What to do this weekend - September 18, 2025
Plus some thoughts about the latest round of UNL budget cuts.
Hi,
Welcome to This Week In Lincoln. I've got the usual roundup of events below, and also some links to a few things I've been reading and thinking about lately.
But first, a quick reminder! I make zines, and I'll be selling them at the Uni Place Creative District Maker’s Market from 10 am to 2 pm(ish) on Sunday. Come out and say hello and see my zines! (Hopefully the rain stays away.)
I was in Washington, DC when news broke over the weekend that UNL was planning to axe six academic programs as part of a $27.5 million cut to its budget. Pretty sure I snapped the above photo of the U.S. Capitol just moments before the first story dropped. So the possible consequences of those cuts have been on my mind a lot this week.
I don't have a direct personal connection to UNL. I'm not from Lincoln, and I was educated in Georgia and Missouri, not Nebraska. But as one of those weird people who loved school and spent way too much of my life in a classroom — and as someone who still cares a lot about academic inquiry and the dissemination of knowledge — it's disheartening to see this kind of disinvestment in an important institution. (I also have many thoughts about the way universities in general have transformed degree programs into credential assembly lines and devalued the pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself in favor of things like economic impact and job training — but I'll save the rest of that rant for another time.)
Someone who does have a direct personal connection to the university is my friend Brent, whose Masters program in Community and Regional Planning would be eliminated if these proposed cuts are enacted. Recently, he wrote movingly about what gets lost when Nebraska's homegrown intellectual infrastructure is destroyed. Here's an excerpt from an article he published in his personal newsletter, which is worth reading in full:
In a world where we see this proposed elimination carried out, future aspiring planners here will have to leave the State. Some may return, but without the connections to the community of local professionals, opportunities to learn while doing the work in the Plains, and curriculum rooted in the legacy of how great places have and are being made right here in Nebraska, how many will return home to place their skills in service to building Good Life? I don’t know where my path would have taken me if it were not for the [Masters in Community and Regional Planning program], but I know that because of it I am exactly where I am meant to be. Like so many of my classmates, our alumni, and faculty, Nebraska is the place where I plant my flag. This place matters.
Of course, these cuts don't come in a vacuum. There's a longer history here that's worth remembering, and back before the specific cuts were announced, the Flatwater Free Press reported on the broader context of the university's financial woes:
The university has made cuts to its budget every fiscal year since 2020. All but one of those cuts was less than $20 million; in fiscal year 2024, UNL cut $23 million from its operating budget. But when the Legislature approved a 0.625% increase in state dollars for the NU System this year, far short of the requested 3.5%, it became clear that those past cuts weren’t enough to steady the ship.
Finally, other UNL grad students in Community and Regional Planning — which is a program that seems to have its shit together and is certainly offering the most visible opposition to the proposed cuts — published a letter to the editor in the Daily Nebraskan, articulating their argument for why their work matters:
Our care for the future of the program is of great concern to us and it should be to all Nebraskans. We are the only accredited Planning program in Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, or the Dakotas. CRP’s termination would leave the plans for the future of the northern Great Plains to those educated outside of these lands.
Finally, on a rather different note: There's a really good story from the Flatwater Free Press out this morning about how transfers in high school sports have really fucked up the competitive landscape — for football especially, but other sports aren't immune — leading to the creation of super-powered teams that obliterate their opponents. The story mostly talks about Omaha, but there's a devastating anecdote about Lincoln too:
The urban sports struggles aren’t limited to Omaha. Two weeks before Benson was due to play Millard South last year, Lincoln High forfeited at halftime to the powerhouse team while trailing 63-0.
The Lincoln High team lost five players to transfers before the season, and its starting quarterback had just been knocked out of the game when coach Mark Macke decided to concede.
Macke, a 30-year veteran of Nebraska’s sidelines, said he doesn’t begrudge his opponent’s dominance, but if the margin of defeat had risen to triple digits, he would have lost his players for the rest of the season.
“You’re really not coaching,” Macke said. “You’re just trying to hold them together, make sure they keep their heads. All you do is look at the clock.”
This quote also really got to me, as someone who was competitive athlete for a long time:
“I think it has taken it to a psychologically damaging level — to the level of publicly funded bullying,” [Thad Livingston, a former Omaha World-Herald sports editor] said.
Thanks for reading! Got an event you want to see featured in next week's newsletter? Submit it here. You can also send feedback, suggestions, compliments, criticism and ideas for things I should write about to tynanstewart@proton.me
~ Ty
P.S. If you've got the means, please consider signing up for a paid subscription to support This Week In Lincoln. It won't give you access to anything exclusive — I don't have any paywalled posts right now — but it will buy you the comforting knowledge that you're helping me pay rent and giving me the time/energy/willpower to continue producing this thing.
