Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Tonganoxie Community Historical Society at (913) 845-2930, or the library at (913) 845-3281 for more information. The program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.

From melodrama to Shakespeare, from church socials to high school commencements, the opera houses of Kansas made significant contributions to the state’s social and cultural fabric in communities both large and small. Rhoads will discuss the history of opera houses in Kansas and how they are being used today.

Rhoads is an author and a 2009 Notable Kansas Book award winner. Her book, Kansas Opera Houses, Actors, and Community Events 1855-1925 is the result of years of travel across Kansas to research opera houses.

Kansas Opera Houses and Community Events is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s Kansas 150 Speakers Bureau commemorating the Kansas sesquicentennial. The special edition Speakers Bureau features presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan through time and across generations.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities. For more information about KHC programs, contact the Kansas Humanities Council at (785) 357-0359 or visit online at kansashumanities.org.

For more information about Kansas Opera Houses and Community Events in Tonganoxie, contact the Tonganoxie Public Library at (913) 845-3281 or visit www.tonganoxielibrary.org.m