The 17th Annual Viola Awards are returning to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff to celebrate excellence in Flagstaff’s creative community on April 26, 2025.

The Viola Awards began in 2009 as a way to bring together and celebrate the arts in Flagstaff. The Awards are named after Viola Babbitt, a long time advocate of the arts and painter. Viola was born in the Arizona territory in 1894, later teaching music and reading before settling into a big house on Leroux Street in Flagstaff. In the 1950’s, she started painting and later, established the Art Barn as Flagstaff’s first community arts center. A firm believer in providing community access to the arts, she lobbied Coconino County to build a better facility for a community arts center: the Coconino Center for the Arts. Viola died in 1994, shortly after her 100th birthday, yet we continue to honor her work and legacy as a founding member of our creative community.

Relive the memories and past Viola Awards events below.