Blog
#BetterTogether Stories: Octagon Art Festival — The Gift of Time and Many Hands
Heather Johnson, Director & Festival Coordinator: “Good morning and welcome to Ames. We are so glad you are participating as an artist in the Octagon Art Festival! One of the wonderful volunteers will help you check in and offer you some coffee or tea.” It’s 6 am...
#BetterTogether Stories: The Patio — Reclaiming a Throwaway Space
Rhonda Scott, Promotions and Outreach: Before 2018, the alley behind the Octagon was often littered with debris and broken cast offs. It was the space for illegally parked cars, rusty bikes, and dumpsters – definitely not a place to spend time. We had an idea. What if...
#BetterTogether Stories: The Octagon Ceramics Studio Is Born — and Reborn!
Beth Weninger, Education Director: We’ve always been better together. Over 40 years ago, a small group of committed volunteers and artists came together to expand and create a pottery studio in the basement of our old, dirt bottom building. This was no easy task. In...
#BetterTogether Stories: The Octagon Shop Goes Online
Shop Manager, Terrie: The Octagon Shop sells beautiful, handmade art from over 175 artists. I really love representing those artists and helping them sell their work. When we closed our doors in March 2020 to safeguard the community, it was very scary. I truly worried...
Fun Valentines Date Night Ideas for FREE!
Looking for a fun way to celebrate Valentines Day but not wanting to break the bank? The Octagon has you covered. Whether you’re a broke college kid (we’ve been there) or simply just looking for ways to save money, consider a night out at the Octagon this Valentines...
Hello World!
Welcome to our blog! This is something that has been in the works here for awhile, and we are very excited to finally introduce it to you all. We feel this blog will be a great way for community members to get to know who we are, what we do and what we stand for in a...
