Events

Jul 04

Pow wow, rodeo, softball tournament, foods and crafts at the Ceremonial Grounds.

Jul 05

The Pageant is a favorite local tradition. Each summer more than a hundred volunteers combine their talents to present a family-friendly drama based on the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder. People from all over the world gather together on the beautiful South Dakota prairie and step back into history to a time when the West was just opening up to a wave of pioneering men and women.

Gates open at 6PM, performance at 8PM

Admission:
$12 - Adults
$8 - 6-12 years old
5 and under free

Jul 05

Celebrate the beauty of a dark night sky and the wonder of space exploration.

Jul 07

A rally for fans and riders of 3-wheelers!

The event includes rides, vendors, socials, BBQ, poker runs, entertainment, show-n-shine, games of skill, awards and parades. 

All makes and models of trikes welcome!

Jul 02

Theatre performance.

Jul 03

Golf cart parade, classic car show, tractor pull, turtle races, water fights, soapbox races, basketball tournament, music, street dance, fireworks, beer garden, ice-cream social and kids’ activities.

Jul 03

Bean bag tourney, kids’ fishing derby, demolition derby, fun run, parade, turtle races, wagon train.

Jul 05

Join the 56th annual Black Hills Rod Run for a guided cruise, poker run, music and car show.

Mar 23

For over 600 years, stringed keyboard instruments have served as repositories for human imagination, science, technology, craft, artistry, and music. They are admired for their stature – and oftentimes stunning beauty – alongside their ability to play both melody and harmony. Keyboard innovation has continuously expanded throughout the world, throughout time.



Opening in March 2024, the special exhibition “High Strung: Five Centuries of Stringed Keyboard Instruments” will explore the form, function and development of keyboard instruments from early harpsichords to the modern piano. The special exhibition brings together nearly 20 keyboard instruments from the NMM’s collections - some of which have never before been on exhibit.



Instruments that will be on display include:


• An octave virginal (NMM 4660), from the same workshop as the NMM’s Neapolitan harpsichord, c.1530 (NMM 14408)

• A highly decorated harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers, 1643 (NMM 10000)

• Harpsichord by Nicolas Dufour, 1683 (NMM 5943, pictured below), made in Paris in a native style that fell from popularity by the first decade of the 18th century

• French grand piano, Clavecin à marteaux, (harpsichord with hammers) by Louis Bas (NMM 4653) from 1781. This instrument, the earliest surviving French grand piano, is exceptional, retaining much of its original action parts

• Downward-striking piano by Nanette Streicher und Sohn (NMM 10298), and a small trapezoid hammer instrument by Gottfried Maucher (NMM 4570) – an example of a lesser-known instrument type, similar to the tangentenflugel by Späth and Schmahl, built c.1784 (NMM 4145), which was once a favorite instrument type of Mozart

• Grand piano by Erard (NMM 5984) and Chickering & Sons (NMM 5413), built at a time in which America led the way in piano technology, not only with grand pianos, but also with the large ”square” pianos by makers such as William Knabe & Company (NMM 14447)



“High Strung: Five Centuries of Stringed Keyboard Instruments” will open to the public on March 23, 2024 in the NMM’s Jason & Betsy Groves Special Exhibition Gallery. It will remain open through the calendar year. Support for the exhibition is provided by generous grants from the Clayton and Odessa Lang Ofstad Foundation and the City of Vermillion, SD.

Fee: $Included with Museum Admission

Jul 03

Join us for a variety of hands-on activities for all ages.