HOPE – Join the Klipsch Museum of Audio History on October 23-24, 2026, in Hope, AR, for the October Bonehead Class fund raising event. This year the Museum celebrates 80 years of the Hope Klipsch Factory producing the world-renowned Klipschorn loudspeaker and ten years since the Museum formed as a non-profit organization.
The event begins Friday, October 23, at the Klipsch Museum Visitor Center, 403 W. Division St. Starting at noon, Klipsch historian and Museum Curator Jim Hunter leads van tours with stops at the Klipsch Museum, the Southwest Proving Ground where PWK worked for the Department of Army and began designing loudspeakers, and the Hope Municipal Airport where PWK debuted the Klipschorn in 1945 during a World War II victory dance. Last bus runs at 3 p.m.
Friday evening at 6 p.m., come to the Visitor Center for the Lions Club fish fry and concert featuring Dave Almond for $25 per person.
Saturday, October 24, beginning at 9 a.m. (location to be determined), Senior Klipsch Engineer and Roston resident Roy Delgado Jr. (aka Chief Bonehead) teaches a class introducing the new Klipsch Rebellion speakers and he will also discuss proper speaker toe-in and placement. The Bonehead Class Only ticket price is $150 per person.
Saturday night at 6 p.m., the October fund raising event culminates with Roy and the Museum volunteers cooking “Bonehead” fajitas and by Hope-area rockers Hazy Jayne on the Visitor Center Tin Shed #2 Stage for $25 per person.
The All Events Pass includes the bus tour, dinner and concerts on Friday and Saturday, and the Bonehead Class for $225 per person; Museum member discount available.
Purchase tickets at https://givebutter.com/Fall2026Bonehead.
All proceeds support the Museum’s mission to maintain PWK’s collections and archives and to use PWK’s science of sound to encourage science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics education. The Museum hopes to raise $5,000 during this annual fund-raiser.
In 1946, PWK founded Klipsch and Associates in Hope, AR, now Klipsch Group, Inc. Klipsch remains a leading loudspeaker company in the United States and a world leader in premium quality audio products. The company’s official motto, “A Legend in Sound,” has also been applied to PWK who was eulogized as “a great inventor, engineer, scientist, pilot and legendary eccentric.”
Granted twelve patents in acoustics along with eight in geophysics and three in ballistics, PWK had a revolutionary vision for audio design. He established acoustic principles that pioneered American hi-fidelity sound systems and created the longest-running loudspeaker produced in the United States with the Klipschorn.
In 2016, a group of Klipsch devotees including PWK’s former associate and historian organized as the Klipsch Heritage Museum Association doing business as the Klipsch Museum of Audio History, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Since then, the Museum has shared PWK’s science of sound and loudspeakers with thousands of people from around the world in downtown Hope, AR, helping boost tourist spending in the area.
Need more information about the October event? Email the Museum at info@klipschmuseum.org.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, October 23 –
12 p.m. – 5 p.m. Van Tour starting from Visitor Center with Museum Curator Jim Hunter of the Klipsch Museum of Audio History, Southwest Proving Grounds, and Hope Municipal Airport – Tour Ticket Required $25 per person
6 p.m. Hope Lions Club Fish Fry and Dave Almond Concert – Visitor Center – Ticket Required $25 per person
Saturday, October 24 –
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Bonehead Class (location to be determined) – Ticket required – Class Only $150 per person / All Events Pass $225 per person (Museum member discount available)
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Bonehead Fajitas and Hazy Jayne Concert at Visitor Center – Ticket Required $25 per person