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Two years after the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States wiped out part of its season and stained its books with red ink, the Art Center at Iowa Western Community College is ready to complete the comeback his this year.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, the performance venue increased sales and attendance figures not seen before the pandemic forced it to close from March 13 to 23 of June, 2020, according to Tim Dickmeyer, executive director, who called it “a good rebound.” (Despite receiving $10,000 in Iowa CARES grant funds, the Arts Center ended the 2019-20 year with a shortfall of nearly $11,000.)

For the most recent fiscal year, attendance at Arts Center events was 87% of what it was in 2018-2019 — the year before the pandemic began, Dickmeyer said. Income from facility rentals also rose almost to pre-pandemic levels, reaching about $26,000 — slightly less than the typical total of $30,000 a year.

“We feel pretty good about how things have gone this past year,” he said. “We definitely ended up in the black. We were able to cover all our expenses, plus a little more.”

The Art Center hosts four performances for local elementary students each year. Last year, it served as the venue for two concerts by the Omaha Symphony Orchestra for students in kindergarten through third grade provided as part of the symphony’s Mission Imagination program. In addition, the center has hosted two shadow theater performances by Catapult, a national touring group, Dickmeyer said.

“Just under 3,500 children attended those shows,” he said. “This is almost back to regular level. Usually we are around 4,000.”

For special student performances like these, the Arts Center makes sure there are extra seats so students can watch, Dickmeyer said.

The Arts Center is also used by college and community performance groups, including seven or eight dance studios that rent the space for their recitals, he said.

The center enters the new national performance season with renewed momentum. He will start the season with what Dickmeyer believes could turn out to be his most popular act: an Everly Brothers tribute group known as The Everly Set. The group will present “A Celebration of The Everly Brothers” at 7:30 p.m. on the 9th of September.

“There’s a lot of local interest, which is at one time in Shenandoah,” he said.

That concert will be followed by a performance by another tribute band, BritBeat, who will present “America’s Premier Tribute to the Beatles” at 7:30 p.m. on September 30.

The season will also include the following artists and shows at 7:30 p.m. on the dates listed below:

October 28 – Thompson Square, acoustic duo

November 13 – Shaun Johnson, big band experience

December 9 – Jim Brickman, “A Very Merry Christmas”

January 28 – Classic Albums Live (perform Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”)

February 9 – Lucy loves Desi, “A funny thing happened on the way to the sitcom”

March 17 – DSQ Electric (the Dallas String Quartet), “Where Bach Meets Bon Jovi”

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