Upcoming Holiday Events at the Lakeville Area Arts Center

What is a better way to celebrate the season than to enjoy the arts with us? Join us for one of our delightful performances or art classes coming soon.

Simple Gifts

This six-person ensemble has become rather famous for their Celtic Christmas tunes. Featuring a Celtic whistle, piano, acoustic guitar, and harmonic voices, you will certainly enjoy their renditions of classic carols and yuletide hymns. Performing Friday, December 1st at 7:30 PM, you better get your tickets now!

Youth Christmas Tree Painting

On December 1st, kids ages 6-12 can join us for a painting workshop to create decorate their room with a Christmas Tree. Each child will receive materials and a 10” by 20” canvas to complete their painting.

Make Your Own Ornament

Ages 15 and up can join this workshop to make a festive ornament out of clay. Make a Santa or a heart to trim your tree or give as a present this year. This 2-hour workshop only costs $20 and will be hosted on December 7th.

Old-Fashioned Christmas

Sit back and listen to the big brass band play your favorite Christmas melodies Saturday, December 9th. Included in the $12 ticket price is a complimentary holiday treat! Reserve your seat next to the ones you love and spend an old-fashioned season with us.

Wine And Design

Our December Wine and Design Workshops offer step-by-step painting instructions you can easily follow, no experience required! Grab your friends and have a fun night out with wine tasting and a relaxing atmosphere.

A Christmas Carol Radio Play

Join us for a charming play about a classic Christmas tale. The Charles Dickens holiday classic gets a twist, performed as a radio broadcast complete with fake commercials, fun sound effects, and amazing musical underscoring. Bring the whole family to the theater in mid-December to celebrate the season.


These upcoming events are sure to add some holiday cheer to your Christmas season experience. Treat yourself to one or two of these offerings through Lakeville Area Arts Center.

Learn To Paint Fall Foliage

With every new season comes new inspiration! Nature’s color palette never ceases to amaze us here in Minnesota. Artists everywhere strive to capture her beauty but we all know how tough it can be to do. As you sit in front of your canvas this fall, you might find it challenging to get the foliage just right.

Using Color To Paint Realistic Fall Scenes

As with any season, there are three basic art elements you should be paying careful attention to - value, chroma, and temperature. In fall especially, it can be easy to get too bright and too warm because our eyes mistake oranges and yellows for being brighter than they actually are. It is important to incorporate a balance of cooler tones to help make the autumn colors pop.

For a suggested color palette, we encourage you to take your cue from the legendary Bob Ross. This episode walks you through the colors he uses as well as his techniques for blending and balancing fall colors. Follow along and paint with the master!

Using Watercolor to paint Fall Foliage

If you’re using watercolor to express your fall feelings, consider following this process from Kay Barnes to gain some practice. She stresses the importance of preparing your surface, as the even moisture distribution is key to success. Again, you’ll see her use of warm and cool tones balance out to create the perfect fall foliage.

Using Oils to paint Fall Foliage

If you’re a beginner using oil paints, check out this video from Wilson Bickford for some great tree painting tips as well as how to overcome some common stumbling blocks. He uses a simple 1” foliage brush to do most of the work, and a handy “sandwich” technique you’ll definitely remember!

No matter what medium you’re using, come paint with us during any of our Fall classes and begin capturing the splendor of fall foliage! We’ll have plenty more tips and ideas to help you create your masterpiece.

Upcoming Fall Events at the Lakeville Area Arts Center

If you’re looking for entertainment in the Lakeville area, we have plenty of it at the Lakeville Area Arts Center starting in the fall. From October to February, we have music that will take you back to the disco era, soothe you with classical tunes, or knock your socks off with some classic rock. We strive for variety in the events we offer our community.


Let’s take a look at the upcoming concerts at Lakeville Area Arts.

1. Lori Dokken Presents: The Divas of Disco – October 7, 7:30 PM

Dokken, along with other Twin Cities area singers, bring famous songs to life in a dynamic lineup of disco divas and musicians that will make you boogey down and sing along to your favorites. Some of the classic 70s-era songs performed are from Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin. The show is energetic and keeps the audience involved from start to finish. Break out your bell bottoms and keep an eye peeled for a disco ball!

2. Collective Unconscious: The Last Waltz – January 28, 2018, 7:30 PM

This Central Minnesota band specializes in album performances. They perform album tributes to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash. An evening with Collective Unconscious will give classic rock and roll enthusiasts a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience.

