SPACE - Spencer Alliance for a Creative Economy

Spencer long has been recognized as a hub for cultural and fine arts events in Northwest Iowa. Local and area residents are strong supporters of the many businesses and organizations that enhance and enrich Spencer’s quality of life. Highlighted below are some of the community organizations that host ongoing and special cultural events and activities throughout the year:

Arts on Grand: Provides artists with space to create, display, and market their artwork, and serves as a place for visitors to enjoy artists’ talents and develop their own artistic interests.

Spencer Community Theatre: Offers the community great theatrical entertainment throughout the year, and provides a showcase for the extensive performing and musical talents of area residents.

Spencer Area Concert Association: Brings professional performing artists to the community, and strives to satisfy a wide range of musical interests in the community.

Parker Historical Society: Houses, preserves, and showcases numerous historical artifacts from Clay County, and hosts annual events to highlight daily life as experienced in earlier generations.

Spencer Chamber of Commerce/Mainstreet Association: Promotes the civic, economic, industrial, and agricultural development of Spencer and fosters an environment which creates jobs, enhances economic opportunities and improves the quality of life for the Spencer area. These two organizations work collaboratively to facilitate and organize many outstanding community activities, including cultural events unique to Image courtesy Russ Oechslin.

Spencer. Visit the Annual and Special Events page to learn more about these. Website: www.spenceriowachamber.org

If you’re looking for a community that provides an abundance of cultural offerings for all ages and interests, look no further. If you’re searching for a creative place to enjoy life, this is where you belong. Spencer is a great place to play.

Spencer Area Concert Association

The Spencer Area Concert Association has been around, in some form, for fifty years or more. Today it is a Image courtesy Russ Oechslin. nonprofit all-volunteer organization with no paid staff. Every dollar received is spent to present concerts in Spencer. Each year, the Concert Association presents four or more concerts.

In addition to our local concerts, season ticket holders can also attend concerts presented by other community concert associations in Sheldon and Algona, Iowa, and Windom, Minnesota. This means that season ticket holders can attend as many as 16 or more concerts a year at an average price of only a few dollars each. Image courtesy Russ Oechslin.

The Concert Association tries to present a variety of different kinds of concerts each year. Over the years, the Concert Association has also presented fully staged musicals, dance ensembles, chamber orchestras, string quartets, soloists, duos, jazz, standards, Broadway revues, and pops concerts.

In recent years, the Concert Association has presented Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Barbary Coast Dixieland Band, Ballet Folklorico “Quetzalli” de Veracruz, Piano 4, Philadelphia Virtuosi, the Golden Strings, the Black Mountain Welsh Male Choir, and the Image courtesy Russ Oechslin. gypsy/tango/jazz fusion of Zum from London. Swedish pianist Per Tengstrand performed in Spencer shortly before his New York city recital debut.

For information or memberships, phone 262-4500 or 262-5879. Up-to-date information about the Concert Association is available on the Internet at www.SpencerConcerts.com. Information and season tickets are also available through Arts on Grand.