McCook, Nebraska
June 14th - 16th, 2024
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” ~ e.e. Cummings
The 27th Annual Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival will NOT be days wasted! Nationally renowned storyteller will spin hilariously entertaining stories, a one-of-a-kind musical experience will make your spirit dance, and inspirations in stone and stained glass will illuminate your senses and celebrate community heritage. Don’t miss these fun-filled events: Historic Fox Theatre stage show, dinner cabaret, building and stained-glass tour, art shows, museum melodies and memories, open mic opportunities, poetry sharing, Kids Fest and much more!
2024 Featured Guest Artists and Presenters
paul strickland
This year’s featured storyteller performed at the 2023 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Lehi, Utah and as a New Voice at the 2023 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee. As professional storyteller and theater artist from Kentucky, Paul Strickland’s hilarious and heartfelt tall tales have won “Best of Fest” sixteen times at fringe festivals in the U.S. and Canada.
Always adapting to whatever audience is in front of him, Paul LOVES telling stories in every imaginable environment from comedy clubs to elementary and middle schools, corporate events and even two prisons where he was NOT an inmate at the time! Selections from his show, Levels of Difficulty can be heard on SiriusXM radio. We welcome Paul for the first time to the Buffalo Commons stage.
lucas kotschwar
Lucas Kotschwar is an artist and farmer based in McCook, Nebraska. He has exhibited paintings and drawings throughout the High Plains and Front Range regions, most recently selected for participation in the 2023 Nebraska Biennial, where he was awarded Best Painting. His work is in private collections across the Midwest and is featured in the newly-opened ArtBank.
An advocate for the arts and rural living, Lucas has helped create and launch two visual art spaces within his hometown, serves as Vice President of the 6th Floor Project Board of Directors, and is acting McCook Arts Council treasurer. He has coordinated an artist-in-residence program, provided consultation and insight for the creative process of a community mural, hosted art literacy sessions for high school students during Bison Days, and is a continuing ambassador for visitors seeking a glimpse of contemporary art in McCook. He is a graduate of McCook High School and alumnus of Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
stillhouse junkies
New to the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival is a crowd-thrilling trio from the hills of Colorado, Stillhouse Junkies share the kind of strangely charmed chemistry that elevates both artist and audience alike. Since forming in 2017, the Durango-bred band has offered up a hypnotic and high-energy form of roots music anchored in the free-flowing interplay among the three lifelong musicians (Fred Kosak on guitar and mandolin, Cody Tinnin on upright bass, Alissa Wolf on fiddle).
While they’ve gained major traction in the bluegrass world in recent years—including winning the IBMA Momentum Band of the Year award in 2021—Stillhouse Junkies ultimately inhabit a genre-blurring and subtly inventive sound informed by everything from blues to classical to Texas swing. When matched with their nuanced songcraft and soul-stirring harmonies, the result is a one-of-a-kind musical experience that immediately transports the listener into a more enchanted state of mind.
Red Willow County Courthouse
Stained Glass Treasures to be seen on Friday Tour.
Vibrant rays of colorful light illuminate the stories during this year’s Stained Glass Tour. Join us for an opportunity to marvel at these beautifully assembled glass pieces. Learn the stories told from the creation of the universe to moments rich in history and about the process which combines artistry and technical skill. Discover how to interpret a window, decode the symbolism, and witness the beauty of the multiple stained-glass windows in Southwest Nebraska. Registration for this event is required. Cost is $30 a person and includes lunch and a pie break. Information can be found in the schedule below and under Tickets.
2024 Area Artists
Ginger ten Bensel
TV News Reporter, former Miss Rodeo Nebraska, Singer/Songwriter, Storyteller through music. Ginger was raised on a Southwest Nebraska farm, entrusted with not only helping with the family business, but also training eight or more horses a day. That work ethic carried her on to pursue her dream in Nashville, as a singer/songwriter. She opened for several stars including Chuck Berry and Clint Black and performed at the National Western Stock Show, the College World Series and at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. She hosted her own TV shows in the South and was a TV news reporter for 14 years in Hastings, NE. Ginger is also carrying on her family tradition of working with children by giving music lessons and accompanying them as they perform. The 4H leader also helps lead kids in praise and worship songs in an after-school group.
Charles Peek
Chuck Peek has journeyed through three careers: university teacher of English, active priest in the Episcopal Church, and essayist /poet /public humanities speaker and consultant/workshop leader. His blog is found at CAPeek.WordPress.Com. Chuck’s poems have earned numerous awards, including the 2016 Nebraska Book Award for poetry. He is currently Editor in Chief of the website kearneycreates.com, a past president of the Willa Cather Foundation and has offered many writers workshops across Nebraska. In July he will be reading poetry and a paper on To Have and Have Not at the international Hemingway Conference in Spain. He continues teaching classes for Senior College of Central Nebraska, and just ended an eight-year stint at the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry in Topeka, KS. Chuck and his wife, Nancy, also enjoy time with their two children and their families.
Clark Bates
Clark Bates loves a good story. Forty six years in the ministry have given Clark the opportunity to both hear and tell many stories. The past five years Clark has served as a consultant and encourager helping to bring revitalization to a number of small churches in Nebraska and Kansas. An engaging speaker, he has been blessed with the opportunity to share stories and preach in seven states and four foreign countries. Recently retired, Clark and his wife, Dawna, enjoy traveling, serving in their community and making memories with their children and 12 grandchildren.
