Performing Arts in the Tri-Cities Region
Information about art, music, theatre, and calendar of events is provided in this section with an emphasis on the non-profit organizations in Tri-Cities Washington and other nearby communities in Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon.
Visiting an Art Museum
A note about live music venues:
The "calendar of events" sections for Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, and Yakima are the place to check for music events at wineries, restaurants, nightclubs, and other venues. Some of the calendars in the Tri-Cities section also list events in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland, as well.
Tri-Cities
The Battelle Performing Arts Business Center is dedicated to improving coordination, collaboration, and cooperation among the non-profit performing arts groups of the Mid-Columbia area. The Center also houses the offices of the Mid-Columbia Symphony and Washington East Opera.The Three Rivers Arts and Entertainment District was formed to provide a catalyst for growth and development of the economy through arts-related activities. The district provides a directory of Arts Organizations and Museums and Galleries in the Tri-Cities region.
There are several music performance organizations that include the Mid-Columbia Symphony, which offers four concerts each season at the Three Rivers Convention Center, Community Concerts of the Tri-Cities, which has been bringing world class entertainment to the Columbia Basin Region for over 60 years, and Camerata Musica, which has been bringing a tradition of chamber music to the Tri-Cities by presenting classical music by solo musicians and small ensembles in an intimate setting.
Consort Columbia is a select ensemble of experienced singers who perform primarily in Eastern Washington and Oregon to expand the joy of choral music. Columbia Chorale is a community choir that has been entertaining the Tri-Cities for more than 40 years.
Both the Columbia River Chordsmen and the Rolling Hills Chorus of Sweet Adelines International deliver performances in original American art-form called "barbershop".
Also, in the more than fifty years since their first performance, the Richland Light Opera Company has produced over ninety operas and musicals.
There are several theatrical organizations that include The Richland Players, which has offered a full season of live performances annually and without interruption for over 60 years, and the Academy of Children's Theatre (ACT), which was created in 1994 to provide dramatic arts instruction and performances geared especially for children.
Broadway shows and more are held several times each year at the Toyota Center. See TicketMaster for the calendar of events.
In addition, the Columbia Basin College Arts Center offers a variety of theatrical and music performances.The mission of Mid-Columbia Regional Ballet is to foster and advance the art of ballet in its various forms in the Mid-Columbia region.
The Battelle Film Club is devoted to bringing quality cinema entertainment to the Tri-Cities. Small, independent off-Hollywood and foreign films, which do not have a wide distribution, are shown.
Tri-Cities Calendar of Events
Dayton
The Touchet Valley Arts Council (TVAC) supports the Liberty Theatre which offers first run family oriented movies, foreign films, and live performances.
Moses Lake
The Centennial Theatre (outdoor amphitheatre) is host to a free summer concert series. In addition, the Columbia Basin Allied Arts has been providing a wide variety of performing arts since 1978.
Pendleton & Umatilla
The Oregon East Symphony and Chorale provides a dependable source of live orchestral and choral music with special emphasis on youth educational opportunities.The purpose of ArtsEast, formerly known as the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council, is to serve, facilitate and support the arts, artists and arts education in Eastern Oregon. A directory of services and galleries for Umatilla County and other counties in eastern Oregon is provided.
The Pendleton Center for the Arts offers fine arts exhibits, live music performances, arts education, and opportunities for purchasing hand-crafted items made by regional artists.
The Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts provides educational, social and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development.
Prosser
The Valley Theater Company has been performing in the Yakima Valley since 1962. Check the Tri-Cities Arts Calendar for upcoming performances (look for events coded as 'VTC').
Southeast Washington & Northeast Oregon
Founded in 1999, Inland Northwest Musicians continues to offer fine orchestral and choral music and education opportunities to Eastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington.
Walla Walla
The Department of Theatre at Whitman College offers several theatrical performances at the Harper Joy Theatre each year and the Little Theatre of Walla Walla has been producing "Good Plays, Done Well... Since 1944."The Walla Walla Symphony, which is the oldest continuously operating symphony west of the Mississippi, offers concerts with the Walla Walla Choral Society.
Several arts organizations strive to make art accessible to the Walla Walla community and include Art Walla Walla, formerly the Blue Mountain Arts Alliance, the Carnegie Art Center, a non-profit arts educational organization that was founded in 1971, and Walla Walla Artist Alliance, a co-operative of artists from the Walla Walla area who joined together to promote art in the northwest.
Walla Walla Calendar of Events
Yakima
The Yakima Symphony Orchestra offers concerts with the Yakima Symphony Chorus as the official choral ensemble.The Seasons Music Festival, a non-profit organization, is responsible for programming and organizes two major classical/jazz music festivals each year in the Spring and Fall at The Seasons Performance Hall which has quickly become a hotbed for jazz, latin, classical and world music with weekly programs at the highest international level.
Begun in 1919 as the Yakima City Band, the Yakima Valley Community Band has a long tradition of providing live music to the communities of the Yakima Valley through free public concerts including its summer series of band concerts called "Concerts In The Parks."
The Allied Arts of Yakima Valley is dedicated to the coordination and promotion of the arts in the Yakima Valley.
The Warehouse Theatre Company (WTC) has provided affordable live theatre to the Yakima Valley for almost sixty years. WTC produces five shows in an intimate 200 seat theatre at the Allied Arts Center -- originally a fruit warehouse!
The Capital Theatre is home to a variety of productions that are presented by numerous local organizations, such as the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and proudly presents top-quality touring Broadway musicals.
Yakima Calendar of Events
Children's Museums
There are several children's museums in this region that serve as an educational resource with activities geared for children ages 10 and under. Some even host birthday parties!
Drum Organizations
There are several drum organizations in this region that include:
Folklife Associations
There are several folklife groups in this region that include:
Jazz and Blues Music Societies
There are two blues and jazz music societies in this region that include: