{"id":2215447,"date":"2025-12-29T13:06:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T13:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2215447"},"modified":"2025-12-29T13:06:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T13:06:03","slug":"a-look-back-at-the-year-in-local-art-and-entertainment-inforum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/a-look-back-at-the-year-in-local-art-and-entertainment-inforum\/","title":{"rendered":"A look back at the year in local art and entertainment – InForum"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There were a lot of events that happened in 2025. Some were big. Some were small. These are the 10 stories that stood out.<\/p>\n

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Sierra Ferrell casts her spell<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Sierra Ferrell performs on Monday, July 28, 2025, at the UP District Festival Field in Fargo.<\/figcaption>

David Samson \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

It was a relatively quiet year for concerts at The Fargodome, though <\/p>\n

Irish singer Hozier<\/a><\/p>\n

put on an intense show in July. Other venues stepped up with The Lights and Scheels Arena putting on more shows than ever with Bluestem Amphitheater and UP District Festival Field holding their own. <\/p>\n

For my money, the best was <\/p>\n

Sierra Ferrell at Festival Field.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Americana singer \u2014 wearing a vintage dress and a crown of bell flowers \u2014 played on a stage filled with lit mushrooms and other flowers. It was a mesmerizing show that seemed like an Appalachian fever dream, punctuated by her soliciting prayers for water bottles on a warm July night. It was all lovingly kooky.<\/p>\n

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Murray Lemley and Catherine Mulligan come home<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"071525.F.FF.MURRAYLEMLEY9.jpg\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Murray Lemley’s family members came from France, Colorado, Washington, Texas, and elsewhere to attend the opening reception for a retrospective of his photography on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Plains Art Museum in downtown Fargo. <\/figcaption>

Anna Paige \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

A couple of art openings turned into reunions this year. The Plains Art Museum\u2019s retrospective of <\/p>\n

photographer Murray Lemley<\/a><\/p>\n

and <\/p>\n

sculptor\/printmaker Catherine Esmond Mulligan\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

show at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum brought the artists \u2014 both major players from the 1970s to the \u201990s \u2014 back for their first major shows in years. <\/p>\n

The events also brought out dozens of old friends of the artists. <\/p>\n

Lemley\u2019s exhibit remains up through Jan. 4.<\/p>\n

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\n
\n\"061625.F.FF.CatherineEsmondMulligan_16.jpg\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Catherine Esmond Mulligan gives a gallery talk on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum in Moorhead.<\/figcaption>

Anna Paige \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

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FM Symphony gets dramatic<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"092225.F.FF.FMSYMPHONY1.jpg\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Music Director Christopher Zimmerman conducts the world premiere of “Noir Concerto No. 1,” featuring Russ Peterson on saxophone, on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, at North Dakota State University’s Festival Concert Hall during the season opening concert, “From the New World.” <\/figcaption>

Anna Paige \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

The <\/p>\n

Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra started its new season with a bang in September.<\/a><\/p>\n

The show opened with the premiere of Noir Concerto No. 1, which Concordia College graduate Adam Hochstatter wrote for his former teacher and saxophone soloist Russell Peterson. The piece sounded like a score to a murder mystery and had the crowd on the edge of their seats. <\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s own composition, \u201cBetween Two Cultures,\u201d written for Indigenous artist Star Wallowing Bull\u2019s work, celebrated its 20th anniversary with The Buffalo River Drummers playing and singing, wowing the crowd.<\/p>\n

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Lauren Daigle sets RRVF record (maybe)<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"4U4A5923.jpg\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Lauren Daigle played to a full house of 12,800 at the Red River Valley Fair on Sunday. <\/figcaption>

Pulse Evangelism \/ Contributed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

The Red River Valley Fair needed a strong year to bounce back after calling its <\/p>\n

2024 concert attendance \u201ca disaster.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

It did just that, thanks in part to <\/p>\n

Lauren Daigle<\/a><\/p>\n

closing out the run, pulling in 12,800 fans. The RRVF staff called that an attendance record, but in 2024 the same was said after Jelly Roll drew between 13,000 and 15,000. <\/p>\n

In 2013 RRVF staff were expecting 21,000 for The Band Perry. Current staff disputed past attendance numbers and maintained Daigle holds the record, but declined to say how many tickets were sold and how many were given away.<\/p>\n

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\n
\n\"032325.N.FF.FargoFilmFestival\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Brent Brandt interviews Molly Ringwald after the screening of “The Breakfast Club” on Saturday, March 22, 2025, for the Fargo Film Festival finale at the Fargo Theatre in downtown Fargo.<\/figcaption>

David Samson \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

Child movie stars from the 1980s <\/p>\n

Molly Ringwald<\/a><\/p>\n

and <\/p>\n

C. Thomas Howell were back on the big screen at the Fargo Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

and on the stage to talk about it. A screening of \u201cThe Breakfast Club\u201d closed out the Fargo Film Festival with Ringwald fielding questions from the crowd in late March. <\/p>\n

