BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Matthews Opera House - ECPv6.16.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Matthews Opera House
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Denver
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20210314T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20211107T080000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20220313T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20221106T080000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20230312T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20231105T080000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20240310T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20241103T080000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230207T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230207T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T171059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T171059Z
UID:10000894-1675764000-1675771200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Dreamcatchers
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, February 7 from 10 am-noon in the Matthews Art Gallery to create your own dreamcatcher with iconic hoop-and-web design. \nThe dream catcher is one of the most enduring and widespread symbols associated with Native American culture. It’s commonly believed that the iconic hoop-and-web form is meant to protect sleepers from bad dreams by “catching” them\, while letting good dreams pass through\, hence the name. \nThis is event is free to attend however space is limited to 10 participants. Registration is required.\nTo save your space\, please call (605)717-6967 or email engage@matthewsopera.com. \n  \nAbout the NEA Big Read\nThe National Endowment for the Arts Big Read\, a partnership with Arts Midwest\, broadens our understanding of our world\, our communities\, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006\, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1\,700 NEA Big Read programs\, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition\, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years\, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event\, over 97\,000 volunteers have participated at the local level\, and over 40\,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. \nVisit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information. \n\n\n\nNEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.\nEl proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/dreamcatchers/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Dreamcatchers-Header-lVomns.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230124T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230124T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T171201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T171201Z
UID:10000916-1674563400-1674567000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nJanuary 24: Kathy Bjornestad\n\nKathy Bjornestad is a retired K-12 school librarian and Language Arts teacher. She has been writing novels since the fifth grade and has experimented with poetry\, novels for all ages\, and creative nonfiction. Bjornestad\nis an award-winning author who calls the Black Hills of South Dakota home. She believes in the power of books to promote empathy and awaken wonder and appreciation for the natural world. She will speak about her new book\, Rhymes from the Reef. \n\nComing Soon…\nJanuary 31: Donna Watson \nStay tuned while we gather more information about the author and her discussion on historical fiction! \n 
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-17/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230117T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230117T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T171200Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T171200Z
UID:10000915-1673958600-1673962200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nJanuary 17: South Dakota State Poetry Society\n\nSouth Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) came into existence in 1926. It has operated continuously publishing two volumes of Pasque Petals annually. SDSPS poets Heidi Moseley\, Jean Helmer and others\, as weather permits\, will share readings from Pasque Petals\, and discuss the of writing poetry. Information on membership and on how to submit works for publication will also be provided. \nJean Helmer writes of experiences garnered farming and ranching\, and of her careers in classrooms and rural church pulpits. She and husband Gary live near Belle Fourche with their literary pups\, Annie\nGrabstreak and Ginny Woolf. She is published in Pasque Petals\, and in various SD and WY anthologies. \nHolly Moseley lives in Camp Crook. She is secretary of the South Dakota State Poetry Society\, and belongs to both the Belle Fourche and Bearlodge Writers groups. Her poems have been published in Pasque Petals\, several anthologies\, and South Dakota Magazine. \n\nComing Soon…\nJanuary 24: Kathy Bjornestad \nKathy Bjornestad is a retired K-12 school librarian and Language Arts teacher. She has been writing novels since the fifth grade and has experimented with poetry\, novels for all ages\, and creative nonfiction. Bjornestad\nis an award-winning author who calls the Black Hills of South Dakota home. She believes in the power of books to promote empathy and awaken wonder and appreciation for the natural world. She will speak about her new book\, Rhymes from the Reef.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-16/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230117T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230117T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T171047Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T171047Z
UID:10000891-1673949600-1673956800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:God's Eye Ornament
DESCRIPTION:Join us in the Matthews Gallery on Tuesday\, January 17 at 10 am for Gods Eye Weaving\, where you will be guided through the process of creating a colorful ornament using simple weaving techniques. \nYou may have encountered God’s Eye ornaments as a school project but the activity has a history that is hundreds of years old. \nGod’s Eye ornaments first originated among the Huichol\, the indigenous peoples of what is now western Mexico. They believed that the spiritual world could be accessed through crafting objects. The Huichol made large ceremonial shields with colored yarn and sticks as protection against the uncertainties of the future\, so that a god could keep a watchful eye over the craftsman. \nBlack yarn or a mirrored disk in the center of the God’s Eye is intended to help the god see better and where the stick foundation crosses\, an opening was left so that shamans and gods could travel easily between the spirit world and earth. The four points of the “eye” are believed to represent the four earthly elements (fire\, water\, earth and air). \n \nThis workshop is free to attend\, however\, space is limited to 10 participants. Registration is required. Contact the Matthews Community Engagement Manager at (605)717-6967 or email engage@matthewsopera.com to reserve your spot. \n  \nAbout the NEA Big Read\nThe National Endowment for the Arts Big Read\, a partnership with Arts Midwest\, broadens our understanding of our world\, our communities\, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006\, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1\,700 NEA Big Read programs\, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition\, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years\, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event\, over 97\,000 volunteers have participated at the local level\, and over 40\,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. \nVisit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information. \n\n\n\nNEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.\nEl proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest \n\n\n 
