Omaha Mobile Stage

Omaha Mobile Stage (OMS) is a community venue for performing artists of all ages and a teaching venue to train the next generation of creatives.

Launched in 2021, our Omaha Mobile Stage program uses creative placemaking, community-based arts and cultural resources, and multidisciplinary collaboration to expand live performing arts opportunities and make space for creatives to participate in community and economic development in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Our service areas include Douglas and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska,  Pottawattamie County in Iowa, and the metro’s nearby rural communities.  

Year in Review 2024

• Provided free arts enrichment and entertainment to 23,000+ visitors at 28 free events in the Omaha metro
• Hosted more than 220 unique performances that featured more than 140 individual adult performers and more than 230 individual youth performers
• Provided paid work to 8 participants in our creative workforce development program
• Completed a 3-year strategic plan
• Featured in 5 news outlets
• Received 1 national design award
• Ran a social media awareness campaign, focused on the greater Omaha metro, that included 200+ posts, 19 original videos, and reached 153,000+ people

To view the Year in Review for 2021-2023, visit www.livable.org/year-in-review

OMS Programs

• Our approach to Creative Workforce Development prioritizes skills development and real-life live event production experiences for local event curators working in low-to-moderate income outdoor public spaces. Additionally, our internship program provides seasonal paid training, mentorship, and real-life work experiences for aspiring stagehands and audio engineers.

• Our Youth Talent Show Program, for ages 3 through graduating seniors, is a regional success and was built on the framework of  Omaha’s beloved and historic Show Wagon series.

• We use a sliding-scale rental model to provide the general public with equitable access to a state-of-the-art mobile stage venue with professional audio and lighting equipment and event production services.

Why Give Now? 

Your support provides a critical foundation for the OMS project to be fully realized, adding value and vibrancy to the city we love. 

OMS is a community-led initiative and creative placemaking project. Season 4 will run from April through October 2025.

OMS events entertain thousands of residents and visitors annually. These events help establish safe outdoor community spaces. These gatherings also increase the vibrancy, connection, and economic and social wellbeing for residents and businesses along the metro’s historic and revitalizing main streets and park systems.

We overcome common challenges to increasing access to the arts and creating arts-based gatherings in neighborhood public spaces. These challenges include prohibitive ticket costs, limited arts funding to neighborhood-led initiatives, and lack of transportation to traditional venues.

In 2025, the OMS Youth Talent Show series, a free talent show competition for youth ages 3-19, will take place at preliminary events throughout the metro, including Dance Night and Battle of the Bands, and a Finals Night in downtown Omaha. 

The series has been active for 3 seasons. The 2024 series featured more than 200 youth participants from across 3 dozen different zip codes and from more than 60 different schools and performing arts studios. Participation is free and open to the public. The program is a reboot of the beloved Goodfellows Show Wagon, which was managed by the City of Omaha Parks Department from 1952 through 2010. 

Registration for the 2025 Youth Talent Show series opens in March 2025 at OmahaMobileStage.org

Omaha Mobile Stage is managed by Partners for Livable Omaha. Founded in 2020, Partners for Livable Omaha is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the livability of communities throughout the Omaha metro. www.livable.org.(PLO Tax ID: 85-4187964).

All donations are tax deductible.

For more information on donations or sponsorship, contact Jessica Scheuerman, Executive Director, Partners for Livable Omaha, jscheuerman@livable.org.