Arts & Culture
Feed Your Arts & Culture Lover
Kilgore may have started with cotton and farming, but its natural resources were a gravitational force that lured many to this new boomtown. But, what also rose from the East Texas Oil Boom was a period of enlightenment – an appreciation for arts and culture.
The arts takes center stage in the City of Stars!
Feed your inner arts and culture lover at the home of the only professional theatre company in East Texas and the first collegiate dance drill team. Wander through time and experience a golden area at one of our legendary museums. Enjoy native artists’ work at local eateries. Make plans for a film festival, live theater, pipe organ performance or dance performance at one of the many signature events.
While most visitors are aware of the many museum and historical opportunities available while in Kilgore, the arts and cultural experiences are often overlooked. Kilgore hosts a vibrant arts and culture environment with an eclectic and exceptional array of exhibitions, performing arts events, theatre productions, a spring/summer concert series, a film festival, and events with authors and books at the Library.
Arts Abound!
Dodson Auditorium
W.L. Dodson Auditorium is a premiere entertainment destination for East Texas located on the Kilgore College campus. The auditorium seats 1,635 and annually hosts graduation ceremonies and Rangerette Revels. Many other concerts and theatre productions are held in Dodson each year. The auditorium opened in 1952.
East Texas Oil Museum
Journey back to the early 1930s to see how people lived. Refresh your memory to the lyrics of a deep-rooted gospel hymn in the church exhibit. Get a lesson in the history of local schools. This fascinating museum houses the authentic recreation of oil discovery and production from the largest oilfield inside US boudaries.
Rangerette Showcase & Museum
Located on the Kilgore College campus, The Rangerette Showcase and Museum features a mechanized display of Rangerette props, a display of costumes from their spring show, Rangerette Revels, and thousands of photographs and newspaper clippings depicting the Rangerettes’ storied history.
Texas Broadcast Museum
The Broadcast Museum spotlights the people and equipment of broadcasting’s Golden Age, featuring working television and radio studios, a vintage equipment restoration facility, and archives available for research.
Texas Shakespeare Festival Center
The Texas Shakespeare Festival is East Texas’ only professional theater company. TSF is a summer repertory company producing two Shakespeare plays, a non-Shakespearean classic, a musical, and a production for children during the summer.
US Veterans Monument of Kilgore
Van Cliburn Auditorium
The Van Cliburn Auditorium, a comfortable and intimate indoor theatre located in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center, is the primary performance space for the Kilgore College Theatre Department and the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Built in 1966, the VCA contains a flexible proscenium stage and 220 seats, including a padded bench at the back […]