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/gods-eye-ornament/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230110T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230110T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T171159Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T171159Z
UID:10000914-1673353800-1673357400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nJanuary 10: Karen Holzer and Bill Feterl\nThis week’s Author Talks will feature “Let’s Feed the Fish\,” written by Kindra Gordon\, Karen Holzer\, and Joanna Jones and illustrated by local artist\, Bill Feterl. Feterl will discuss the process he used to plan and create his artwork as well as the planning and organization of the pages\, how the text was chosen\, and the printing process.\n\nThe book tells the story of two young boys visiting the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. Two excited young boys explore the D.C. Booth\, zig zagging through the scenic grounds learning about raceways\, touring a museum\, visiting the Booth House\, and feeding the fish.\nComing Soon…\nJanuary 17: South Dakota State Poetry Society \nSouth Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) came into existence in 1926. It has operated continuously publishing two volumes of Pasque Petals annually. SDSPS poets Heidi Moseley\, Jean Helmer and others\, as weather permits\, will share readings from Pasque Petals\, and discuss the of writing poetry. Information on membership and on how to submit works for publication will also be provided. \nJean Helmer writes of experiences garnered farming and ranching\, and of her careers in classrooms and rural church pulpits. She and husband Gary live near Belle Fourche with their literary pups\, Annie\nGrabstreak and Ginny Woolf. She is published in Pasque Petals\, and in various SD and WY anthologies. \nHolly Moseley lives in Camp Crook. She is secretary of the South Dakota State Poetry Society\, and belongs to both the Belle Fourche and Bearlodge Writers groups. Her poems have been published in Pasque Petals\, several anthologies\, and South Dakota Magazine.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-15/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221206T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221206T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T170619Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T170619Z
UID:10000881-1670329800-1670333400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nDecember 6: Troy Dobyns\nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nComing Soon…\nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-14/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221129T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221129T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T170618Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T170618Z
UID:10000880-1669725000-1669728600@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nNovember 29: Michael Harris\nMichael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western\, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries. \nMichael enjoys shooting\, hiking\, reading\, writing\, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle\, served in the U.S. Army for eight years\, been a Law Enforcement Officer\, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom\, and is now an author. \nComing Soon…\nDecember 6: Troy Dobyns \nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-13/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221115T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221115T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160215Z
UID:10000856-1668515400-1668519000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class\nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nComing Soon…\nNovember 29: Michael Harris \nMichael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western\, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries. \nMichael enjoys shooting\, hiking\, reading\, writing\, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle\, served in the U.S. Army for eight years\, been a Law Enforcement Officer\, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom\, and is now an author. \nDecember 6: Troy Dobyns \nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-11/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221108T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221108T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160214Z
UID:10000855-1667910600-1667914200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nComing Soon…\nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nNovember 29: Michael Harris \nMichael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western\, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries. \nMichael enjoys shooting\, hiking\, reading\, writing\, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle\, served in the U.S. Army for eight years\, been a Law Enforcement Officer\, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom\, and is now an author. \nDecember 6: Troy Dobyns \nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-10/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221101T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221101T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160213Z
UID:10000854-1667305800-1667309400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nBill Bosch grew up east of Linton\, ND in an area populated mainly by German-Russians. His grandparents all grew up in what is now Ukraine and Crimea. And so did their parents and so on. But when they emigrated to the Dakotas in the late 1880s they came not as Russians or Ukrainians but as ethnic Germans. Bill has written three books about his heritage. The first\, published in 2014\, is titled The German Russians in Words and Pictures. Next came Russian Agriculture in the 1880s. Then last year he published a historical novel with the title The Land Seekers. He will briefly discuss the first two and then discuss\, with the audience\, some of the mistakes he made in writing his novel. Perhaps that can help others avoid the same mistakes while inspiring them to publish their own novel. \nComing Soon…\nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nNovember 29: Michael Harris \nMichael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western\, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries. \nMichael enjoys shooting\, hiking\, reading\, writing\, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle\, served in the U.S. Army for eight years\, been a Law Enforcement Officer\, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom\, and is now an author. \nDecember 6: Troy Dobyns \nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-9/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221025T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221025T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160212Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160212Z
UID:10000853-1666701000-1666704600@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nA two-part series \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nComing Soon…\nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-8/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221018T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221018T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160030Z
UID:10000852-1666096200-1666099800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nA two-part series \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nComing Soon…\nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-7/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221011T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221011T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160029Z
