Click on the calendar link at left to find current art events!

Join us for these on-going art opportunities. They are FREE and open to all.

• Visual Arts Gathering - 1st Monday of each month 5:15 pm, Community Center

• Writers' Read - 1st Thursday of each month, 4:30-6:00 p.m., Front Porch Cafe

• Ely City Band practice - Mondays and Tuesdays in June, 6-7:30 p.m., Ely High School Band Room

• Tuesday Night Live Artist Markets - Tuesdays in summer, 5:30 p.m., Whiteside Park

NLAA proudly sponsors the following arts events during the year:

• Spring musical

• Fall Play

• Summer Artist Presenter Series

• Prairie Fire Children's Theatre

Theatre

With a long tradition of providing quality theatre productions in Ely, two plays are sponsored each year using local community, high school and college actors: a straight drama in the fall and a musical in the spring, as well as play readings involving local performers. Plays are held at the Vermilion Community College theatre. Tickets through Ely Music Outfitters, 365-2889, and at the door.

Music

NLAA sponsors a variety of musical programs from solo performers, group presentations, and major choral presenters of great variety, including international performers from as far away as Russia and Finland, as well as the summer Artist Presenter Series. NLAA also works with the Burntside Lake Fine Arts Association to bring chamber music to the area in the summer. NLAA finds funding for the Ely City Band and sponsors their concerts in Whiteside Park in June and July.

Literary Arts

Writers' Read gatherings are held the first Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m.; Front Porch Cafe. An "I Love to Read," program has been established during the month of February including a writer's visit, an Arts and Reading Fair, and community readers visits to the schools.

Visual Arts

Each year, the NLAA sponsors Ely Winter Festival Snow Sculpture Contest, a favorite of the community. NLAA also brings visual artists to the area to provide educational workshops. Visual Artist Gatherings are held on the first Monday of each month at 5:15 pm in the Community Center.

In February, NLAA sponsors the Winter Fest Craft Fair in cooperation with the Heart of the Woods Quilters. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Community Center Cafeteria. 25+ artisans!

NLAA coordinates visual artists and crafters at Ely's Tuesday Night Live adjacent to the Farmer's market in Whiteside Park. If interested, call NLAA at 365-5070 to find out details to show work.

Dance

NLAA has produced a great variety of dance programming throughout the years including productions done locally. It has also commissioned various Minnesota choreographers to create dance pieces especially to be performed in Ely. The James Sewell Ballet and Joe Chvala’s Flying Foot Forum have visited Ely for residencies through the Art Across Minnesota granting program.

Art for Children

NLAA and Ely School's CAPP arts program co-sponsor the visit of Prairie Fire Children's Theatre annually in July. During the one-week theatre residency, students audition, rehearse, and perform a classic fairy tale, with a PFCT twist. Students ages 7 through 10th grade are invited to participate.