At the Gryphon: The Fretliners w/ Pleasure People

The Laradise Music Showcase returns to The Gryphon Theatre with The Fretliners from the Colorado Front Range and Pleasure People from Casper, Wyoming on Friday, January 26th. 

Doors open at 7 PM. Show starts at 8 PM.

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About The Fretliners:

Winners of the 2023 band contests at Both the 50th Annual Telluride Bluegrass and the 51st Annual Rockygrass Festivals, The Fretliners are a powerhouse progressive bluegrass quartet born around a single microphone in a barn in the Rocky Mountains. Influenced by a multitude of genres and steeped in that High & Lonesome sound, the band carves through the bluegrass landscape leaving new pathways and possibilities in their wake. 

Consisting of Tom Knowlton on guitar, Taylor Shuck on upright bass, Dan Andree on fiddle, and Sam Parks on mandolin — these prolific pickers and singers have fluent musical conversations that invite their audiences into the dialogue. Expect hard driving energy, exhilarating solos, soaring vocals, and captivating lyrical stories. Buckle up, because The Fretliners show is sure to take you for a ride you won’t soon forget!

 About Pleasure People:

Edgey, gritty and moody, Pleasure People's lyrics and lyrical melodies shine against the backdrop of unusual and intricate arrangements combined with haunting harmonies. Their songs are poetic, sometimes a bit dark, deeply personal, and yet ultimately feel-good fun. Pleasure People is not quite like anything you've heard lately, and we think definitely not to be missed.

LPCC Opens Doors to Wyoming Tech Startup’s Robotic Cruisers

This fall, Laramie Plains Civic Center (LPCC) staff opened the doors to the building’s often untouched spaces for some unexpected guests—two four-wheel drive, camera-mounted robotic crawlers.

UplinkRobotics is a Laramie-based start-up specializing in robotics tools for building inspections and exploration in tight places. These robotic devices, designed and led by entrepreneurs Christian Bitzas, Zoë Worthen, Brady Wagstaff, and Oreoluwa Babatunde, cruised corners of the historic building’s boiler room and access tunnels. This collaboration between the University of Wyoming (UW) students and the LPCC team allowed for product testing in a challenging environment and it provided a tool to evaluate the state of these rarely explored areas.

UplinkRobotics is a business of IMPACT307, The UW’s business incubator aimed at bolstering entrepreneurs to achieve success and a prosperous state-wide economy. As a home to over 70 entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders, LPCC was excited to open our hidden doors to create growth and learning opportunities for these impressive entrepreneurs.

Learn more about UplinkRobotics and their tools designed for inspectors, firefighters, ranchers, law enforcement agents, contractors, and more at uplinkrobotics.com. Learn about IMPACT307 and the support services available for Wyoming entrepreneurs at impact307.org.

Community-Centered Installation to Look Back at Civic Center History with Laramie’s Youth

The trophy cases of Laramie Plains Civic Center’s (LPCC) South Gym Lobby have long-held dusty remnants from the building’s nearly 150-year history, featuring trophies from past Laramie High School and Junior High students. Funding from United Way of Albany County’s Community Impact Cooperative will now support rehabilitating these public displays to to capture stories from within the building and this community.

The project will begin in the Spring of 2024 and will include the research and fabrication of a modernized display to share a community-focused and contextualized history. Funding will cover paid internship costs for University of Wyoming students of Anthropology and Laramie High School students interested in community engagement. These students will work alongside local leaders and artists to capture stories, research the LPCC’s history, and craft the public exhibition located in the Sunshine Coffee dining area.

This collaboration is projected to be complete in the summer of 2024, with an unveiling event to be announced in late Spring. Opportunities to engage with the project team will be announced later this year.

WY Community Foundation Funds Laramie Art-Making Space

The Laramie Plains Civic Center’s (LPCC) Workshop, located in the historic building’s 1920’s era former locker room, serves as a hub for creative work, collaboration, and learning around the arts. This space will soon be able to serve the arts community better due in part to a grant received from the Wyoming Community Foundation (WCF) this December.

