If you didn’t attend the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards last Sunday evening at the downtown Hilton, you missed quite a bit. Not only was it an entertaining night, but the sheer eclectic nature of the boisterous audience made it a night to remember.

You can find a complete list of the winners on the OEA website, but here are some notable highlights:

• The best performance of the night was when Rock Paper Dynamite took the stage (see photo). They had just won Best Rock Band a few minutes earlier, and their energy was incredible. I don’t imagine it’s easy to play to a room full of people in formal gowns and suits where nobody is dancing, but Rock Paper Dynamite played as though they were rocking Madison Square Garden.
• Bailey Newman’s acceptance speech for her Best Performance by a Young Actor left most adults in the audience feeling inadequate as public speakers. It’s no wonder she won this award, what with her stage presence and poise.
• The presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Robin Welch was a truly touching moment. Sometimes lifetime achievement awards seem like popularity contests, but in this case, it was definitely well-deserved.

The night certainly wasn’t perfect. The beginning of the evening felt a bit like a dress rehearsal as the tech crew tried to figure out the prompts for the video presentations, and nobody ever seemed quite clear on whether they were supposed to come up to the stage to accept their awards or if the awards were coming to them. I do wish they had made the time for everyone to come up and say a quick thanks into the microphone. One of the recipients stood up when her name was called, but the hosts at the podium didn’t see her, so they just muttered something about mailing the award to her and quickly moved on to the next category.

Despite the few hiccups, it was a fun night and certainly worth attending. If you didn’t make it to the awards this year, make a mental note to attend next year.