Community Calendar

It’s summer – time to get outdoors with kids! Join us for a special morning of activities for children five and under. We’ll explore the world of dirt by digging for worms, making mud pies, and painting with mud. We’ll also enjoy a worm story time and a dirt-themed treat. This program is free thanks to a generous grant from the Dr. Elmer R. Graber Youth Fund for Exploring Nature. Registration required by Monday, June 29.

Footloose is the high-energy musical based on the hit 1984 film. It tells the story of Ren, a young man who challenges the strict rules of a small town to bring music, dance, and joy back to its people. With unforgettable songs like “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Almost Paradise,” and the iconic title track “Footloose,” this show bursts with energy, excitement, and heart. It celebrates freedom, self-expression, and the transformative power of music.

At Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, the experience is electric. Performed in our intimate theatre-in-the-round, the excitement surrounds you from every angle. You will feel the pulse of the music, the intensity of the dancing, and the heart of the story as if you are right there in the middle of the action. This is a show that lifts your spirit and makes you want to dance along with the characters.

Representing Michigan State University, The Collective Moment brings together a group of accomplished young jazz artists as part of our Student Jazz Series.
Mason Rheinhardt made The Collective Moment to share with audiences what he loves most about playing jazz - getting lost in the moment while making incredible music with top-tier musicians. In this iteration of The Collective Moment, he is combining top-class graduates and current students of the prestigious jazz studies program at Michigan State University to bring a memorable night of original music.

Mason Rheinhardt - saxophone
Alonso Umaña - drums
Sean Lebita - piano
Jonathan Hilliard - bass

youtube.com/@masonrheinhardt

Join Goshen Theater for First Fridays!

July 3, 2026

5-8PM

Downtown South Bend's July First Fridays is celebrating the simple joys of summer with a Backyard BBQ theme. Featuring a barbecue cook-off, great food, amazing local vendors, yard games, a live music festival, a Studebaker car show, and time with friends and family right in the heart of downtown.

Footloose is the high-energy musical based on the hit 1984 film. It tells the story of Ren, a young man who challenges the strict rules of a small town to bring music, dance, and joy back to its people. With unforgettable songs like “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Almost Paradise,” and the iconic title track “Footloose,” this show bursts with energy, excitement, and heart. It celebrates freedom, self-expression, and the transformative power of music.

At Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, the experience is electric. Performed in our intimate theatre-in-the-round, the excitement surrounds you from every angle. You will feel the pulse of the music, the intensity of the dancing, and the heart of the story as if you are right there in the middle of the action. This is a show that lifts your spirit and makes you want to dance along with the characters.

Head on over to the Oakwood Resort Lawn for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra’s Patriotic Pops Concert, co-sponsored by Chautauqua-Wawasee. Bring your own chair for the concert. Don’t forget your $5 bills for the ice cream raffle. You could win a $100 Gift Card from Joe’s Ice Cream Supreme.

The Beckwith Theatre Company Presents 1776 (Musical).
book by Peter Stone, Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards, Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards.

The seminal event in American history blazes to vivid life in this most unconventional of Broadway hits. 1776 puts a human face on the pages of history as we see the men behind the national icons: proud, frightened, uncertain, irritable, charming, often petty and ultimately noble figures, determined to do the right thing for a fledging nation.

Paul Hecht's Pyrography was hailed as "one of the best jazz releases of 2025" (Tim Larsen, JazzViews), and now Hecht has released a follow-up, Pyrography II, expanding from quartet to quintet. With the stellar James Davis on trumpet, along with a sensitive, fiery rhythm section of Ben Dillinger on bass and Gustavo Cortiñas on drums, Michael Hudson-Casanova joins the group on alto saxophone. All have been frequent performers on the Merrimans' stage.

Paul Hecht - piano
James Davis - trumpet
Michael Hudson-Casanova - alto saxophone
Ben Dillinger - bass
Gustavo Cortiñas - drums

This Saturday, take a step back in time. Visit Pears Mill, an 1857 water-powered mill. Located in Buchanan, Michigan’s downtown Historic District. The mill is adjacent to Buchanan Farmers Market. Pears Mill is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday through Labor Day. There is no charge.