Since its first century as a school, the LPCC’s structure has housed creativity as an avenue for growth and connection. Like any school, the facility nurtured growing minds in science, math, and history, alongside music, art, and recreational activities. Today, LPCC, a stand-alone nonprofit organization, offers diverse learning and growth opportunities. Funding from WCF will support the first phase of overhauling a previous storage space to handle the materials and needs of those working with paints, inks, and other art materials. The project includes the installation of a stainless steel sink with washboard, faucet, and sand trap, as well as the later removal of defunct fixtures to allow for communal storage of materials and works in progress.

“This initial investment in the plumbing infrastructure is a crucial step in developing this space to serve Laramie’s creatives best,” LPCC Executive Director Jessica Brauer said. “For many years, the resilient artists of this building have made do with the insufficient amenities, and to move forward on these upgrades is long overdue.”

In 2014, the local artist group Wyoming Art Party rehabilitated the LPCC Workshop as a communal art-making space for creative workshops, educational programming, and opportunities for civic engagement. Their investment in the space solidified LPCC as a home for artists, and this draw continues to grow as Wyoming looks to arts and culture as an asset for the state. 

In addition to WCF’s grant funds, profits from the Artists Sunday Market held Thanksgiving weekend and in-kind donations from local artists will be used to continue this rehabilitation project.

“This space is a unique asset in the building and the community at large.” Brauer said, “WCF’s support is a gift to the work we’re doing to preserve and sustain this institution for years to come.”

24 Hours of Gratitude Celebrates LPCC's 145 Years

Join Laramie Plains Civic Center this Giving Tuesday for 24 Hours of Gratitude on Tuesday, November 28 starting at midnight. All day, we'll celebrate moments throughout LPCC's history, starting way back from the beginning in 1878.

For 145 years, the building and people who work within it have created opportunities for the community to gather, connect, and grow. We can't wait to share 24 of those special moments this holiday season. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram for hourly features.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving, created to encourage charitable donations to local non-profits during the holiday shopping season. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 28th and bookmark lpccwy.org/donate to make your gift.

Artists Market Invites Community Investment in Creative Economy

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, over fifty artists will gather at the Laramie Plains Civic Center (LPCC)’s Artists Sunday Market to showcase their work as Laramie kicks off the holiday shopping season. 

This one-day celebration is a national movement created to celebrate the importance of artists within the community serving as valuable drivers of economic and cultural growth. In over 500 participating communities across the United States, Artists Sunday events invite artists of all mediums to share their work and residents to engage with, appreciate, and invest in the arts. 

This year, LPCC will host the second annual Artists Sunday market on November 26 in collaboration with Laramie Main Street Alliance’s (LMSA) Small Business Saturday. “We are thrilled to invite Laramie to invest their time and money in the creative community,” LPCC Executive Director Jessica Brauer said. 

“This season is a critical time to show up for the locally owned businesses and creative entrepreneurs who bring value to our town through their work. To partner with Downtown Laramie on championing the “Shop Local” mission for this busy weekend of holiday shopping is an exciting opportunity.”

Positioned during the year’s busiest holiday shopping weekend, the event takes place after Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and before Cyber Monday. This year’s market will include a diverse array of vendors selling their work, live music from six local ensembles and soloists, and refreshments from the LPCC’s newly opened Sunshine Coffee. The market will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the LPCC’s South Gym, located off of Custer St.

“We have a full house booked, “ Brauer said, “including everything from handmade jewelry to photography. Whether you’re shopping for a unique gift for a loved one or a new piece of art for your home, this year’s roster won’t disappoint.” 

Civic Center Looks Forward with State Partners

Laramie Plains Civic Center is pleased to announce a partnership with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Ayres Associates for development support services in 2023-2024.

The DEQ established the Brownfields Assistance (BA) program to help local governments investigate, clean up, and reuse brownfield properties. This program provides grant funding for work with the community-focused engineering team at Ayres Associates.

