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Upcoming Events

Upcoming events

    • 01 Apr 2025
    • 30 Dec 2025
    Register

    The Ruthmere Golden Pass is your chance to buy a complete ALL-ACCESS pass to all Ruthmere Campus events for the one-time per year discounted amount of $1,000! 


    The Ruthmere Golden Pass bears the likeness of Elkhart's town founder, Dr. Havilah Beardsley, without whom it's difficult to know not only IF our community would exist today, but also WHAT its values might be without him.  It is the ultimate expression of a vision for a bright future for everyone, where ALL feel welcome, valued and appreciated. 

    The benefits value of each Golden Pass is over $1,500.* The Golden Pass is good for one person for an entire calendar year of events and for 2025 includes:

    1 Year Private Membership with Unlimited Free Tours
    Reciprocal Museum Benefits Across USA with Time Travelers
    4 EOQ (End of Quarter) Cocktail Parties
    8 Classical Music Concerts
    2 Two Pianos at Ruthmere Concerts
    1 Piano Competition
    1 Student Music Recital
    4 Seasonal Teas
    8 Tuesday Teas
    3 Garden Workshops
    2 Heart City Heritage Lectures
    11 Gallery Talks
    13 Coffee on the Piazzas including Morning Yoga
    1 Ice Cream Social
    12 Book Club Discussions
    2 Open Public Date Lincoln Penny Story Hours
    1 Derby Day Special Event
    1 Ruthmere on the Road Bus Trip
    $30 spending voucher at Ceramic Showcase

    *Ruthmere Golden Pass is not transferable and a reservation is required by the Golden Pass holder for every desired event.  The Ruthmere Golden Pass is a discounted pre-paid admission ticket, therefore, there is $0 tax deductible donation value.  100% of the Golden Pass value is goods and services.  

    • 01 Jul 2025
    • 28 Nov 2025
    • Ruthmere Game Room

    The 2025 Ruthmere Fall Concert Season

    October 16 - Winner of the 2024 Beardsley Piano Prize Competition
    October 30 - Spencer Myer

    November 13 - Varshavski & Shapiro

    November 28 - Nicholas Roth

    Sponsorship Levels

    2025 Presenting Sponsor $6,000

    2025 Individual Concert Sponsor $1,000

    2025 Annual Sponsor $900

    Fall Season Sponsor $500

    Fall Season Pass- Members Only $80
    (Season Pass does not include Artist's Preview reception)


    NOTE: Sponsors receive both reserved seating and admission to the pre-concert Artist's Preview Reception for their attended concert.  This reception is held in the Robert Beardsley Arts Reference Library at 6pm and feature champagne toast  and an opportunity to meet the artist.

    Season Pass holders receive reserved seating.

    Season Pass holders and all Sponsors are offered free attendance at the Beardsley Prize Competition.  Seating first come, first served all afternoon. 

    For more information, or to make reservations call Ruthmere at 574-264-0330 ext. 107. All concerts begin at 7pm and open seating is limited on a first come, first seated basis behind reserved seats.  Doors open at 6:30pm.  

    • 28 Oct 2025
    • 12:00 AM
    • 06 Mar 2026
    • 11:59 PM
    • Ruthmere Game Room
    Register

    Ruthmere Museum is proud to announce the First Annual Ruthmere Solo Strings Competition. This competition is for acoustic instruments only: violin, viola, cello, bass, mandolin and guitar.


    OFFICIAL RULES

    Preliminary Round: Deadline March 6, 2026 at 11:59pm EST

    Entrants for the Solo Strings Competition are required to complete the Competition Registration Form and prepare a video audition, 8 to 15 minutes long, showcasing two contrasting musical styles or time periods. Video submissions via YouTube links are preferred.  Up to 6 Finalists will be selected. Non-refundable entry fee of $25 per competitor.

    Please email YouTube video auditions to mdoddington@ruthmere.org. Questions call 574-264-0330 ext. 107 . 

