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Our History
The Entrada Institute was founded in the winter of 1992 by a group of desert lovers who wished to share their enthusiasm for the Capitol Reef area with like-minded arts and outdoor lovers. The founders were a disparate bunch whose ranks included an outfitter, a graphic designer, an English professor, a professional landscape photographer, an innkeeper and a magazine editor. The early years were a struggle.
The Ward Roylance Home, now Robber’s Roost Bookstore and home to Entrada Institute
Money was tight; membership small. But the board persevered, and eventually attracted a circle of “desert rats,” who wanted to learn more about the human and natural history of the area.
The Robber’s Roost Bookstore, home of the Entrada Institute was recently renovated including a new roof, windows, and flooring. The Entrada Institute has purchased property adjacent to the Bookstore. A capital campaign is in place to develop this new property into a cultural center.
The organization boasts an enthusiastic and growing membership, but something of the grass-roots organization that was originally funded out of board members’ pockets remains. Instructors and students rave about the inviting and inclusive nature of the organization. Many of our Saturday night entertainers and workshop instructors return year after year, sharing their affection for teaching, singing or reading poems with appreciative audiences.
The Entrada Institute’s work has not gone unnoticed. Articles about the organization have appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune, Catalyst, and Sunset. In a 2000 article about Capitol Reef Country, Sunset writer Nicky Leach described Entrada as “(an organization) dedicated to preserving the red rock country and its heritage through arts and education.”
To learn more about the Entrada Institute, check out your video retrospectives: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.
Our Programs
Our Scholarship Program for Wayne County High provides much-needed financial support for graduating students who wish to pursue a college education—this includes our new Bernice Scholl Memorial Scholarship fund.
Our Saturday Sunset Series of readings, concerts, slideshows, lectures, and other events enrich the cultural life of Wayne County while providing artists, humanities scholars and earth scientists to share their new and existing works.
Our Artist in Residence helps support the creation of new works in the Wayne County environs, while providing a housing and meals stipend and an opportunity for the artist to describe his or her experience.
Donations to the Entrada Institute supports the variety of events and projects that have added access to arts and cultural activities in a rural Utah setting.
Entrada is a 501C-3 non-profit membership organization, donations are tax-deductible.