Also, here's a bonus picture from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC, featuring the skeleton of an extinct herbivore that was originally unearthed in Sioux County, Nebraska. Perhaps not as flashy as the massive T-Rex skeleton that dominated the room, but cool nevertheless:
Thursday, September 18
Thursday, September 18
Film: Bring Them Home
+ When: 5:15 pm | 7:15 pm
+ Where: Ross Media Arts Center (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 at 5:15 pm | $12 at 7:15 pm
More details from the Ross's website: "Narrated by Lily Gladstone, Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya chronicles a decades-long initiative by members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to bring wild buffalo back to the Blackfeet Reservation."
More showings scheduled through September 25.
Thursday, September 18
Film: The Baltimorons
+ When: 5 pm | 7:10 pm
+ Where: Ross Media Arts Center (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 at 5 pm | $12 at 7:10 pm
More details from the Ross's website: "On Christmas Eve, Cliff, a newly sober improv comedian, cracks a tooth and lands in the emergency care of Didi, an older no-nonsense dentist. What begins as a routine check-up sparks an unpredictable evening of misadventures. Together, Cliff and Didi fight to overcome being shut out by their families, face their biggest fears, and discover their own surprising and tender connection."
More showings scheduled through September 25.
Thursday, September 18
Poetry: UNL Opera presents a concert reading of Robert Owens’ comedic opera: Culture! Culture!
+ When: 7:30 pm
+ Where: Kimball Recital Hall, 1113 R St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free tickets! But you have to reserve them in advance.
Part of The Robert Owens Centenary Festival.
Thursday, September 18
Social: Nerd Nite
+ When: 7 pm
+ Where: Saro Cider, 1746 N St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: No cover!
I saw this described as a mix of TEDx Talk and powerpoint party. This month's topics include: Shingon Buddhism, A Tribute to the Passenger Pigeon and the Fight to Repair.
Friday, September 19
Friday, September 19
Art: International Textiles Show-and-Tell
+ When: 5 to 7 pm
+ Where: International Quilt Museum, Reception Hall (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the museum's website: "The International Quilt Museum is partnering with Lincoln Welcoming Week for an International Textiles Show-and-Tell where people from around the world share their favorite textiles and the stories behind them!"
Friday, September 19
Art: Artist Reception: Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land
+ When: 5 to 7 pm
+ Where: Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the museum's website: "Join us for the “Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land” artist reception at the Great Plains Art Museum. View the artworks and meet the artists featured in this new exhibition. Refreshments will be provided."
Friday, September 19
Film: John Q (2002)
+ When: 7 to 10 pm
+ Where: Black Cat House, 1601 B St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
A description from the film's Letterboxd page: "John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son’s name on the donor’s list."
Friday, September 19
Music: Dustin Arbuckle and The Damnations
+ When: 5 pm
+ Where: The Zoo Bar, 136 N 14th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $12 cover
Friday, September 19
Music: KZUM Benefit Concert, Night 1
+ When: 6 pm to 1 am
+ Where: Gray's Keg Saloon, 104 N 20th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 cover OR $15 t-shirt purchase for two-day access
More details from KZUM's Instagram page: "The great metal benefit has returned! Metal Jon of the Metal Manifesto is hosting the 2025 Labor Day Massacre KZUM Benefit! Head over to Gray's Keg Saloon for metal and hard rock music on Friday and Saturday all proceeds will benefit KZUM Community Radio!"
Friday, September 19
Music: Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra presents Pulse & Panorama
+ When: 7:30 pm
+ Where: Lied Center, 301 N 12th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Tickets start at $25 for adults | $10 for young professionals | $5 for 18 and under
More details from the symphony's website: "LSO opens with Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances, inspired by the multicultural aural soundscapes found while walking in New York City. LSO then performs Leonard Bernstein’s intense Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, a suite adapted from the Romeo and Juliet inspired musical. The concert closes with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s energetic Symphonic Dances."
Friday, September 19
Music: Pool Culture + Sam Bennie + Post Service Collective
+ When: 9 pm
+ Where: 1867 Bar, 101 N 14th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $12 cover
Links to the band's music and socials here (the ones I could find!):
Friday, September 19
Music: Queer Bands for Queer Fun!
+ When: 7 to 9 pm
+ Where: NWU's Old Main Amphitheater (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Seems to be free?
Bands include Birthday Girl, Estrogen Projection, and Pilot Light! Food and drinks will be provided.
Friday, September 19
Music: Strange Pleasures
+ When: 9 pm
+ Where: The Zoo Bar, 136 N 14th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 cover
An Omaha band!
Saturday, September 20
Saturday, September 20
Art: Art in the Garden
+ When: 10 am to 6 pm
+ Where: Sunken Gardens (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
Presented by Clements Noyes Art Gallery. More details from the event's Facebook page: "Join us for our annual family-friendly Art Show & Sale in Lincoln's beautiful Sunken Gardens. We will have art, artists, live music, dance and food trucks."
