Category: Arts and Culture
News and features covering theater, music, visual arts, performances, local artists, cultural events, and creative life in Berea and surrounding communities.
Free Live Music Returns to Moondance Amphitheater with Honeychild 🎤
Free live music returns to the Moondance Amphitheater this September, offering a reliable, no-fuss Friday night tradition for residents of Madison County and the surrounding communities. On Friday, September 4, 2026, the Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series brings the high-energy local band Honeychild to the stage. The event runs from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.,…
Meet the Forest Reptiles of Madison County at the Forestry Outreach Center 🐢
If you have spent any time hiking the wooded hollows around Berea in late summer, you know the quiet rustle of dry leaves usually means someone small is on the move. Most often, it is a reptile going about its daily business. These cold-blooded neighbors are an essential part of our local ecosystem, yet they…
Free Concert: Lexington Legend Tee Dee Young Brings Blues to Berea College 🎸
Thursday, September 3, is a good night to clear your calendar. The Berea College convocation series is bringing Tee Dee Young to campus, and if you know anything about Kentucky blues, you already know his name means serious music. Young is a Lexington institution: 50-plus years of playing, singing, and leading bands in blues clubs…
The Makers Behind the Magic: Ken Koshman, Albert Lindsay, and Camp Creations
A few months back, two men walked into the Spotlight Playhouse with a pitch that sounded almost too good to be true. They wanted to build our props. Not sell them to us. Build them, and let us rent them, so a community theater could have real, character driven pieces without the kind of budget…
A Disney Classic Opens the Door to the Stage With The Aristocats KIDS Auditions in Berea
Some movies belong mostly to one generation. Disney’s The Aristocats belongs to several. Many grandparents first met Duchess, Thomas O’Malley, Marie, Toulouse, and Berlioz when the animated movie arrived in theaters in 1970. Parents may remember watching it during a later theater release, on television, or over and over at home. Today’s children are still…
Seussical Opens Spotlight Acting School’s 24th Season With Two Casts and a Senior Send-Off 🎭
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” That simple idea sits at the heart of Seussical the Musical. It also fits the work Spotlight Acting School has been doing in Berea for more than two decades: every student matters, every role matters, and every young person deserves an opportunity to be heard. Spotlight Acting…
Bluegrass Players Seek the Living and the Undead for Zombie Night! The Musical 🧟
Some people join community theater because they love to sing, some want to act, and others simply want to meet new people or try something they have not done since high school. There is, however, a unique group of people who may have a strange talent for walking slowly, groaning loudly, and looking as if…
Wolves of Sherwood Brings Robin Hood’s Next Generation to the Spotlight Stage 🐺
Most Robin Hood stories end while Robin is still the center of the legend. He remains the fearless outlaw in Sherwood Forest, forever frustrating the Sheriff of Nottingham, protecting the public, and gathering loyal followers around him. Chelsea Frandsen’s action-filled drama Wolves of Sherwood asks a more interesting question: What happens after the legend grows…
When the Studio Meets the Street: Berea’s Interdependence Art Parade Brings Art Into Motion 🎭
Berea’s Interdependence Art Parade brings giant puppets, costumes, brass music, and collaborative neighborhood creativity into the street on Sunday, July 5.
Film Acting Camp Gives Berea Students a Chance to Step in Front of the Camera 🎬
The Spotlight Playhouse’s Film Acting Camp gives Berea students a practical introduction to on-camera performance, self-tapes, and digital acting reels before the June 29 start date.
Community Wealth and Hand-Drums: Looking Back at the Junebug Festival 🥁
The Junebug Festival brought music, vendors, food, and community connection to Old Town Berea, showing how local events keep both civic trust and neighborhood spending alive.
Berea Craft Festival Brings Artists, Food, and Mountain Craft Back to Big Hill 🎪
Some events feel like they could happen anywhere. The Berea Craft Festival does not. This is a Berea event all the way through. It has the artists. It has the food. It has the music. It has the wooded setting near the Pinnacles. It has the feeling of people coming together around things made by…
The Final Weekend: Macbeth Closes Spotlight’s 23rd Season 🎭
Macbeth closes The Spotlight Playhouse’s 23rd season June 22-28 with 35 local performers, Shakespeare, and a strong start to Season 24.
Berea Arts Council’s “Together We Thrive” Exhibit Celebrates Community Through Local Art 🎨
There are some art exhibits that ask you to stand back and admire the work. Then there are exhibits that ask you to think about the people around you. The Berea Arts Council’s Community Art Show: Together We Thrive falls into that second group. The exhibit is on view June 17 through July 31 at…
🍽️ Taste of Richmond Returns June 26 at Richmond Centre
RICHMOND, Ky. — A signature culinary tradition will return to Madison County on Friday, June 26, when the annual Taste of Richmond brings local flavors, community connection, and live outdoor music together at Richmond Centre. 🍴🎶 The Richmond Chamber of Commerce has officially slated the 2026 edition of the event on its regional calendar, with…
🎭 The Bluegrass Players Bring Macbeth to The Spotlight Playhouse June 19 to 28
BEREA, Ky. — The Bluegrass Players will bring one of William Shakespeare’s most gripping and dark masterworks to the local stage this summer with a late-June production of Macbeth at The Spotlight Playhouse. 🗓 Run dates: Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 28📍 Location: The Spotlight Playhouse, 214 Richmond Road, Berea🎬 Presented by: The Bluegrass…
✊🏾 Berea Juneteenth Event to Feature Music, Food Trucks, and Community Tributes
Berea Juneteenth event will bring live music, local food trucks, outreach booths, and educational tributes to the Berea Skate Park on Sunday, June 14. 🗓 Date: Sunday, June 14⏰ Time:3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.📍 Location: Berea Skate Park, 400 North Broadway💲 Cost: Free🎶 Program title: “Rooted in History, Rising in Power: A Juneteenth Musical Event”🤝…
🎶 Chenault Vineyards Weekend Features Writers Round With Tommy Webb and Farmers Market Kickoff
RICHMOND, Ky. — Chenault Vineyards will host a vibrant weekend of live acoustic music and local hyper-local shopping from June 13 to 14, kicking off with a Saturday evening writers round followed by the debut of the vineyard’s 2026 outdoor farmers market season on Sunday. 📍 Location: Chenault Vineyards, 2284 Barnes Mill Road, Richmond💲 Admission:…
Macbeth Belongs at The Spotlight Playhouse Because Big Stories Should Happen Close to Home 🎭
Some plays feel far away until the right people put them on stage. Macbeth is one of them. On paper, it can look like schoolwork. Witches. Kings. Scotland. Old language. A dagger that may or may not be there. But on stage, especially on a local stage like The Spotlight Playhouse, Macbeth becomes something much…