UID:10000851-1665491400-1665495000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nOctober 11: Annie Christain\nAnnie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review\, Oxford Poetry\, Prelude\, and The Lifted Brow\, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest\, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award\, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award\, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021)\, selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry. \nComing Soon…\nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-6/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221004T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221004T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160028Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160028Z
UID:10000850-1664886600-1664890200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nOctober 4: Geri Gutwein\nGeri Mendoza Gutwein\, Ph.D.\, professor emerita of English at HACC\, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English\, creative writing\, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee\, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review\, The Wildwood Journal\, Roots\, Trunk\, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild\, and La Libreta\, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle\, The Story She Told\, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota\, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe\, and currently lives in Spearfish\, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com. \nComing Soon…\nOctober 11: Annie Christain \nAnnie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review\, Oxford Poetry\, Prelude\, and The Lifted Brow\, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest\, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award\, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award\, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021)\, selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry. \nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-5/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220927T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220927T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160027Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160027Z
UID:10000849-1664281800-1664285400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nSeptember 27: Pennie Hunt\nPennie Hunt is an inspirational\, entertaining\, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association\, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through\, LLC. Her weekly blog\, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books\, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and  Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal. \nAfter a series of life-changing events\, including the death of her child\, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change\, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit\, courage\, and compassion. \nComing Soon…\nOctober 4: Geri Gutwein \nGeri Mendoza Gutwein\, Ph.D.\, professor emerita of English at HACC\, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English\, creative writing\, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee\, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review\, The Wildwood Journal\, Roots\, Trunk\, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild\, and La Libreta\, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle\, The Story She Told\, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota\, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe\, and currently lives in Spearfish\, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com. \nOctober 11: Annie Christain \nAnnie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review\, Oxford Poetry\, Prelude\, and The Lifted Brow\, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest\, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award\, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award\, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021)\, selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry. \nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-4/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220920T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220920T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T160026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T160026Z
UID:10000848-1663677000-1663680600@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nSeptember 20: Phoenix Piazzisi\nPhoenix Rayne\, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist\,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village\, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar\, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin\, CA with her associate degree in English. \nWhen she was five years old\, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry\, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem\, “Winter’s Bliss\,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021\, her first piece of literature\, “I am one with the lake\,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness. \nWriting has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest\, transparent\, and empathetic writing\, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time. \nComing Soon…\nSeptember 27: Pennie Hunt \nPennie Hunt is an inspirational\, entertaining\, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association\, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through\, LLC. Her weekly blog\, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books\, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and  Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal. \nAfter a series of life-changing events\, including the death of her child\, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change\, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit\, courage\, and compassion. \nOctober 4: Geri Gutwein \nGeri Mendoza Gutwein\, Ph.D.\, professor emerita of English at HACC\, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English\, creative writing\, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee\, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review\, The Wildwood Journal\, Roots\, Trunk\, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild\, and La Libreta\, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle\, The Story She Told\, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota\, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe\, and currently lives in Spearfish\, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com. \nOctober 11: Christian Leigh \nInformation about the author coming soon! \nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-3/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220913T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220913T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T155829Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T155829Z
