The 10th annual Evening of the Arts, sponsored by the Nell J. Redfield Hospital Foundation, is an opportunity for the many artists in Oneida County to display their talents. The event will be on Thursday, April 6, from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Event Center.

One of the featured artists this year is Lad Neilson, who was born in Idaho in the Ashton area, lived in Montana, and came to Malad from Bethel, Alaska, by way of BYU. Lad’s metal works of art won blue ribbons at last year’s Oneida County Fair.

Lad’s degree in biology, specifically water quality and ecology, prepared him for his job at Nucor Steel, where he is over the water systems and environmental quality. At Nucor, he met Doug Adams, who encouraged him in his interest in turning metal scraps into works of art, specifically vases and flowers.

Lad enjoys his hobby of creating beautiful gifts from metal pieces for his wife and others. He and his wife Jennifer have eight children between them. They moved to Malad a couple of years ago for his job at Nucor.

Everyone is invited to the Evening of the Arts to see Lad Neilson’s floral works as well as the artistic works of Ron Spomer, Brian Llewellyn, Patrick Werk, and Joan Hawkins. Art projects by Malad students will also be on display.  

Admission is free, but attendees will want to bid on dozens of unique, colorful, and useful gift baskets during the live and silent auctions. All proceeds from the auction will go to remodeling patient rooms in our local Hospital.