A few days later Howell brought \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d to the theater and similarly engaged with the audience.<\/p>\n

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‘A.J. Goes to the Dog Park’ destroys the Fargo Theatre<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"071825.F.FF.AJDOGPARK.2\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Demon Lord Krogloch joins in on a question and answer session on stage with the cast and crew of \u201cAJ Goes to the Dog Park” following the opening night showing of their movie on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at The Fargo Theatre.<\/figcaption>

Alyssa Goelzer \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

Outsiders may always associate the movie \u201cFargo\u201d with the town, but <\/p>\n

Fargo native Toby Jones<\/a><\/p>\n

did it one better with the oddball comedy \u201cAJ Goes to the Dog Park.\u201d Made in town and by Fargoans, the quirky comedy follows a Fargo man\u2019s fight to get his dog park back. By the end of the film, the Demon Lord Krogloch appears and demolishes the Fargo Theatre and a Hornbachers, among other things. <\/p>\n

The film\u2019s theatrical premiere in July was interrupted by a 14-foot-tall Kroglock who sat for a panel discussion. <\/p>\n

The absurdist movie was released to BlueRay later in the year.<\/p>\n

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Spirit Room closes its doors<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"Karla<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Dawn Morgan at one of the Spirit Room’s Great Winter Crow Shows. The cultural center closed this fall. <\/figcaption>

Contributed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

The <\/p>\n

Spirit Room, which celebrated and fostered regional culture, closed in September.<\/a><\/p>\n

The space, above Moonrise Cafe, held art exhibits, concerts, readings, discussions as well as yoga and meditation classes for more than 25 years. Executive Director Dawn Morgan said the people weren\u2019t coming out for events and classes as much, prompting the shutdown.<\/p>\n

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Michael Walling takes a final bow<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"Trollwood<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Trollwood Performing Arts School artistic director Michael Walling sits in the seats at the Bluestem Amphitheater on Friday, July 18, 2025. After more than 30 years as the artistic director for Trollwood’s mainstage musical, Walling is stepping down after this year’s production of “Mamma Mia!”<\/figcaption>

Chris Flynn \/ The Forum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

After 34 years of producing main stage musicals at Trollwood Performing Arts School, <\/p>\n

Michael Walling took his final bow in August.<\/a><\/p>\n

The former artistic director saw the productions grow from the former stage at Trollwood Park in north Moorhead to the Bluestem Amphitheater in south Moorhead. <\/p>\n

He directed future Broadway stars like <\/p>\n

Becky Gulsvig, who will return in 2026 to direct \u201cFrozen.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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Louis CK sells out in a flash<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"louisckmisconduct2.jpg\"<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n

Comedian Louis C.K., the comedian, in Toronto, Sept. 10, 2017. (Angela Lewis\/The New York Times Copyright 2017)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

There were bigger comedy shows in town, like Theo Von at the Fargodome and Jeff Dunham and Tom Segura both at Scheels Arena. Oddly, the biggest name played the smallest show. The Cellar at Front Street Taproom quietly announced a show with <\/p>\n

stand-up legend Louis CK<\/a><\/p>\n

and star of \u201cLouie,\u201d over a weekend and quickly sold out the $35 seats. <\/p>\n

The April 15 show was the day before he played the 1,600-seat Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

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Madd Frank says good night<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\"Madd<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
Delray Dvoracek as Madd Frank at the Fargo Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer. On top of the organ are Miss Frizzy (left) and George. <\/figcaption>

Contributed <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

In the 10 years of producing \u201cMadd Frank Presents,\u201d the B-level horror movie host, played by Delray Dvoracek, developed a strong regional following. Those followers paid their respects in October when <\/p>\n

Dvoracek died at the age of 85.<\/a><\/p>\n

The actor estimated that he and his friends did hundreds of episodes of the low budget spooky movie showcase. <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing was taken seriously. It was just for fun,\u201d Fargo filmmaker Tony Tilton said. \u201cHe encouraged people to do stuff. They didn\u2019t have great production values, but they made something fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n <\/p>\n\"John<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n

<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n For almost 30 years John Lamb has been covering arts and entertainment in the Red River Valley. He started writing for the High Plains Reader in 1997 and moved to The Forum in 2002. He is an Annenberg fellow, an occasional judge for talent shows and food contestants and co-hosts the weekly \u201cGardening Together: The Podcast<\/a>.\u201d He’s rubbed shoulders with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, drank with National Book Award winner Colm McCann, had coffee with Grammy-winning classical musician Peter Schickele and interviewed countless other artists, actors, musicians, writers and assorted interesting people. Contact John at jlamb@forumcomm.com<\/a>.\n <\/div><\/div>\n