3. Lori Line Simply Grand – February 17, 2018, 7:30 PM

This inspiring concert features Lori Line’s Midwest solo piano tour. Line’s songs come from the past 28 years of her career, along with some previously unreleased pieces. Line also makes sure to interact with her audience to relay some of her life experiences. Simply put, this show will be as grand as her piano.

4. The Andrews Sisters, Music and Memories – February 24, 2018, 7:30 PM

This group jumps in a time machine to create the vocal stylings of the first million-selling “girl group” while being backed by a 6-piece band. Some of the Andrews Sisters’ hits performed by Lisa Pallen, Kathy Mueller and Aimee Lee include “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Rum and Cola,” and “Apple Blossom Time.” Audiences from ages 6 and up will enjoy this trip to the sterling music of the swing era.

As fantastic as these shows will be, this is just a taste of the events going on at the Lakeville Area Arts Center. To sign up for email updates for all of our events, visit our website. The updates cover all Lakeville Area Arts Center events, programs and classes.

Lakeville Area Arts Center Summer Art Classes For Kids

As the school year comes to a close, your family might be busy running here and there to grad parties, end of the school year events, and spring activities. Before you know it, your kids will be sighing from boredom, wondering what to do with their time during summer vacation. Do not forget to sign them up for summer art classes at Lakeville Area Arts Center!

Specialty Workshops

This year our specialty workshops for youth explore a variety of fun artistic projects. Your child can learn to tie-dye and customize their own pillow and sleeping bag for their next summer sleepover! Another workshop called Island Art Adventure is inspired by the movie “Moana” where kids can make their own grass hula skirt, shell necklace, and flower leis. We also offer a workshop on making jewelry and magical toys like kaleidoscopes.

Pottery Classes

If your child has expressed an interest in ceramics (or just likes to get their hands dirty), summer is the perfect time to practice pottery. Kids can sign up to create a variety of different useful ceramics from bowls, jewelry holders, sconces, planters, and more! The possibilities for what you can create with clay are endless! These classes feature our series “Kids Pottery” and “My Breakfast Dishes” which are very popular and fill up fast. Reserve your spot as soon as possible!

Youth Mixed Media

Your kids will love to create on canvas in our mixed media classes. We use a variety of mediums to create unique wall décor and explore the many ways to make a painting come alive! These projects make great gifts your kid can give to loved ones.


To check out all our summer classes, please visit our website. Adults are welcome to join us for a class on pottery or painting as well! Beat the boredom this summer and sign your kids up for art classes at Lakeville Area Arts Center.

Unconventional Painting Techniques Any Artist will Love

Ready to take your artwork to new heights? Then it’s time to start experimenting with some new techniques!

It’s exciting to try new methods which can achieve unique and inspiring results, so here are some new painting techniques that are unconventional and are sure to create results that are outside the norm.

Technique 1: Change Your Brush Stroke

Using your brush in innovative methods is a simple way to produce art that is outside the norm.

• Dotting: painting small dots that act as pixels that make up an image
• Flicking: using your fingers or a paintbrush to splatter paint in blobby-dot forms
• Dabbing: using a sponge, cloth, paper towel, or your fingers to press paint onto surface
• Mixing: partially mix colors without fully diluting to create stark color changes that mingle together in each stroke

Technique 2: Change Your Paint Surface

Sure, canvas is a nice surface to paint on, but many artists are finding inspiration by using other substrates to support their work.

• Fabric: using an already patterned fabric as a painting surface can create an interesting contrast between printed and painted images
• Paper: using paper is both economical and creative. Try using books or newspaper with printed words that come through the paint
• Wood: use an old piece of thrift furniture or wood found around the backyard as a creative painting surface that adds texture and creates a natural aesthetic
• Glass: the transparent nature of the surface of glass can contrast quite nicely with a colorful or dark paint

Technique 3: Change Your Brush

In fact, don’t use a brush at all! Some of the most unique art in the world has come from painters who choose to forgo a brush for other application materials.

• Body: use your fingers, hands, feet, face, abdomen, etc. as a tool for applying paint
• Natural elements: find scraps in your backyard to create different textures and strokes. You can use pine needle branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, etc.
• Household items: grab the kitchen sponge to soak paint in. Use a cup to pour paint on a surface. Grab some carrots from the fridge to use as a brush. Every surface creates a different stroke; get crazy with some experimentation!

