BLIXT Announces Season of Arts Innovation, Education and Engagement and Community Building
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 27, 2021
Lincoln, NE - Blixt Locally Grown (BLG) is offering a local and statewide season of vibrant arts and community events for the 2021-2022 season. A Lincoln-based arts nonprofit, BLG is known for putting interesting twists on arts experiences and leveraging creativity to connect community members through meaningful events. This season, BLG will offer a mix of live performances, community events, and educational opportunities.
“At Blixt, we know that the arts are a powerful conduit for growing goodness. Creativity is a vibrant asset we’re thrilled to share with our community and state, and this season is one of our most exciting to date,” said BLIXT Executive Director Becky Boesen.
Kicking off fall events are two live performances of The Dream Switch, a song cycle performed by a live band that tells the story of a young Nebraskan who is trying to decide whether or not to leave or stay in her hometown. With lyrics by Becky Boesen and music by David von Kampen, The Dream Switch puts an exciting millennial twist on the idea of rural returnership and makes space for conversations about welcoming and inclusion. Performances are free and open to the public and will be held on Sunday, August 29th at 6 PM at the Veterans Memorial Building Parking Lot in Nebraska City, and on Sunday, October 3rd at 1 PM at the Thayer County Activity Center in Deshler, Nebraska. The Dream Switch is produced in partnership with Nebraska Community Foundation.
Blixt will also continue to embark on a rich collaboration with Lincoln Community Learning Centers, providing and co-creating multiple after school clubs for Lincoln Public Schools’ elementary and middle school students. One such club returning to the roster after a successful inaugural year is Branching Outward, a youth-led series that utilizes plant science to encourage and foster friendship and belonging. Focusing on “helping people find their people,” Branching Outward combines hands-on tasks with social and emotional curriculum and helps students build confidence and connection.
Just in time for Halloween, BLG will present Ghouls’ Night Out at the Mill Bistro on Innovation Campus, featuring spooky monologues from area playwrights. For act one, audiences will be invited to cozy up for scary original monologues, hot brews and cold chills! Act two involves audience participation and will invite the crowd to share their own scary stories and tales with the audience as the evening unfolds. Ghouls’ Night Out is Saturday, October 30th at 7 PM and tickets will be $20 and available for preorder or at the door.
In November, BLG will kick off its 5th annual “Wuzzlewubbies” Blanket Project, a local initiative that connects community members and helps provide new and homemade blankets to elementary students at local schools. A combination of individual donations, as well as the involvement of local businesses and clubs helps to make the project a success. This year, several small businesses will be invited to participate in the collection of blankets for maximum impact.
“This season exemplifies what Blixt is all about. We strive to serve our communities, support local artists and performers, and raise awareness about issues; and we have fun doing it!” said Deepak Keshwani, President of Blixt Locally Grown.
Spring 2022, get ready for breakfast, fresh beats, (and bacon!) with your best buds in a secret pop-up location! Hosted by DeWayne Taylor, D-Wayne’s BLIXT’D Brunch will bring people together over some of life’s greatest joys: good food, good drinks, and awesome music. Dates for the brunch will be announced in winter 2022.
“D-Wayne’s Blixt’d Brunch deepens our efforts to shine a light on young Nebraskans and connect with them in a fun, authentic way. We are so grateful to D-Wayne for helping us continue to develop innovative ways to engage with Lincolnites of all ages,” said Boesen.
The BLG season will culminate with When Lightning Strikes: A New Works Festival, which premieres in June 2022 (date and time TBA). It’s a staged reading workshop of new plays written by BLIXT Playwriting Fellows. Selected for their promising talent and unique voices, BLIXT Playwriting Fellows are being mentored for a year by professional playwrights and others who are supportive of their work. Audiences can expect to be delighted by fresh new voices and to interact with new plays that tackle themes of identity, grief, isolation, climate change, and more. Information about festival passes and admission will be released in winter 2022.
For more information about the Blixt Locally Grown 2021-22 season, please visit www.blixt.space.
About Blixt Locally Grown:
Blixt Locally Grown (BLG) is a Nebraska-based arts organization that grows goodness with the arts. BLG specializes in the development of new works, education and engagement, community building, and the integration of arts and culture into all facets of life. To learn more about Blixt, please visit www.blixt.space.
BLG is supported by Nebraska Community Foundation, the Peter Kiewit Foundation, Humanities Nebraska, the Cooper Foundation, Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Kimmel Foundation, Lincoln Arts Council, Union Bank and Trust, Lincoln Community Foundation, Ayars & Ayars, and individual donors.
About The Mill Coffee and Tea:
Craft micro-roaster since 1975 with multiple venues that serve and bring value to neighborhoods throughout Lincoln, Nebraska: At 8th & P in the Historic Haymarket, 48th & Prescott in the College View neighborhood, 21st and Transformation Drive on Innovation Campus, and 21st & Capitol Parkway in the Telegraph District. www.millcoffee.com
About Lincoln Community Learning Centers
Lincoln’s Community Learning Centers provide a delivery model to support youth, families, and neighborhoods as they strive to be successful, thriving, and strong. CLCs are about the process of people and programs working together to create a culture of learning that serves our entire community. CLCs in Lincoln are funded through support from 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, LPS Title I funds and matching resources from local funders and community-based organizations. The CLC initiative supports 29 schools in the development and implementation of high-quality extended learning opportunities, weekend and summer enrichment programs and other supportive services for children, youth, families, and neighborhood residents.
About Nebraska Community Foundation
Nebraska Community Foundation unleashes abundant local assets, inspires charitable giving and connects ambitious people to build stronger communities and a Greater Nebraska. Headquartered in Lincoln, the Foundation serves communities, donors and organizations by providing financial management, strategic development, education and training to a statewide network of 1,500 volunteers serving 270 communities. In the last five years, 45,313 contributions have been made to NCF and its affiliated funds. Since 1994, NCF has reinvested $393.1 million in Nebraska’s people and places. For information, visit NebraskaHometown.org.