Niswonger announces 2018-19 season

The waiting is over. On Wednesday afternoon, we unveiled the entire Niswonger 2018-19 season to a packed First Federal Lecture Hall. With season sponsors, Statewide Ford, Van Wert Federal Savings Bank, and Chuck and Karen Koch, we are excited to let everyone in on what we have been working on for the past seven to eight months.

Our theme for the season is “Ignite your life with Star Powered Entertainment!” We hope the performances we bring to the stage this coming season will ignite your life and add entertainment and excitement to living in and around Van Wert. 

A total of 26 events are spaced from September 9 through May 4. Six events offer multiple times and/or dates, giving you flexibility for your scheduling. We sometimes hear that some people prefer afternoon start times and, this season, you will notice several offer that option.

When putting a season together, we put great value on variety and this season is certainly chalked full of it.  

Many of the performers you will see on our Central Insurance Stage have been recently or still are on TV as well as major motion pictures. As a matter of fact, I have to admit that a few of our performers made our roster based on motion pictures I recently saw and was inspired by.  

Country Music superstar Trace Adkins played a major acting role in the motion picture, I Can Only Imagine. Amy Grant was played by Nicole DuPort in the movie. Both Trace and Amy will be performing on our stage this season.

Another interesting movie I recently saw was The Miracle Season. It told the amazing true story of a young high school girl who died in a moped accident before her senior year. She was captain of their Iowa state championship volleyball team. The coach wrote a book about the following season and it’s entitled The Miracle Season, same as the movie. We are fortunate to not only have Coach Bresnahan, but also the father of the girl who tragically died. It should be a tremendously inspiring speaker event.

We finish the season with the biggest production of the season, Broadway’s The Sound of Music. Perhaps one of Broadway’s most endearing shows ever, this will be on May 4 and with two performances, we hope to accommodate the huge crowds we expect.

Many other great performances are packed in between Trace Adkins on September 9 and The Sound of Musicon May 4. If you are a regular patron of the Niswonger and if we have your mailing address, you should expect your new season catalog in the mail soon. They will be mailed out in bulk this week.  You can also go to NPACVW.ORG and view and read about the season. We look forward to share the upcoming season with you.  We are selling tickets to Niswonger Members first and will work our way down to Grand Series and Select Series buyers by July 6 and July 12. These are always big days and we can’t wait to share the excitement with you soon.  

If you already have a catalog from our unveiling event today, I encourage you to share one with someone who maybe has never been to one of our concerts at the Niswonger.  We look forward to continue our growth throughout the upcoming season.

When you receive a catalog, you will also notice a building campaign page at the back of the catalog which explains what we hope to build as an addition to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center building.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you can make a donation or pledge to the project, just clip the card and send to me at The Van Wert County Foundation.  You will be hearing about the project more as we make our way through the summer.

We take a week off in Fountain Park this Friday, but return the following week with a really fun band called Endless Summer Band. They come to Fountain Park from Indianapolis where they have been voted the “Best Music in Indiana.” They play everything from Frank Sinatra to Bruno Mars. I’ve added a horn line to really spice up their performance!

I look forward to seeing you either in the park or as you come to the Niswonger Box Office to get tickets to what will be the hottest tickets around in 2018-19 as “We Ignite Your Life with Star Powered Entertainment!” Please note that we have added box office hours and times so we can more conveniently serve you. The box office is now open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

FINÉ.