    Finals Round: Live Competition on April 4, 2026 at 12pm EST
    Finalists will perform 15-20 minutes of music for the judging panel and the general public at the Ruthmere Game Room. Competition performances begin at Noon, with individual performance times yet to be determined. Tickets are available to the general public for just $5 per seat. Each finalist will receive $100 travel stipend immediately after the competition. First place receives $1,000, Second place receives $300, and Third place $200.

    Grand Prize Winner’s Performance: April 23, 2025 at 7pm EST
    Competition Winner is required to perform a full one-hour opening concert of the Ruthmere Fall Concert series at 7pm. Grand Prize winner will receive award of $1,000 presented at the concert. 


    • 05 Nov 2025
    • 11:00 AM
    • Ruthmere
    • 13
    Register

    Travis Childs, Archivist at The History Museum and St. Joseph County historian, will present a Gallery Talk on "Freshwater Fury: Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes", on Wednesday, November 5th at 11 am at Ruthmere. The History Museum currently has a new exhibit with the same title on display until July 12, 2026 that was written and curated by Travis.


    Gallery Talks feature a twenty-minute discussion on an object/artwork within the Ruthmere collection or a person or event in local history. Our Gallery Talks are free and open to the public. 

    This talk is sponsored by Ann Wroblewski and Mark Doddington. Thank you!


    • 13 Nov 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Ruthmere Game Room
    • 20
    Register


    Stanislava Varshavski & Diana Shapiro will be performing on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 7pm in Ruthmere's Game Room.

    Stanislava Varshavski was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A young piano prodigy, she had her orchestral debut at the age of eight. After receiving her initial musical training in Ukraine, Stanislava proceeded with her studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy in Israel.

    Diana Shapiro was born in Moscow, Russia. At the age of seventeen she moved to Israel and started her studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy under Berkovich.

    Both Ms. Varshavski and Ms. Shapiro received Bachelor and master's degrees from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where they studied with the Israeli duo Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir, and in 2005 moved to Boston, MA to continue their education under renowned American pianist Victor Rosenbaum. In 2011 both pianists completed Doctoral degree studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During their studies at UW-Madison both artists served on the faculty of the Maranatha Universityand upon completion joined the faculty of the Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, WI.

    Ticket pricing for the 2025 Fall Concert Series is as follows: Single concert non-members $50 per seat. Single concert Ruthmere Members $20 per seat. Fall Season Pass for all four concerts with reserved seating is $80 per seat (available ONLY to Ruthmere Members). Note: Non-member Fall Concert ticket price includes a 10-day trial membership. Ruthmere Fall Concerts are considered private party events. For more information, or to make reservations call Ruthmere at 574-264-0330 ext. 107. All concerts begin at 7pm and seating is limited on a first come, first seated basis.  Doors open at 6:30pm.

    • 15 Nov 2025
    • 1:00 PM
    • Ruthmere Game Room
    • 37
    Register

    The Lincoln Penny Story Hour on November 15th at 1pm will feature Deborah DomineDeborah has been a journalist and a judge. She started her career in radio news in Goshen and moved on to anchor the evening television news in South Bend for more than a decade before going to law school. She worked as a federal law clerk, a lawyer and a magistrate in the Elkhart County Juvenile Court; she held the later position for more than 21 years. She knows a lot about the First Amendment having lived it through her life’s work. 

    She is married and shares three children and two grandchildren (a third is on the way) with her husband, Bruce Cashbaugh. They live in Goshen. She looks forward to discussing the First Amendment and the value and protection it brings to us all. 


    Deborah will read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. This is an ALL-AGES story hour, meaning all are welcome to come experience this moving, incredibly important book.

                 

    This is open and free to the general public but registration requested. 

    The LPSH is not a fundraiser, it’s a consciousness raiser! Ruthmere invites a member of the community to read an age-appropriate children’s book to children and their families. But this is a story hour with a specific purpose. These stories are reflections of each reader’s distinct background, and communicate the values of diversity, unity and liberty. 

    Every child receives a Lincoln Penny souvenir in a keepsake jacket as a reminder of why this experience is important.