Saturday, September 20
Community Meeting: Lincoln Alliance Meeting
+ When: 10 am to 2 pm
+ Where: New Visions United Methodist Church, 1610 S 11th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the Lincoln Alliance's newsletter: "At the last Lincoln Alliance meeting, we had a vigorous debate and discussion about how we organize in our communities. This workshop was intended to accomplish two things: Set the groundwork for our Technology of Participation workshop in September, and to plan lunch and other administrative items."
Saturday, September 20
Market: Falling Leaves Vendor Fair
+ When: 10 am to 3 pm
+ Where: Sandhills Global Event Center (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free! But it's a vendor market.
More details from the event center's website: "Celebrate the season at the Falling Leaves Craft & Vendor Fair, a free community event perfect for a fall day out. Stroll through aisles of unique handmade crafts, home décor, boutique items, and specialty goods from a wide variety of talented vendors."
Saturday, September 20
Music: False Positive + Joyrager + Soda Spill
+ When: 8:30 pm (doors), 9 pm (show)
+ Where: 1867 Bar, 101 N 14th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 cover
It's a celebration of Soda Spill's new EP release! Links to the bands' music and socials:
+ False Positive: youtube / insta
+ Joyrager: spotify / insta
+ Soda Spill: spotify / insta / linktree
Saturday, September 20
Music: KZUM Benefit Concert, Night 2
+ When: 6 pm to 1 am
+ Where: Gray's Keg Saloon, 104 N 20th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 cover OR $15 t-shirt purchase for two-day access
More details from KZUM's Instagram page: "The great metal benefit has returned! Metal Jon of the Metal Manifesto is hosting the 2025 Labor Day Massacre KZUM Benefit! Head over to Gray's Keg Saloon for metal and hard rock music on Friday and Saturday all proceeds will benefit KZUM Community Radio!"
Sunday, September 21
Sunday, September 21
Art: EMERGE LNK: Mural + Street Art Festival
+ When: 10 am to 3 pm
+ Where: LUX Center, 2601 N 48th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
This will be taking place concurrently with the Uni Place Maker's Market (see below).
Sunday, September 21
Books: Silent Book Club
+ When: 2:30 to 4 pm
+ Where: Sower Books, 914 N 70th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
Sunday, September 21
Market: Uni Place Creative District Maker’s Market
+ When: 10 am to 2 pm
+ Where: 2649 North 48th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
I will also be tabling here!!! Come by and get some of my zines!!!
Sunday, September 21
Market: Sunday Farmers' Market at College View
+ When: 10 am to 2 pm
+ Where: 4801 Prescott Ave. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free, but it's a farmer's market, so be prepared to spend money.
Sunday, September 21
Music: Ben Reneer + Rich Confer + Lauren Lynn
+ When: 7 pm
+ Where: Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 advance tickets | $12 day of the show
More details from the venue's website: "Southwest folk songwriter Ben Reneer is joined by two great Lincoln musicians Rich Confer and Lauren Lynn for a special songwriters' round show! That means each artist will share the stage together, take turns performing and discuss their songs among each other and the crowd."
Things to do next week:
Monday, September 22
Music: Your Arms Are My Cocoon + Ivory Daze + Ex Lover + Mouse Heart
+ When: 6 pm
+ Where: Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $12 advance tickets | $15 day of the show
Links to music and socials:
+ Your Arms Are My Cocoon: website / insta
+ Ivory Daze: bandcamp / insta / linktree
+ Ex Lover: bandcamp / insta / linktree
+ Mouse Heart: bandcamp / insta / linktree
Monday, September 22
Public Meeting: City Council
+ When: 3 to 5 pm
+ Where: City Council Chambers, County/City Building, 555 S. 10th St. (Google Maps)
This meeting is open to the public. The agenda has not yet been posted.
Friday, September 26
Music: Hub & Soul Music Concert Series
+ When: 6 to 9 pm
+ Where: Union Plaza Amphitheatre, 21st and Q St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the city's website: "Hub & Soul is a free community event designed for people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate music, local food, and Lincoln’s parks."
Friday, Sept. 26 - Sunday, Sept. 28
Film: 2025 Flatwater Film Festival
+ Where: Rivoli Theater in downtown Seward (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $8 general admission weekend pass | $5 for students and seniors
Not quite in Lincoln! But it looks cool and I wanted to highlight it. Find the full film lineup and schedule on their website.
