Juggling enthusiasts of the CRANDIC are in luck as professional jugglers across the globe head to Cedar Rapids this week for the 75th annual International Jugglers Association Conference. The convention runs from Tuesday to Sunday and features performances, workshops and competitions. Performer and instructor Luther Bangert began juggling when he was a philosophy student at […]
Natalie Dunlap
Posted inCommunity/News
Every summer, lease gaps leave Iowa City renters scrambling for housing and storage
Paul Holdefer faced a worrying prospect. The University of Iowa graduate research assistant’s lease was set to expire July 25, a week before his new one began. He tried to negotiate a longer stay in his original apartment, “just to not be unhoused with all my stuff and my partner,” he said, “even offering to […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
New opera ‘Orphan Train to Iowa’ brings a dark but hopeful history to the Coralville stage
A little-known piece of Iowa history is coming to the stage in a one-night-only opera from the Crescendo Children’s Choir. Child and adult singers, including professional opera stars, will perform Orphan Train to Iowa: For the Love of Pete on Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. The […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Furniture, vinyl, watches and paintings: Inside Ulysses Modern, Iowa City’s newest vintage shop
Ryan Quinn attended auctions and scoured thrift stores and junkyards for car parts with his family as a kid. In his teen years, he started searching on his own for punk rock albums from artists like The Clash. These days, he travels thousands of miles a month in his minivan, hunting down art, watches, vintage […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Wilson’s Orchard evolves their image with a focus on new crops, sustainability
Since Wilson’s Apple Orchard first opened to the public 35 years ago, the visitor experience has been centered around exactly what you would expect: apples. Over the last four decades, thousands of visitors have journeyed to the orchard in autumn to pick apples, sip apple cider slushies, eat apple turnovers and buy Wilson’s merch featuring […]
Posted inUncategorized
Creating public art becomes more private during the pandemic, but the work continues in Iowa City
A reduction of Iowa Citians in the streets hasn’t stopped local artists from beautifying them. Thomas Agran, director of public art for the Iowa City Downtown District, said that when the pandemic started affecting local businesses and jobs, his office mobilized to try to get projects in the hands of artists as quickly as possible. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Englert web series ‘Nuggets of Wisdom’ presents a friendly dialogue on race and queerness
Viewers might watch an episode of the Englert Theatre’s new series, Nuggets of Wisdom, and think Sharon Udoh and Jonny Stax have been close friends for years. Whether it’s the chemistry they have in their conversation, or how comfortable they seem talking about personal subjects, there’s a sense of familiarity. The two actually met in […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Riverside Theatre announces upcoming season, pays tribute to longtime location in virtual gala
In years past, Riverside Theatre held a spring gala called Diamonds and Denim to raise funds and preview their upcoming season. This year, social distancing guidelines didn’t allow for an event quite so glamorous, so Riverside took their 2020 fundraiser virtual, rebranding it the Sweatpants and Slippers Gala. “There’s a lot of nostalgia about this […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Wine, dine and donate: Brix contributes more than $13,000 to fellow downtown businesses and arts organizations
When Nick Craig, owner of Brix Cheese Shop and Wine Bar in Iowa City’s Northside Neighborhood, was making plans for his girlfriend’s April 19 birthday, he knew the couple couldn’t celebrate the way they would under normal circumstances. He and Lacy Laughton would usually mark the occasion by going to a performance or eating at […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Local artist and political cartoonist John Martinek is sending his mind traveling during quarantine
While practicing social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis, John Martinek, a local painter, printmaker and drawer (as well as a political cartoonist for Little Village magazine), is turning his artistic gaze from the stresses of the present to his own past experiences. Martinek took his first trip abroad in 1994 when he went to Africa […]
Posted inCommunity/News
High school seniors long for a ‘feeling of closure’ while awaiting graduation ceremony decision
High schoolers in the Iowa City Community School District spend four years in a variety of different clubs and classes, but in May of their senior year, they all expect to walk across the stage and receive their diploma at Carver Hawkeye Arena. That is, until this year. As seniors finish the last weeks of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Sheltering at their parents’ house in Iowa City, the Bassuk sisters are expanding their eclectic jewelry brand — and giving back
From paprika and dog treats to glitter and obscenities, there is almost no limit to what Leela and Maya Bassuk will put into resin. Over Winter Break, the two sisters — both Iowa City West High grads — bought some epoxy resin and started playing around with it, inspired by artsy resin videos on Instagram. […]
