Supporting the performing arts in Ellensburg
Laughing Horse Arts Foundation is a non-profit umbrella corporation committed to enhancing and promoting the fine and performing arts in Ellensburg and Kittitas County, Washington State.
If your wish to reach out to us, leave your email below. Or visit one of our affiliate organizational sites!
“Thanks to Laughing Horse Arts Foundation, we have access to amazing performing arts events in Ellensburg!”
Larry Sharpe (Originator, and Founding Board Member of Jazz in the Valley)
Valley Theatre Company
Produces Theatrical and Musical Events that showcase the incredible talent found in our community. VTC aspires to provide positive experiences for Ellensburg families - from our “Rising Stars” productions that provide a creative outlet specifically for middle school students and teens, to our Summer mainstage musicals and Winter straight plays that provide opportunities for both adults and children. Our fall Cabaret and our Reader's Theatre events allow bite-size participation in theatrical events with limited rehearsals and shorter performance runs, and keep audiences entertained throughout the year.
Ellensburg Community Radio
Ellensburg Community Radio has been streaming online since late October 2014. We operate 24/7 with an eclectic mix of diverse music. Community members have stepped up and we now have over 20 locally produced programs breaking into our stream throughout the week. The programming is as quirky, sophisticated and as unique as our community.
Ellensburg Music Festival
For over 25 years first as Jazz in the Valley and then as Ellensburg Music Festival, this 100% volunteer group has hosted a summer extravaganza of music the last weekend of July. It has been a catalyst for the Ellensburg downtown area and its support of local music groups. Music festivals in general have become harder to sustain, and this group is in the process of redefining the direction it wants to take going forward to support music events and performances.
Boulet Productions
A small theatrical group in Roslyn, Washington that will tickle your ribs and enchant you with 3-4 productions per year. Located in the Upper Kittitas County, and performing in Cle Elum and Roslyn.
Classics in Ellensburg
Classics in Ellensburg uses classical music to create inspiring performances, strengthen schools, and unite the community. They sponsor a free Brown Bag lunch-time concert series with local chamber musicians, and coordinate for chamber music performances at the local elementary schools.
"I am impressed with the unwavering commitment to the arts demonstrated by the Laughing Horse Arts Foundation."
Laughing Horse Arts Foundation - A Legacy of Supporting the Arts
- A Little History:
- Ellensburg has a strong history of support of the performing arts. Laughing Horse Summer Theatre was a professional summer stock repertory theater that dominated the summer arts calendar in Ellensburg throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. In 1996, a new group transformed the organization into the Laughing Horse Arts Foundation (LHAF), whose purpose is to encourage and promote an appreciation of and participation in the fine and performing arts in Central Washington. After the professional summer stock theatre went dark, the Foundation was developed to encourage individual artists and arts organizations in their activities, as well as to support, and assist the public in an awareness of arts projects.
- Who Does LHAF Support?
Laughing Horse Arts Foundation (LHAF) now covers several sub-organizations, and annual arts events locally, including Ellensburg Musical Festival (formerly Jazz in the Valley), Valley Musical Theatre, Ellensburg Community Radio, Boulet Productions (in Cle Elum), Ellensburg Film Festival, and Classics in Ellensburg. We encourage you to read up on each of these and find ways to get involved! for 30 years, LHAF has also functioned as a launchpad organization for the now separate non-profits of Spirit of the West, and Ellensburg Dance Ensemble.
- What are you working on now? How can I get involved?
Currently, the Laughing Horse Arts Foundation and its member organizations have been among the key stakeholder members of the Ellensburg Arts and Cultural Alliance and are actively advocating for improved performing arts facilities in the community. The LHAF Board of Directors meets monthly. If you are interested in getting involved with our projects, please emails us at [email protected] and we will get in touch with you!
Support Ellensburg's vibrant performing arts scene in collaboration with us. You can donate to LHAF or to any of our sub-organizations through the link below.
Check donations can be mailed to: LHAF, PO Box 214, Ellensburg, WA 98926. You can also donate directly to any of our sub-organizations for their specific projects, through their websites. Laughing Horse Arts Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization (EIN# 91-1211173).