Laramie Plains Civic Center will receive over $165,000 worth of support from the Ayres team, including:

• Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and environmental assessments of the historic property

• Economic assessment and financial analysis

• Branding and outreach support, including public outreach within and beyond the building

• Wayfinding / building map support

This state-driven investment in the future of LPCC is an exciting step forward for the building and the community of Laramie. In the months ahead, public outreach opportunities and further details will be made available.

Questions can be brought to Jessica Brauer at jbrauer@lpccwy.org.

Help Fill the Tree!

Are you a local artist? We want to sell your handmade ornaments!

The Laramie Plains Civic Center and Laramie Main Street Alliance have partnered for this year's local shopping celebrations, including Small Business Saturday and the Artist Sunday Market! 

This festive fundraiser will sell handmade works through the holiday season, supporting local creatives and raising funds for the Laramie Plains Civic Center's arts spaces. Shoppers can browse the ornament tree at its debut at the Artists Sunday Market hosted on Sunday, November 26th. Sales will remain open until December 22nd. (More to come on where to find the ornament tree!)

Interested in selling your handmade ornaments?

Registration is now open. All mediums welcome!

Artist Registration Is Now Open

Artists Sunday is a nationwide art-shopping event taking place with professional artists, non-profit art organizations and municipalities across the country. Laramie Plains Civic Centet has joined community partners in a city-wide week of local shopping opportunities for the kick-off of the holiday shopping season. Join us as we invite Laramie to keep their dollars local and support local artists, makers, and performers.

Register now to sell your work at: lpccwy.org/artistmarket

Early registrations help staff plan the appropriate space for the event. While we work to accommodate all registrants, space will be first-come, first-served.

Thank you for the Nights to Remember!

This summer we celebrated with you at the 3rd annual Gem City Nights at the Downtown Farmers Market. This art and music series is a labor of love brought to the community at no cost, thanks to many giving hands.

The community showed up to learn, create, and gather around performing and visual art with us each week, and it was a treat. This community event is a love letter from us to you, and we felt the love right back. Join us in thanking all who contributed their energy, talent, and passions with us.

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Thank you to the talented teaching artists who gifted their time to collaborative art-making each week. These artists brought their skills to you to learn, share, and create together. What a treat it was to make art together each week! Stay tuned because we will hang your hard work in the building later this fall for you all to see.

To to the energetic performing artists, many of whom traveled to join us each week. They showed up through rain, shine, and lots of wind and gifted Laramie a treat. Thank you for helping us fill the park with many dancing memories.

A big thank you goes to the staff who brought you this event. While a community event may last one night for Laramie, it takes many months to execute for the team. This event was made possible thanks to hours of support from the Laramie Plains Civic Center, Gryphon Theatre, Siren Studios, and Laramie Main Street teams.

Last but not least, thank you to our sponsors. We could not do it without your financial support. Thank you for your vote of confidence in this team and this programming for Laramie. Your contribution is priceless.

Photos by Laramie artist and Laramie Plains Civic Center board member Ana Castro

Less Waste = More at Siren Studios

In the summer of 2021, the Wyoming Community Foundation supported the installation of a clay pugmill at Siren Studios as a means to support the environmental impact and sustainability of the Laramie Plains Civic Center’s community ceramic space.

In the wake of supply chain delays and the economic health of 2020 until today, this equipment addition was finally installed and put into use in mid-June of 2023. 

Despite the lengthy wait, this installation has already begun to make an impact, thanks to these generous grant dollars. 

What is a pugmill? 

A pugmill is a machine that reconstitutes old clay. Perhaps you’ve noticed the large tubs of clay and water in the corner of Siren Studios. These are step one of the recycling process. After removing excess water, the clay is placed in the pugmill–a large piece of equipment used to homogenize the clay bodies and remove air. New, usuable clay is extruded from the machine, bagged, and saved for use by artists of the studio!

Studio teachers and volunteers rallied around the new clay recycling equipment in the late Spring of 2023. After nearly two years of supply chain delays, this heavy lift was long overdue.

How will it make an impact?

