Willa Cather Childhood Home, (National Willa Cather Center, Courtesy)
RED CLOUD —The Board of Governors and staff of the Willa Cather Foundation—which operates the National Willa Cather Center and Cather-related historic sites and properties—is honored to celebrate the reopening of this National Historic Landmark.
The site underwent a sixteen-month restoration beginning in August 2022 and reopened to the public on Willa Cather’s 150th birthday, Dec. 7, 2023, and it has been a literary pilgrimage destination for Willa Cather enthusiasts for more than fifty years.
You are invited to join us for a dedication and ribbon-cutting at the Willa Cather Childhood Home on Saturday, June 8, at 1:30 p.m. in Red Cloud, followed by site tours. Willa Cather Foundation leadership, project partners and supporters, Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason, and Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate Miranda Davis will be part of the festivities.
We encourage you to photograph or film the occasion and to garner interviews from attendees, either before or after the ceremonies. You are also invited to stay for tours of the Childhood Home, see a brand new exhibit at the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and tour the construction site of the future Hotel Garber!
Cameras will be allowed during the site tours following the ceremony — if you wish to record footage for a newscast, please let me know.
This event will occur on the final day of the 69th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, with programming around the theme of “Cather and the Readerly Imagination.” The conference is held this year from June 6-8 in Red Cloud, and virtually.
SCHEDULE of EVENTS:
• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. — Remarks, ribbon-cutting, and dedication outside of the Willa Cather Childhood Home [245 N. Cedar Street]
• 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. — Tour the Willa Cather Childhood Home, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and the future site of Hotel Garber [RSVPs required for tours following the ceremony]