    This LPSH Event Sponsor is Centier Bank.

                

    • 28 Nov 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Ruthmere Game Room
    • 12
    Register

    Nicholas Roth will be performing on Friday, November 28th at 7pm in Ruthmere's Game Room.

    Nicholas Roth began formal studies at age twelve, receiving critical acclaim for his appearances by the age of eighteen. He appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony under Raymond Leppard, among many others. Roth is a featured performer and teacher throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He is a Yamaha Artist, a Beethoven Fellow of the American Pianists Association, earned prizes in the chamber music competitions of Tortona and Pietra Ligure, Italy, and received a DAAD grant to further his studies in Germany.  

    Ticket pricing for the 2025 Fall Concert Series is as follows: Single concert non-members $50 per seat. Single concert Ruthmere Members $20 per seat. Fall Season Pass for all four concerts with reserved seating is $80 per seat (available ONLY to Ruthmere Members). Note: Non-member Fall Concert ticket price includes a 10-day trial membership. Ruthmere Fall Concerts are considered private party events. For more information, or to make reservations call Ruthmere at 574-264-0330 ext. 107. All concerts begin at 7pm and seating is limited on a first come, first seated basis.  Doors open at 6:30pm.

    • 04 Dec 2025
    • 11:00 AM
    • Ruthmere
    • 48
    Register

    Jay VanderVeen, Ph.D., Director of the University Center for Excellence in Teaching Indiana University South Bend, will present a Gallery Talk on "Elkhart's Ivory Towers: A History of Higher Education in Elkhart County", on Thursday, December 4 at 11 am at Ruthmere. 

    Founder Henry A. Mumaw (1850-1908) sits at the right of this early group of Elkhart Institute students in Elkhart’s Grand Army of the Republic hall during its inaugural year in 1894-95.

    Gallery Talks feature a twenty-minute discussion on an object/artwork within the Ruthmere collection or a person or event in local history. Our Gallery Talks are free and open to the public. 

    If you would like to sponsor this Gallery Talk, please contact Bill Firstenberger.

    • 04 Dec 2025
    • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Wellfield Botanic Gardens
    Register

    Join us from 6-8 pm on Thursday, December 4th for Ruthmere Night at Wellfield Botanic Garden's Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights! 

    Support Ruthmere at this special event and enjoy an evening with:

    • Hearty eats provided by Teri's Bichin' Kitchen Catering
    • Holiday Cheer (both alcohol and non-alcohol) from Navarre Catering
    • Special one-night-only exhibit display of the History of Ruthmere Holiday Tours 
    • Short Musical Interlude of Wintertime Classics with Tehillah Moses and Kate Irelan at 7pm
    • Your tour walk through Wellfield's Holiday Lights

    Adults are $50, Children 15 and under are $20. Reservation deadline is November 28th - don't wait to sign up!


    Thank you to our underwriters:

    Connie Fulmer

    Doug & Karen Grant



    ...


    Wellfield Botanic Gardens' 9th annual Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights will transport you to a magical setting with lights, sound and beauty. With over 1.8 million lights, this is perfect for families to enjoy during the holiday season. Enjoy this special opportunity to see Wellfield after hours in a wintry paradise! 


    Featuring professional light displays accentuating the natural beauty of Wellfield, the half-mile Promenade Pathway is aglow with color and texture, framing our Garden space as you've never seen it before!

    • 07 Dec 2025
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Ruthmere
    • 5
    Register

    Come celebrate the holiday season at Ruthmere at our Tea with Mrs. Claus. Come hear the secrets that only the wife of the 'jolly ole' elf ', himself would know. The tables are set with our best china and linens, and our young ladies and gentlemen enjoy sweet tea, cookies and tea sandwiches made for little fingers while our grown-up guests are served an assortment of fine teas, sweets and savories. 

    Make reservations early, she will need to get back to help the old guy! Come in your most festive attire and bring your lists, too! Adults $40, Youth (ages 4-18) $20, Members $35. Reservations required with advance purchase or call 574-264-0330. Ages 4 and up.   

