RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Each year, the Matthews Opera House hosts ‘Festival in the Park’ in Spearfish City Park to celebrate the Northern Hills arts community. The festival is the opera house’s biggest annual fundraiser.

This was Matthews Opera House Executive Director Heath Johnson’s first time running the festival. According to Johnson, Festival in the Park typically sees tens of thousands of visitors each year, but 2025 might have set a new mark.

“[According to staff,] this last Friday was the biggest night we’ve had in 10 years,” Johnson said. “We had a huge crowd, a lot of people coming. A lot of the vendors also said it was one of the biggest nights they’ve had at the festival as well.”

The Matthews Opera House debuted their new ‘Free Little Art Gallery’ (FLAG) at this year’s festival. The gallery proved to be a popular attraction.

“It’s kind of like those little libraries you see around town,” Johnson explained. “You leave art, take art. So people can come, they can create something little, leave it in there for people to see. If they see something they like, they can come and grab it.”

More detailed attendance totals are expected soon.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.