Community Calendar

December 3 – 27, 2025

Opening Reception: December 3, 6 – 8 pm

Closing Reception: December 27, 2025, 4 – 6 pm

Lori Daugherty: Bold Whispers brings together a series of intimate encaustic works in which color, wax, and heat converge to form small but potent moments of energy. In each piece, Dayton-based artist Lori Daugherty coaxes organic bursts of form and pigment into being—gestures that feel alive, expanding, and quietly insistent. These works reward slow looking: what first appears delicate reveals surprising force, and what seems restrained carries a pulse of movement just beneath the surface.

Working with encaustic wax and inks, Daugherty builds her compositions through layered translucency, texture, and the dynamic unpredictability of a torch and flame. The resulting surfaces hover between control and spontaneity, abstraction and suggestion. Together, the paintings in Bold Whispers invite viewers to linger in the space where subtlety becomes powerful and small moments open into larger stories.

All artworks in this exhibition are available for purchase. Please visit the reception desk or speak to a staff member to purchase. Proceeds support both the artist and The Contemporary Dayton’s mission to connect artists and audiences through accessible, engaging contemporary art experiences.

Classical guitarist Danny Voris is back every Wednesday evening from 6-9pm. Danny is a local musician, performer, and educator of over 40 years who specializes in instrumental solo music and is sure to knock your socks off with his talent! Join us for an evening of original compositions, classical guitar sensations, small plates, cocktails, mocktails, coffee, tea, and more!

Please remember, we do not accept reservations. Guests are seated on a first come, first serve basis. We request guests adorn themselves in appropriate attire meaning business casual through evening elegance or period appropriate attire, if you wish (jeans are acceptable but must be well-kempt). We are 25 & up and require valid ID for entry!

Don't forget, the password is required for entry and can be found at our website: www.thedrinkerys.com

Celebrate the Holidays with Music, Meal, Trivia, and Dayton Dinner Theater's famous interactive movie experience with the classic, heartwarming, and hilarious comedy Elf! Delight in themed cuisine, live music, a film screening, trivia, and a costume party!

HOW TO GO?

Dec 10, 2025, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

The Brightside, 905 E 3rd St, Dayton, OH

Doors open at 5:45 - Food and live music is available from 6-7 pm - Movie starts at 7 pm. A short intermission for dessert and trivia will start at 8 pm - Movie ends around 9:15 pm.

Alcoholic drinks available for purchase

Tickets $38 - Get tickets here: https://www.daytondinnertheater.com/events/elf-movie-party-2

Table reservations only for parties of 6 or more, otherwise we have open seating. For table reservations or other questions, please email Daytondinnertheater@gmail.com

Open Mic nights on 2nd And 4th Wednesday
Poetry/Spoken Word Night on 1st & 3rd Wednesday
Beginning At 7

We’re hosting a Spoken Word and Open Mic Night at Tuck-N-Reds in Yellow Springs! This is a family-friendly event, and we’re working to build a supportive community of local musicians, poets, comedians, and performers of all kinds. Everyone is welcome—whether you’re a seasoned artist or stepping on stage for the first time, we invite you to come share your voice. Sign up by texting (937)460-8582

Looking for new and fun holiday traditions? Then try our Ornament Blow! With help from our professional glassblowers, you can make your own ornament from hot molten glass! Everyone ages five years and older can participate, making this a perfect family activity. Since this event requires your participation, it gives you an enjoyable and memorable introduction to this unique and fascinating art form. Experience the wonder that is glassblowing this holiday season with your loved ones!

Scheduled in 15 minute increments per person and reservations are required. Excludes Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Ready for pickup in 7 days and shipping is available.

In her work, Eden Quispe creates interior scenes using inherited quilting techniques, embroidery, printing, and collage. Quispe expresses the precarious balance of her multiple roles as a mother, artist and teacher with symbols and materials;  her daughter’s baby clothes, grandfather's ties, and inherited fabric from her family and husband's Peruvian culture are painted and sewn upon and cut to become walls, tables, and chairs. These object memories are sewn together and printed on to create her patchwork paintings.

Denny Gerwin’s ceramic sculptures and vessels reference the female form, acknowledging artifacts created up to 30,000 years ago and illustrating universal human interest in precarious subject matter. Recognizing himself as the “other” in the equation, and noting that this is a rare position for him to sit in, the artist is grateful for lessons learned in vulnerability. More recent works in this series show clinched fists, an aberration from traditional depictions of Venus and an apt departure given the threat to women's power.

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present Xaviera Simmons: Figure Eleven, a major solo exhibition bringing together recent works in photography, painting, video, and the world premiere of a new body of bronze sculptures by one of the most bold and visionary artists of our time.

Simmons’ practice is deeply rooted in art history, both through deliberate assertion and continuous engagement, drawing on references that span from antiquity and the American landscape to contemporary media. Her work unfolds through a cinematic sensibility, where narrative, movement, and stillness intersect. This is evident in her photographic series such as American Book Covers and Sundown, in her monumental text paintings, and now in this new body of bronze sculptures.

Performance, choreography, and the sensual are integral to Simmons’ artistic language. In this recent sculptural work, these elements coalesce into forms that feel both classical and contemporary. As with much of her practice, Figure Eleven situates art history within an ongoing continuum, like a film that resists final resolution.

The sculptures recall the Venus of Willendorf and Venus de Milo while simultaneously reflecting the multiplicity of contemporary bodies and motifs. Their power lies in their capacity to collapse and reconcile distinct historical and cultural narratives. The figures embody a poised stillness that resonates with the language of movement and performance. Figure Eleven, both the exhibition’s title and the newest figurative sculpture, appears as if drawn from a film still, a moment suspended between gesture and permanence.

In Small Measure is our inaugural fundraising exhibition where we ask participants to create a postcard sized work of art, donate it to us, and in exchange, it will be included in an exhibition on February 13-14, 2026 at The Contemporary Dayton, Dayton, Ohio’s contemporary art center.

Submission Deadline (Postmark): Feb 1, 2026

In-Person Drop-Off Deadline: Feb 4, 2026

Exhibition Dates: Feb 13-14, 2026

December 3 – 27, 2025

Opening Reception: December 3, 6 – 8 pm

Closing Reception: December 27, 2025, 4 – 6 pm

Lori Daugherty: Bold Whispers brings together a series of intimate encaustic works in which color, wax, and heat converge to form small but potent moments of energy. In each piece, Dayton-based artist Lori Daugherty coaxes organic bursts of form and pigment into being—gestures that feel alive, expanding, and quietly insistent. These works reward slow looking: what first appears delicate reveals surprising force, and what seems restrained carries a pulse of movement just beneath the surface.

Working with encaustic wax and inks, Daugherty builds her compositions through layered translucency, texture, and the dynamic unpredictability of a torch and flame. The resulting surfaces hover between control and spontaneity, abstraction and suggestion. Together, the paintings in Bold Whispers invite viewers to linger in the space where subtlety becomes powerful and small moments open into larger stories.

All artworks in this exhibition are available for purchase. Please visit the reception desk or speak to a staff member to purchase. Proceeds support both the artist and The Contemporary Dayton’s mission to connect artists and audiences through accessible, engaging contemporary art experiences.