Sunday, September 28
Music: Neon The Bishop + Blondo + Sexy Ca$h
+ When: 8 pm (doors), 9 pm (show)
+ Where: Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $7 | $10 for under 21
The Denver indie pop band comes to town with some cool-looking supporting acts. Links to their stuff:
+ Neon The Bishop: website / spotify / insta
+ Blondo: bandcamp / insta
+ Sexy Ca$h: insta
Sunday, September 28
Music: Porch Jam 2025
+ When: noon to 5 pm
+ Where: Cooper Park and surrounding blocks (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the festival's website: "Porch Jam is a celebration of community and folk stylings of music! Playing music on the porch was once a more common experience and we want to bring that back!! We will be hosting bands to play through the afternoon, as well as food trucks and kid activities! We encourage everyone to come to the South Salt Creek Neighborhood to celebrate music and community."
Sunday, September 28
Outdoors: September Urban Plant Ramble!
+ When: 3 to 5 pm
+ Where: Community Crops Garden at Peter Pan Park, N 32nd and W Streets (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free! Register at the link above.
This sounds amazing! More details from the organizers: "This is free to attend! Join us for an afternoon walk to build relationships with our urban plant relatives as we navigate the rise of fascism. Tea will be offered :) "
Things to do later this year:
Monday, September 29
Music: LOUM + Lazarus Go Home + Cuddlebone
+ When: 7 pm
+ Where: The Juice Box (DM them on Instagram for the address)
+ Cost: $10 cover
More details from the Juice Box's instagram: "LOUM is a brooding dark-wave/post-punk band hailing from Fargo, ND. Lazarus Go Home, our regulars from Wayne, NE, bringing alternative + shoegazey textures. And Cuddlebone with some good ole crushing, distorted riffs."
Wednesday, October 1
Art: Pass the Tree-line prints by Keith Buswell
+ When: 6:30 to 8:30 pm
+ Where: Constellation Studios, 2055 O St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free! But a ticket seems to be required. (Register here.)
More details from the studio's website: "Keith Buswell is a Lincoln artist who creates intricate and mysterious etchings of trees – the roots, branches, deformities, knots, growths, and all. His fascination is based on the graphic etching lines drawn as an interconnected system of branches and root structures as a metaphor for lineage, connections, chance intersections and stages of life. He has generated such a variety of tree images that his work creates a taxonomy of inventive, visionary obsessions with this significant life force. This is the show to put his tree prints all together and for us to all “take a look”, as he is ready to create new work soon, is directions that “Pass the Tree-line”."
Friday, October 3
Film: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (Movies in the Park)
+ When: Begins around 8:45 to 9 p.m. depending on sunset
+ Where: Pioneers Park Nature Center, 3201 South Coddington (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the city's website: "Grab your blanket or a few chairs and come out for a free family friendly movie in the park. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket. No RSVP. No Tickets."
Thursday, October 9
Public Meeting: Historic Preservation Commission
+ When: 2 to 4:30 pm
+ Where: County/City Building, 555 S 10th St. (Google Maps)
This meeting is open to the public. The agenda has not yet been posted.
Saturday, October 11
History: A Jane's Walk of O Street
+ When: 4 pm
+ Where: 129 N 10th St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
Organized by Strong Towns Lincoln. More details from the event Facebook page: "Downtown Residents, Urbanists, and City Nerds from anywhere in town! Join us for a Jane's Walk of O Street in small groups. Bring friends, or come on your own! We'll start with a little history of O street in early Lincoln, how it has changed over time, and the coming changes through "Project O"! Meet us after at Saro Cider for a drink and open conversation."
Saturday, October 11
Workshop: How To Screenprint T-Shirts
+ When: 1 to 3 pm
+ Where: Black Cat House, 1601 B St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
More details from the Black Cat House's newsletter: "Stacy Asher from UNL's art department will be here teaching us how to screenprint t-shirts. That's not only a great way to promote political messages; it should also be a lot of fun!"
Monday, October 13
Protest: Columbus Day Counter-Protest
+ When: 4 to 6 pm
+ Where: The corner of 16th and O Streets, in front of the Federal Building (Google Maps)
+ Cost: Free!
Organized by the Black Cat House.
Wednesday, October 15
Music: Social Cinema + Sego + Estrogen Projection
+ When: 8 pm (doors), 9 pm (show)
+ Where: Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St. (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $13 advance tickets | $15 day of the show
Some awesome local bands playing along with LA-based alt-pop act Sego:
+ Social Cinema: website / bandcamp / insta
+ Sego: linktree / bandcamp / insta
+ Estrogen Projection: linktree / spotify / insta
Tuesday, November 4
Music: Ada Lea + Madeline Reddel
+ When: 6:30 pm (doors), 7:30 pm (show)
+ Where: Reactor Coffee (Google Maps)
+ Cost: $10 advance tickets | $12 DOS
Links to their music and cool stuff:
+ Ada Lea: bandcamp / linktree / insta
+ Madeline Reddel: website / insta / youtube