Since installation, the studio's recycling process has allowed all classes and workshops to use recycled clay. This means the materials in Siren Studios leave a gentler footprint by eliminating the costs and impact of packaging, shipping, and receiving.

Additionally, recycled clay creates a more financially feasible way for Siren Studios to offer accessible learning and create opportunities for the community. The dollars spent on clay go further, allowing funds within the Civic Center’s arts programming to pay teachers, support facility improvements, and support a future for the nonprofit as a whole. 

Pieces from July 2023’s Kids Camp sit to dry in the ceramic studio. Since the pugmill installation all classes and workshops have benefited from using 100% recycled clay.

Less Waste = More for Siren Studios!

Beyond the financial implications, Laramie artists have enjoyed learning and working with the pugmill, knowing that the clay wastes are being recirculated back into the studio instead of being unnecessarily tossed away. While some instructors managed reprocessing by hand in years past, the staff time and physical labor required to do so was not a physically sustainable practice to achieve the notable results of this equipment installation. We’re eager to see how this addition continues to support the community resources made available through Siren Studios to Albany County. 

Learn more about Siren Studios, upcoming classes, workshops, and more at sirenstudios.art.

Now seeking stories from Laramie Junior & Senior High alumni

Built in 1878 as the Wyoming territory’s first brick schoolhouse, the Civic Center has served as an institution for Laramie’s youth as East Side School, Laramie Junior High, and Laramie High School. From first kiss to visits to the principal, we want to know what you remember most from these halls!

Donate to the Laramie Plains Civic Center to have your memory captured and shared in the public spaces throughout the historic building. Select the Recurring Donation option to join our monthly donors club and support the building all year long with a monthly gift of $18.78 in commemoration of the original building’s date of construction!

Your one-time or recurring gift will support the continued preservation of the building and the organization’s mission to serve as a place for the community to gather, connect, and grow. Your memory will be printed and hung to spark memories, share stories, and celebrate the rich history of this property with the building’s visitors. 

Help us make these halls talk by visiting https://rb.gy/9r290, or filling out this form and returning to Jessica Brauer at 710 E. Garfield St. 110, Laramie, WY 82070. 

Free art & music series comes to Laramie Farmer's Markets this August

This August, Laramie Plains Civic Center’s (LPCC) Gryphon Theatre and Laramie Main Street Alliance present the third annual Gem City Nights art and music series at the Downtown Laramie Farmers Market. This summer’s series features free music performances from ten regional acts, five art making workshops, and art sales from local artists. 

“This collaboration between nonprofits is our way of giving the community a unique opportunity to connect,” LPCC Executive Director Jessica Brauer said. “A summer night at the Laramie Farmer’s Market is the perfect place to gather in appreciation for the arts.”

Each Gem City Night, hosted Fridays from August 4 to September 1, will feature one all-ages art making drop-in workshop from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and two musical acts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the North side of Depot Park. 

"Laramie Main Street is thrilled to partner with Gem City Nights to bring music to the Downtown Laramie Farmers Market this summer,” Laramie Main Street Alliance Communications Director Jennifer Power said. “We love collaborating and supporting artists especially through events that bring the community together downtown."

This year’s event lineup  includes:

August 4: Rob Icke’s and Trey Hensley & Ansel And the Brain Tattoos

August 11: SGRNY & Crooked Rugs

August 18: Taylor Shae Band & Jen Korte and the Loss

August 25: Pleasure People & Gasoline Lollipops

September 1: De Gringos Y Gremmies & Banshee Tree

“We have ripsnorting local and regional bands including SGRNY, De Gringos Y Gremmies, Gasoline Lollipops, Jen Korte and the Loss, and Banshee Tree, and we have the Grammy-nominated Nashville pair of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley,” local musician and LPCC Board Chair J Shogren said. “A great summer of free live music downtown!”

Gem City Nights is presented by Blue Federal Credit Union and supported by the Wyoming Arts Council and local sponsors.

The Laramie Plains Civic Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to conserve the integrity of Laramie’s historic building while cultivating safe and accessible spaces for Laramie to gather, connect, and grow together.