Nicolaysen Art Museum gears up for 16th annual ‘Nic Fest’

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Get ready to see a part of downtown Casper transform.

The Nicolaysen Art Museum will be hosting their 16th annual ‘Nic Fest’ from June 16-18 on their three-acre downtown campus.

The free festival will open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The three-day party will feature no shortage of activities and entertainment: Live music, food trucks, yoga sessions, live mural paintings, a beer garden, an inflatable playground and much more will all be highlighted over the weekend.

Altogether, 20 hours of live music and over 80 vendors complete the bulk of the festival grounds.

Perhaps the most unique addition to the festival this year is circus performers. Acrobats, aerialists, stilt walkers, unicyclists, jugglers, fire dancers and other performers from Cirque Orenda will go live several times throughout the day and across the festival grounds on Friday and Saturday.

“As one of Cirque Orenda’s owners, I am super excited to come to Casper, Wyoming to perform for the Casper Community! Why? I am from Wyoming,” said Christy Livingston. “I have taken my passion for creating and cultivating to bring enchantment, magic and entertainment to the NIC Fest!”

The live music will even have a unique headliner of their own: Former contestant on season three of “The Voice,” Aquile, will perform Saturday night.

All of these events feed into one of the Museum’s primary goals: to expand beyond their tagline, “Art. Music. Food.”

“When the festival returned last year, our community committee pointed out that NIC Fest is already so much more than just ‘Art. Music. Food,’” said Andrew Schneider, Chairperson of the Museum board of directors. “I think that really inspired everyone involved to think about the festival through a new lens and imagine how we can celebrate all of the cultural and creative ingredients available to us here in central Wyoming.”

Though the festival is free they do recommend bringing cash for the inflatable adventure zone, which costs extra, and any artists who may not have card payment options.

For more information, visit here.

Mainstage schedule:

Friday -

4:20 pm – J. Shogren

5:40 pm – Mobius Strings

7:00 pm – Shovelin Stone

8:20 pm – Cory McDaniel Duo

Saturday:

10:15 am – Yoga with instructor Jodi Flugel

11:40 am – Chad Lore

1:20 pm - Dirt Reynolds

3:00 pm - John May