Live It Up with Arts and Live Music in Casper
The arts scene in Casper offers plenty of great ways to get creative here.
The vibrant arts scene in Casper has drawn both artists and lovers of the arts. Whether you’re a working artist or just an admirer of all things visual, the city offers a prime platform for creatives. Its numerous art galleries and cultural centers use various mediums to celebrate the region’s rich Western history and love for visuals. There’s also plenty of fun ways to enjoy live music in Casper.
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Arts Scene in Casper: Brushes with Greatness
Casper’s premier museum, the Nicolaysen Art Museum, is a major asset to the creative community and the city’s cultural hub. It displays both traditional and contemporary Western art and offers community events for residents of all ages.
“The Nicolaysen strives to be the cultural anchor here in Casper. We do so by offering a wide variety of programming, educational classes and exhibitions,” says Allison Maluchnik, executive director. “We try to have an inclusive and eye-opening experience for everyone when they come through here, and we’re the only contemporary art museum in Wyoming.”
Their biggest event of the year is NIC Fest, held in June, which incorporates live music from performers from all over the country and works from about 80 different artists, as well as activities for families and food trucks. Maluchnik calls it the museum’s love letter to the community.
The NIC also hosts other events throughout the year, including partnerships for Chinese New Year and Native American Heritage Month with the local dual language school.
Other smaller, yet unique, venues for artists include Scarlow’s Art and Coffee, The Nest Artist Co-Op, Casper Artists’ Collective and ART 321 – Casper Artists’ Guild, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024. In addition, the Casper Mural Project promotes expression in the form of public art, and the Casper Art Walk is a free monthly event with a similar mission of encouraging residents to support local artists.
“That’s the most fun part about Casper’s art community – we’re all in it together, and we know that’s important,” Maluchnik says. “Casper is entering its own renaissance of art here, and it’s going to be very interesting to see where we are in a couple of years.”
Live Music in Casper: Listen Up!
For a city its size, Casper boasts some major cultural attractions and numerous venues in which people can listen to live music.
The Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, for instance, is a professional regional orchestra that traces its roots to the 1920s, when a group of local musicians wanted to come together to put on concerts.
“We have four masterworks concerts every season, a holiday concert, a summer Pops in the Park concert, and we bring in guest artists,” says Rebecca Hebert, executive director of the Symphony Orchestra. “We’re very lucky to bring these world-class artists to play here.”
The Gaslight Social, which opened in 2017, also contributes to the city’s music scene.
“Summer is our prime season, with three to four larger concerts a month, but the other seasons are also busy as we focus on featuring many local bands,” says Kaila Tobin, manager at The Gaslight Social. “We have fun here. We even have occasional disco nights.”
The venue has indoor and outdoor stages and serves pub food, along with a wide selection of beer taps, cocktails and liquors.
“With social media and our success, we are drawing crowds from all over Wyoming, as well as Montana, Colorado and South Dakota,” Tobin says.
The Ford Wyoming Center is another venue with an even larger audience. Or, for a full day of tunes, consider being in the crowd at Beartrap Summer Festival.
True Community Theater
When it comes to performing arts scene in Casper, residents can watch local talent take the stage at Stage III Community Theatre, Casper College’s Theatre and Dance Department, Casper Theater Company, Artcore and Casper Children’s Theatre.
“Stage III is Casper’s community theater, and we’ve been around for 43 years. We put on six live performances per year, ranging from comedies to dramas and musicals,” says Kris Kontour, general manager.
Stage III relies on volunteers, so performers are all members of the community. They average roughly 70 attendees for each performance. Performances are chosen by a committee that reads upwards of 30 plays a year.
Each performance has roughly 10 actors, plus volunteers who oversee backstage operations like costumes, props, scenery, lighting and moving things onstage.
“Casper is lucky in that we are quite flooded with performing arts,” Kontour says. “We have eight active theaters in town – there are a ton of opportunities for audience members to really soak up art.”
“Come Along for the Ride”
With its slogan “Come Along for the Ride,” the $10 million National Historic Trails Interpretive Center showcases exhibits, programs and special events related to four well-known trails that converge in Casper. The city is the only spot in the nation where the Pony Express Trail, Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail collide and then continue to run through Wyoming.
The 11,000-square-foot center, situated along Interstate 25, opened in 2002, sitting high above the North Platte River to give visitors panoramic views of the four famous historic trails along with Casper itself.
Open seven days a week, the center features hands-on exhibits intended to capture the hardships and triumphs that 400,000 West-seeking pioneers experienced as they followed these trails between 1841 and 1868.
The facility operates through a partnership between the City of Casper, Bureau of Land Management and the National Historic Trails Center Foundation.
Great Places to Gather
Casper is emerging as a surprising place for creatives to call home, with a thriving community of organizations and small businesses supporting the arts. One such place is Scarlow’s, a coffee shop and gallery in the heart of downtown. Owner Claire Marlow, who moved to the area from Seattle, shares her take on the local arts scene.
What can you share about Casper’s art scene?
Casper has a great art scene. Everyone thinks that Jacksonis the place to buy good art – because it’s the town that everyone knows – but Casper has a fantastic art scene. It was kind of quiet downtown when I first got here, but over the years, people have put time and money into it, and it’s vibrant today.
We have David Street Station, which has a concert stage for live music, and we have the Art Walk every month, which I started with a couple of other artists. When I bought the business, I saw that people weren’t connecting within the art scene, and I thought that was a cool opportunity for my business – sell the supplies, show the artwork and meet all the artists. I thought it would be a neat way to integrate everybody, by creating a social space for art.
How does Scarlow’s support local artists?
The gallery gives artists a place to go to see other people’s art, even if they’re not showing with us, while the coffee shop has become a place where creatives come together and do business. We also host events like yoga classes and workshops where people can be surrounded by artwork.
– Staff Writer Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.
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