If you are looking for more painting tips or lessons, check out the Lakeville Area Arts Center website to see our spring art courses offered throughout the season.

Top 5 January Classes For Kids at Lakeville Area Arts Center

At Lakeville Area Arts Center, we have tons of programs to enliven your child's life during the winter months. Enroll in one of these activities to enhance creativity, increase community involvement, and broaden the mindset of your kid. You will probably meet a new friend or two as well!

Home School Pottery

At pottery class, your kid can build functional ceramics and sculpt decorative pieces throwing clay on a pottery wheel. This program meets Fridays during the day starting January 13th, so it is geared towards children who home school or have unconventional schooling methods. If your child likes creating and building with their hands, help them give 3-dimensional art a try with pottery!

Kids Mixed Media Painting: Arctic Animal

On January 17th, join us for a mixed media painting class where kids will be painting an arctic animal. These paintings can be as simple or difficult as your child wants them to be, giving them the freedom for their creativity to run wild. Your child will be proud to display their painting in their room or give it as a gift!

Kids Pottery: Picasso Face

These pottery classes, held Friday evenings starting January 20th, are geared towards children ages 6-12 years old. In January, the class will create Picasso faces out of ceramic, emulating the famous painter's technique of simplifying the face into geometric shapes. This class is not only fun, but educational, too!

Parent–Child Pottery

Do something fun with your child at pottery class on Saturday mornings. Both parent and child work together to learn basic hand building and wheel throwing. This course is a great introduction to clay pottery and making memories with your child is priceless!

DIY Jewelry: Pendants & Necklaces

No experience is necessary for this fun and creative course in jewelry making. We will provide all the supplies for you to learn and create trendy jewelry. Try wire-wrapping beads or making glass bottle necklaces; you will make something you will be proud to wear! Bring a friend and have a fun evening Thursday, January 26th.

Lakeville Area Arts Center invites your child to participate in some of our favorite programs this January. Learn a new skill and expand your artistic abilities! Sign up today!

Holiday Events at Lakeville Area Arts Center

This holiday season, join us at the Lakeville Area Arts Center for some fun events! Whether you want to attend a ballet with the family or a concert out on date night, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Make the season more magical with one of these great holiday events coming soon to Lakeville Area Arts Center.

November 29th: The Mini-Nutcracker

This hour-long event is perfect for the whole family to attend! Performed by Ballet Royale of MN and Twin Cities Ballet, you won't want to miss this abbreviated version of a holiday classic. Expose your children to the wonder and beauty of ballet with the Mini-Nutcracker. The show starts at 11 am and you can purchase tickets online here.

December 1st: Timothy Howe

This one-man show features the talented Timothy Howe on vocals, guitar, and ukulele. You won't want to miss this First Thursday Pub Night at Lakeville Area Arts Center! Timothy performs from 6-9 pm and tickets cost $7.

December 3rd: Monroe Crossing

This concert is filled with the airtight harmonies, razor sharp arrangements, and fun on-stage rapport people have come to expect from this popular musical group. Come out and see Monroe Crossing at the Bluegrass and Gospel Holiday Show. This is the perfect date night idea! The concert starts at 7:30 and tickets cost $29. You can learn more about Monroe Crossing band members here.

December 9th: An Old Fashion Christmas

If you love music and big brass bands, join us for the Lakeville Area Community Band's concert to help ring in the season. Under the direction of Janice Differding, the band will play a collection of classic songs to remind you of an old fashion Christmas. Ticket price includes complimentary holiday treats! Tickets cost $12 for general admission table seating and $8 for reserved balcony seating.

December 11th: SimpleGifts

The 15th Annual SimpleGifts Holiday Tour will be visiting Lakeville and you don't want to miss it! This six-member ensemble is led by award-winning musician Billy McLaughlin and features songs from their new CD “This Christmastide.” To learn more about this vocal group, visit their website. Tickets are $30 in advance and the concert starts at 6 pm.

December 15th—29th: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

This theatrical experience will have you rolling with laughter as it follows a young couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant. Adapted from the bestselling young adult book, if you're looking for a fun and family-friendly Christmas activity, this is it! To find out more specifics about the dates and times of the play, visit the event page.