Ballet Des Moines opened their 2025-2026 season this past weekend with Forward, an evening of new and returning performances at Hoyt Sherman Place. The company aims to make dance more inclusive and accessible this season through a diverse repertoire and community initiatives, including a podcast, sensory friendly matinees, audio transcriptions and adaptive dance classes. The […]
Central Iowa
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines’ new indie bookstores want to help Latino, LGBTQ readers ‘see themselves on the shelf’
Like a book, an independent bookstore can be a spiritual oasis in a chaotic world. It probably says something about our world, then, that three indie bookstores sprouted up in central Iowa over the past 18 months. From pushing back against book bans and COVID-era malaise to capitalizing on online reading trends, Shelf Love DSM, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
As filmmakers compete this festival season, DSMUFF offers a DIY, low-pressure alternative
It is far too cliché to begin this story with the same overdone explanation that cool arts stuff does, in fact, occur in the Midwest. So I won’t start there. But I will rant about the thrill of discovering something underground, especially when it’s in a place you least expect it. It feels special, uncovering […]
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Daisy Chain Coffee in the East Village boasts delicious drinks and curious decor
I don’t normally write reviews at the place I’m reviewing, but I’m glad I decided to write in Daisy Chain Coffee today. Owner Daniel Bosman greets customers as they pop in, showing them his new coffee grinder. The fig tree behind me rustles as a breeze comes through the open door, and I hear the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lene Lovich is launching her new U.S. tour with an intimate Iowa show
Avant-pop icon Lene Lovich hasn’t mounted a major U.S. tour since 1989, but that will change this September when she opens for the B-52s and Devo on their 11-date run of amphitheaters. Those concerts will be interspersed with several of her own headlining club gigs, and Lovich’s triumphant return to the States will kick off […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Wake Up Iowa Coffee turns their spare room into Des Moines’ newest art gallery
Odds are that any coffee-bearing establishment you wander into will have art on its walls. There’s an equal chance that those artworks, hung above half-and-half stations and study spaces, are the creations of a local or small artist. So it’s no surprise that Wake Up Iowa Coffee at 3605 Douglas Ave in Des Moines would […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Waitress,’ ‘Witch’ and ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ rack up honors at the Cloris Awards in Des Moines
Creepy, bubbly, romantic, epic — the past year of Des Moines theater productions offered something for every mood. On Sunday, some of the actors, behind-the-scenes crew and theater companies that brought these shows to life were honored with glass plaques at the 2025 Cloris Awards ceremony. Hoyt Sherman Place hosted the 10th annual local theater […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
The 10th annual Cloris Awards will bring together Des Moines’ theater pros and fans on Sunday
The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards, a celebration that brings together Des Moines’ theater professionals, reflects its namesake. Leachman was a dynamic, versatile performer whose work spanned nearly eight decades and every acting medium. From dramatic roles (including Ruth Popper in The Last Picture Show, which earned her an Academy Award) to her […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘We clearly have a problem’: Des Moines Water Works opposes EPA decision to rescind impaired water designations
Officials from Des Moines Water Works said Thursday a decision from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pertaining to water quality did “not align” with the “operational and financial” challenges the utility has faced in providing safe drinking water to Iowans. EPA previously designated seven river segments, including two connected to Des Moines’ source waters, as […]
Posted inCommunity/News
These bike-riding burrito slingers are some of Des Moines’ most trusted aid workers
They’re affectionately called “the burrito people.” Or sometimes “the burrito slingers.” They’re easily recognizable by their bright yellow bicycle jerseys, T-shirts and welcoming smiles. Every Thursday evening, you can find them in the basement of the Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in the Des Moines East Village neighborhood. They’re volunteers for the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘The Hinterland vibes are back’: Iowa’s biggest music fest returned with a vengeance for 10th year
This August, as festivalgoers streamed into the new grounds of Hinterland Music Festival, the question wasn’t just whether the music would be good, it was whether organizers could recapture the magic that made Hinterland among the biggest and best music festivals in the Midwest over the past decade.
Posted inFood & Drink
Excellent tacos from a ‘bad’ place, 30-inch pizzas and other food to wolf down in Ames and Des Moines
For the 2025 Bread & Butter dining guide, Little Village food reviewers visited and reviewed 10 locally owned central Iowa eateries. DES MOINES Clyde’s Fine Diner 111 E Grand Ave Suite 111, Des Moines, 515-243-3686 Clyde’s is one of my staples and legitimately one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. Truly putting the […]