    Note: If event is sold out, a waitlist will be activated, but you will not be called for available seats unless someone else cancels their registration.

    Please do not register more than 8 people per group. 

    The 2025 Teas with Mrs. Claus are sponsored by:


    • 11 Dec 2025
    • 7:00 PM
    • Ruthmere Game Room
    • 38
    Register

    Join us for a special holiday concert, "Norell Piano Duo", at Ruthmere on Thursday, December 11th, featuring Luke and Mary Rose Norell playing the Steinway and Baldwin pianos. They will present a program that will include music from the Nutcracker Suite and other holiday inspired duets. Luke and Mary Rose teach piano at the Goshen College Community School of the Arts and perform together across North America. 

    Tickets are $50 per seat, which includes the reception and concert. Doors open at 6:30 and the concert starts promptly at 7pm. Reception, offering food and drink, follows the concert.

    This concert is generously sponsored by Sandra Van Tilburg.

       

    Ruthmere is proud to partner with Juke! Click the logo below to discover live performances, new shows, and a vibrant music scene at the heart of Elkhart.

    About the ArtistsThe Norell Piano Duo began performing together in 2009 at LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and has continued to present repertoire for one and two pianos across North America. Recent engagements have included performing at the Music Archive of Sarasota, Florida, the Ruthmere Fall Concert Series, and Ohio University. At Goshen College, Luke and Mary Rose have been included on the Rieth Chamber Series and also performed Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite in Sauder Concert Hall for the Afternoon Sabbatical Series. They have competed in the Liszt 200 Chicago Competition for piano duos, performed at Northwestern University, and at Indiana University with the American Liszt Society.

     
    The Norells performed at Edvard Grieg’s home Troldhaugen in Bergen, Norway, as part of the workshop “Edvard Grieg and the Human Voice”, and have collaborated on multiple occasions with celebrated Norwegian bass-baritone Njål Sparbo in Goshen. As founding board members of the newly-formed nonprofit organization, the Edvard Grieg Society of the Great Lakes, the Norells organized its inaugural conference at Goshen College: “SalzBergen: Exploring the Intersection between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edvard Grieg.” The conference included guest artists from Norway and across the USA, and will be followed by an upcoming symposium in Indianapolis in 2019.
     
    Their collaboration as teachers and adjudicators recently included adjudicating and helping to create the Robert Beardsley Piano Prize at the Ruthmere home in Elkhart (IN), appearing as guest artists for the Ohio Music Teachers Association Summit County Duet Festival, judging for the Kelowna Kiwanis Music Festival in British Columbia, and teaching as faculty at the University of Northwestern Piano Institute in St. Paul, MN. Luke and Mary Rose have worked with the Ravinia outreach program Reach*Teach*Play in bringing classical music to children in inner-city Chicago schools, performing selections from Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals and Gustav Holst's The Planets. They both teach on the faculty of the Goshen College Community School of the Arts.

    • 14 Dec 2025
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Ruthmere
    • 30
    Register

    Come celebrate the holiday season at Ruthmere at our Tea with Mrs. Claus. Come hear the secrets that only the wife of the 'jolly ole' elf ', himself would know. The tables are set with our best china and linens, and our young ladies and gentlemen enjoy sweet tea, cookies and tea sandwiches made for little fingers while our grown-up guests are served an assortment of fine teas, sweets and savories. 

    Make reservations early, she will need to get back to help the old guy! Come in your most festive attire and bring your lists, too! Adults $40, Youth (ages 4-18) $20, Members $35. Reservations required with advance purchase or call 574-264-0330. Ages 4 and up.   

    Note: If event is sold out, a waitlist will be activated, but you will not be called for available seats unless someone else cancels their registration.

    Please do not register more than 8 people per group. 

    The 2025 Teas with Mrs. Claus are sponsored by:



(574)-264-0330

(888)-287-7696


The Havilah Beardsley House:

102 W. Beardsley Ave., Elkhart, IN 46514

Ruthmere/Mailing Address:

302 E. Beardsley Ave., Elkhart, IN 46514

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