UID:10000847-1663072200-1663075800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nSeptember 13: Bruce Junek\nBruce Burgess Junek will present A Writer’s Life of Adventure – Fact and Fiction\, a fascinating slide program highlighting how the author’s travels and bicycling journeys with his wife\, Tass Thacker\, through 54 countries led to a career as a writer\, explorer\, photographer\, speaker\, film-maker\, and above all else\, storyteller. Bruce has written two travel narratives\, The Road of Dreams and Andes to the Amazon\, a rock climbing guidebook\, and also the recently published 4-book\, adult and YA fantasy series\, A Bright One Chronicles\, which was greatly influenced by his many expeditions around the world. \n   \nComing Soon…\nSeptember 20: Phoenix Piazzisi \nPhoenix Rayne\, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist\,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village\, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar\, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin\, CA with her associate degree in English. \nWhen she was five years old\, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry\, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem\, “Winter’s Bliss\,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021\, her first piece of literature\, “I am one with the lake\,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness. \nWriting has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest\, transparent\, and empathetic writing\, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time. \nSeptember 27: Pennie Hunt \nPennie Hunt is an inspirational\, entertaining\, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association\, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through\, LLC. Her weekly blog\, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books\, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and  Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal. \nAfter a series of life-changing events\, including the death of her child\, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change\, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit\, courage\, and compassion. \nOctober 4: Gerrie Gutwein \nInformation about the author coming soon! \nOctober 11: Christian Leigh \nInformation about the author coming soon! \nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews-2/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220906T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220906T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T155828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T155828Z
UID:10000846-1662467400-1662471000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks at the Matthews
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories\, their methods\, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area! \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com \nFeatured author…\nSeptember 6: Michael Harris\nMichael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western\, set some time in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries. \nMichael enjoys shooting\, hiking\, reading\, writing\, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle\, served in the U.S. Army for eight years\, been a Law Enforcement Officer\, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom\, and is now an author. \nComing Soon…\nSeptember 13: Bruce Junek \nBruce B. Junek is an explorer\, author\, photographer and speaker. In 1987 he and his wife\, Tass Thacker\, created Images of the World\, a series of slide programs of their adventures. Over the last 23 years 1.6 million students have seen their programs. Bruce and Tass bicycled around the world from 1984-86. They have also bicycled on different journeys through Central America\, South America\, southern Africa and the mideast. They just bicycled through China in 2011. \nHe is the author of Andes to the Amazon: Seven Journeys in Mexico\, Central and South America; The Road of Dreams: A Two-Year Bicycling and Hiking Adventure Around the World and a fantasy fiction trilogy\, A Bright One Chronicles. \nSeptember 20: Phoenix Piazzisi \nPhoenix Rayne\, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist\,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village\, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar\, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin\, CA with her associate degree in English. \nWhen she was five years old\, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry\, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem\, “Winter’s Bliss\,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021\, her first piece of literature\, “I am one with the lake\,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness. \nWriting has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest\, transparent\, and empathetic writing\, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time. \nSeptember 27: Pennie Hunt \nPennie Hunt is an inspirational\, entertaining\, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association\, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through\, LLC. Her weekly blog\, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books\, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and  Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal. \nAfter a series of life-changing events\, including the death of her child\, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change\, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit\, courage\, and compassion. \nOctober 4: Gerrie Gutwein \nInformation about the author coming soon! \nOctober 11: Christian Leigh \nInformation about the author coming soon! \nOctober 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite \nChildren in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front\, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask\, to cope alone with feelings of guilt\, anger\, fear and confusion. \nRapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family\, struggling to understand her emotions\, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine\, Thank You\,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy\, senseless behavior from people she loves. \n“Just Fine\, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood\, Sex and Tears. She says of the series\, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’ \nLeite has had a successful\, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon\, Texas\, Minneapolis\, Montana\, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama\, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. \nNovember 1: Bill Bosch \nWilliam Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County\, east of Linton\, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel\, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School\, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen\, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley\, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish\, SD in 2005. They have a daughter\, Julie\, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures. \nNovember 8: Doug Hoff \nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nNovember 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class \nCourtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes\, forgotten stories\, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch\, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press\, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review\, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards.  Her creative work has appeared widely\, including CALYX\, The Halcyone\, New Ohio Review\, South Dakota Review\, Kindred\, South Dakota Magazine\, South Dakota in Poems\,  Midwestern Gothic\, Scissors and Spackle\, Backwards City Review\, and the MacGuffin.  She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University\, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota\, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University. \nDecember 13: Robyn VanDersys \nRobyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State\, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born.  She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. \nHer life has consisted of one adventure to the next\, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties\,  raising three strong children\, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack\, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. \nShe spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills\, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-at-the-matthews/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Author-Talks-Header-iJTGoT.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220531T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220531T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T155439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T155439Z
UID:10000825-1654000200-1654003800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks: Troy Dobyns
