schools including Appleton-Milan, Madison-Marietta-Nassau, Lakeview, Canby, Ortonville, Ramsey, Bert Raney and Minneota will experience The TheaterWorksUSA’s production of Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical.

Students will follow along as Cat Kid and Molly Pollywog start an epic club to teach 21 rambunctious baby frogs how to make their own comics! Their fishy father Flippy is overjoyed that his kids will learn to unleash their creativity, but when the frogs’ constant bickering and outrageous imaginations send their comics comically off the rails, Flippy flips out! Will the club survive? Will the frogs ever get along? And will creativity finally save the day? All will be answered in this madcap musical based on Dav Pilkey’s irreverently hilarious book series.

Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical has a book and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila, music by Brad Alexander, and direction and choreography by Marlo Hunter.

TheaterWorksUSA consistently brings high quality, fun productions to Memorial Auditorium. Combining their musical talent with a familiar character, Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical is sure to entertain audiences while educating students about conflict resolution. For more information on this production visit: twusa.org. Dawson-Boyd Arts Association can be reached at 320.312.2311 or by visiting dawsonboydarts.org. Event sponsor for this performance is Madison Dental Clinic – Brandon Ulstad DDS.

Upcoming show October 12: Enso Daiko

Ensō Daiko – Japanese Taiko Drumming – October 12, 2023

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association presents an energetic performance of Japanese Taiko Drumming featuring Ensō Daiko at Memorial Auditorium in Dawson on Thursday, October 12 at 7:00pm.

This energetic performance combines music, dance, culture and pure athleticism. Taiko is the Japanese work for drum and refers to the modern style of playing these drums. Wadaiko (in Japan) and kumi daiko (in North America) is movement infused, heart-pounding, dynamic group drumming. Think of it as a high energy performance art that combines music, dance, martial arts, athletics and culture.

Ensō Daiko’s time in Dawson will include an afternoon student performance for grades 3-12 as well as an exclusive drumming workshop for Dawson-Boyd High School’s Junior High and Senior High Bands. This activity is funded in part with a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council made possible by the voters of Minnesota, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Event sponsor for this event is AGP. Coffee from Marc’s on Main will be served in the lobby. Admission to the evening public performance is $20 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are currently available online at dawsonboydartspresents.org or at the door or by calling the box office at 320-312-2311.

Upcoming show September 30: The High 48s Bluegrass Band

The High 48s Bluegrass Band: Meander Weekend Concert – September 30, 2023

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association announces the opening concert of its 23rd performing arts season with a concert by The High 48s Bluegrass Band during Meander Weekend on Saturday, September 30 at 7:00pm at Memorial Auditorium in Dawson.

Since forming in northeast Minneapolis in 2006, The High 48s have been making music that combines the soulful sound of classic bluegrass with a modern attitude. They’re a band with one foot in tradition and the other in the world of music today. The High 48s are also a band of songwriters. Here, too, they take a modern approach, heeding the well-worn advice to writers: write what you know. Their songs ring true to their lives as northern city-folk rather than an imagined “sweet, sunny south” of coal miners.

Event sponsors for this event are FM Bank, Pioneer PBS, and Norma Powers. Coffee from Marc’s on Main will be served in the lobby. Admission is $20 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets for the concert are currently available online at dawsonboydartspresents.org or through the box office at 320-312-2311. Concert tickets will also be available at the door.

June 24: Folsom Prison Experience features music of Johnny Cash Tickets on Sale now!

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association announces that tickets are now on sale for the Riverfest Weekend show, Folsom Prison Experience, at Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, June 24 at 7:00pm. Described as “an immersive tribute drama,” Folsom Prison Experience is a musical that merges live concert, stage drama, audience participation and interactive theater. The show recreates one of the most important days in Johnny Cash’s storied musical career – January 13, 1968 – when he and his entourage put on two shows for the inmates of California’s Folsom Prison.

At the center of the production is Church of Cash, the award-winning Johnny Cash tribute band featuring Jay Ernest as The Man in Black. Folsom Prison Experience was written by Ernest and his friend and collaborator Tom Pickard.

The critical and commercial reactions to Johnny Cash’s iconic 1968 live recording, At Folsom Prison, are well documented – a No. 1 smash that catapulted Cash to crossover stardom and cemented his reputation as an artist who didn’t play by the conventional rules.

Audiences are encouraged to become a part of the production by wearing inmate attire and consider themselves part of that same captive crowd that cheered during Cash’s 1968 concert.

Sneak Peek at Mike Brody show in Dawson MN on Feb 4

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association is presenting comedian Mike Brody on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7:00pm at Hilltop Bar, Grill & Event Center with a meal option beginning at 6:15pm.

It’s going to be a great show and we thought a sneak peek might get your week started off right!

There are a limited number of tickets available for both the meal and the show due to the size of the venue; tickets for both the show and meal must be reserved in advance. The box office will be open on weekday mornings beginning Wednesday, January 25 from 9am-noon.

The pre-show meal includes a burger bar with fixings, salad & chips. Cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

Tickets for the show only may be purchased online. For more information or to reserve tickets for the meal and the show, call the box office at 320-312-2311.

Comedian Mike Brody to perform at Hilltop Bar & Grill in Dawson Feb. 4

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association presents comedian Mike Brody on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7:00pm at Hilltop Bar, Grill & Event Center with a meal option beginning at 6:15pm.

Brody has spent the over 20 years touring the U.S. and internationally and has also been featured on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Bob & Tom Show” as well as the “The Dan Patrick Show” podcast. He’s recorded two comedy albums on Rooftop Comedy, with tracks regularly featured on SirusXM Satellite Radio. Brody can also be seen in his 2019 Dry Bar Comedy special “Not Afraid of Butterflies.”

Starting comedy on a whim at an open mic in the year 2000, Mike Brody has since devoted his life to perfecting the delivery of his high-energy act. Bucking the trend of the apathetic comedian, his genuine passion for his craft draws audience members into the unique world of Mike Brody: An affable, clever guy whose life is often derailed by his own neurotic, obsessive-compulsive and clumsy tendencies.

There are a limited number of tickets available for both the meal and the show due to the size of the venue; tickets for both the show and meal must be reserved in advance. The box office will be open on weekday mornings beginning Wednesday, January 25 from 9am-noon.

The pre-show meal includes a burger bar with fixings, salad & chips. Cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

Tickets for the show only may be purchased online. For more information or to reserve tickets for the meal and the show, call the box office at 320-312-2311.

Event sponsors are Phil & Tami Maus and Dick Berglund.

Local author Brent Olson at Dawson Public Library January 19

Dawson-Boyd Arts Association presents Minnesota author Brent Olson at the Dawson Public Library Mezzanine at 7pm on Thursday, January 19 at 7pm.

Olson, a lifelong resident of Big Stone County, has published eight books and as a journalist, has filed articles in his column “Independently Speaking” from 20 countries on six continents. Olson has served on dozens of boards and is currently a Big Stone County Commissioner.

In addition to the free event in the evening, Olson will be working with students at Dawson-Boyd Schools during the day.

Event sponsors are Peggy Crosby and David Pederson. There is no charge for this event. In case of inclement weather, this event will be postponed to January 26.