About Us:
Great Basin Arts and Entertainment is a Nevada 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1997. The organization’s history reaches back to 1992 when a small group of friends met to determine how they might keep culture alive in Winnemucca following the massive arson fire that swept the historic Nixon Opera House. That historic building, a gift from Nevada Senator George S. Nixon, had been the center of Winnemucca’s cultural life since it was constructed in 1907.

This small group of volunteers, driven by their love of live music and the performing arts, started finding and promoting a series of events utilizing the high school gym, school auditoriums, the facilities at the Winnemucca Convention Center, any place available, until it found a cozy home in the banquet room facilities in the historic Martin Hotel.