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30. \nJoin us on Tuesday\, May 31 at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Troy Dobyns. \nAbout the Author\nAt two weeks old\, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired\, they knew this would be their permanent home. \nIn the spring of 1972\, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood\, the night of the flood\, survivorship\, the aftermath\, and the recovery. \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-troy-dobyns/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5-31-Dobyns-Author-talks-header-CJ3IWr.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220531T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220531T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150853Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150853Z
UID:10000713-1653991200-1653998400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-16/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220524T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220524T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T152630Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T152630Z
UID:10000768-1653395400-1653399000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks: Marsha Mittman
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30. \nJoin us on Tuesday\, May 24 at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Marsha Mittman. Author Talks will take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room. \nAbout the Author\nMarsha Warren Mittman always has one foot in a suitcase ready to roam; a computer at hand ready to write; and her head in the clouds ready to meditate. A humorous memoir\, “You Know You Moved to South Dakota from New York City WHEN…\,” was published by Scurfpea Publishing. Her poetry\, essays\, and short stories have been widely published in American\, British\, Australian\, and German literary journals\, magazines\, and anthologies\, including six “Chicken Soup for the Soul” tales. Select poems from her chapbook\, “Patriarchal Chronicles: Women’s Worldwide Tears\,” are being crafted into a readers’ theater production. “Message from a Goldfish: A Guide to Awareness” was used in meditation programs presented in twelve states. Mittman’s received numerous poetry and prose distinctions in the US and Ireland\, and was awarded a Writer’s Residency at the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts in Fairhope\, AL. Her poem\, “The Seed\,” appeared in Amazon’s #1 bestselling poetry anthology “Pain and Removal.” An avid traveller\, she’s visited over 125 countries/islands on six continents\, and forty-six US states. For the past twenty years South Dakota’s beautiful Black Hills have been home base. \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-marsha-mittman/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5-24-author-talks-header-H43PES.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220524T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220524T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150657Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150657Z
UID:10000712-1653386400-1653393600@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-15/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T152433Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T152433Z
UID:10000767-1652790600-1652794200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:CANCELED: Author Talks: Doug Hoff
DESCRIPTION:We regret that this week’s Author Talks with Doug Hoff has been canceled. We hope to reschedule at a later date. \nAuthor Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30. \nJoin us on Tuesday\, May 17 at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Doug Hoff. Author Talks will take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room. \nWe will also be broadcasting Author Talks on ZOOM for those who prefer attending virtually. \nAbout the Author\nDouglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm\, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle\, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill\, and had two children\, Brian and Andrea. \nWhile ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award\, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award\, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award\, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career\, selling semen\, embryos\, and cattle around the globe\, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book\, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie. \nAre you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/canceled-author-talks-doug-hoff/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150655Z
UID:10000711-1652781600-1652788800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-14/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220510T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220510T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150654Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150654Z
UID:10000710-1652176800-1652184000@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-13/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220503T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220503T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150653Z
UID:10000709-1651572000-1651579200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-12/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220426T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220426T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150652Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150652Z
UID:10000708-1650967200-1650974400@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-11/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220419T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220419T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150632Z
UID:10000707-1650362400-1650369600@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-10/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220412T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220412T133000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T152232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T152232Z
UID:10000762-1649766600-1649770200@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Author Talks: Pennie Hunt
DESCRIPTION:Author Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30. \nJoin us on Tuesdays at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Pennie Hunt. \nAuthor Talks will take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room. \nAbout the Author\nPennie Hunt is an inspirational\, entertaining\, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association\, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through\, LLC. Her weekly blog\, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books\, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and  Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal. \nAfter a series of life-changing events\, including the death of her child\, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change\, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit\, courage\, and compassion.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/author-talks-pennie-hunt/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/4-12-Author-talks-Hunt-hu5Bde.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220412T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220412T120000
DTSTAMP:20260613T123758
CREATED:20260611T150631Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T150631Z
UID:10000706-1649757600-1649764800@matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com
SUMMARY:Open Makerspace Hours
DESCRIPTION:All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft\, build\, experiment\, and discover art! \nOpen makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.
URL:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/event/open-makerspace-hours-9/
CATEGORIES:makeSPACE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://matthewsopera2026.tdgwebhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/makerspace-header-SzlgPP.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR