Trying to figure out what to do after work? Not in the mood to party hearty? Well contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of night life events to choose from in Omaha other than going to bars and clubs, including some at the Omaha Healing Art Center (OM Center)!
I know what you're thinking: the Healing Arts Center? What's that all about? Well, I'll tell you what it's about: it's about learning, healing, performing arts, and community. It's about something a little off the beaten path of typical commercial entertainment. During the day the OM Center is mostly about healing and classes, but given that we're on a website about night life here, I'm going to focus on what goes on at the Center "after hours."
There are a lot of things going on at the OM Center at night including music concerts, special guest speakers, the Old Market Gallery Walk, and poetry slams! In fact, the OM Center is the official venue for the Nebraska Poetry Slams! Here's a list of some of the great events the OM Center has scheduled this fall:
September 1 "Wake up Laughing and Wise up Loving" with Swami Beyondananda and Steve Bhaerman ~ The OM Center's latest big event is the return of Steve Bhaerman (a.k.a. Swami Beyondananda). Bhaerman spoke at the opening of the OM Center back in 2001, and now he's back on the tour of his latest performance "Wake up Laughing and Wise up Loving!"
September 8 Old Market Gallery Walk ~ Every second Wednesday of the month from May through October, the OM Center hosts a walking tour of the art scene through the Old Market. You won't find a better tour of local art anywhere else, plus it's completely free to attend!
September 10-12 Wu Dang Daoist Master Chen Workshops ~ Master Chen will be stopping by the OM Center to teach several workshops, three during the day and two in the evenings. The first evening workshop is the Gong Fu Taoist Tea Ceremony & Tasting on September 10, and the second is about Wu Dang Taoist Meditation on the 12th. The classes cost $35 and $30 respectively, and need to be registered for in advance.
September 11 Poetry Slam ~ That's right, every second Saturday of the month is Poetry Slam night at the OM Center! The slam is open to everyone, though you'll want to get there before 7:30 to sign up -- signup is limited and will only be allowed past 7:30 if there are less than 8 poets signed up. Make poetry more fun by competing against fellow poets until there's only one left standing! Learn more about Poetry Slam at www.omahaslam.com
Be sure to check back again later for new events in October and November!
In an effort to learn more about different events at the OM Center, I interviewed their returning guest Steve Bhaerman/Swami Beyondananda. As I previously mentioned, this is his second time visiting the OM Center, the first time being when he was a speaker at the center's grand opening back in 2001. When asked what he thought about the center, he had nothing but great things to say. It's a beautiful area in what used to be an old warehouse, he said. "I like to say that they made a warehouse into an awarehouse."
Bhaerman said that he and OM Center owner Sandy Aquila had always wanted to have another event featuring him since his first visit, and since he was taking his driving tour to Dallas, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to stop in Omaha on the way.
The show itself is often described as "comedy disguised as wisdom or wisdom disguised as comedy." Bhaerman said that with so many crises and other things going on in the world today, he likes to help people "wake up" to their general potential as human beings. Laughter, he said, helps with this by bringing joy and happiness, and eventually perspective with their creator to people; a very healing process. The premise of the performance is that Bhaerman's alter-ego, Swami Beyondananda answers the audience's questions, and the audience should question the answers. The whole thing is meant to be a clean, open-hearted, and uplifting yet sharp experience, and "Swami" likes to leave the room laughing and smiling.
"Wake up Laughing and Wise up Loving" starts at 7:30 on the 1st of September, and admission is $20 in advance or $25 day of show. You can reserve your seat in advance by contacting the OM Center at (402) 345-5078. You'll definitely want to check out this new and inspiring show, and all the other great events the Omaha Healing Arts Center has to offer!
