In 2019, the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art was celebrating its 50th anniversary. It also had been nearly 11 years without a home. The floods of 2008, which wreaked havoc across Iowa, hit Cedar Rapids and Iowa City the hardest. The Cedar and Iowa Rivers crested at 31.12 ft and 31.5 ft, respectively, […]
Eastern Iowa Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Just Announced: LV and the Englert present a new Witching Hour series
Little Village is thrilled to announce this year’s Witching Hour Series, a joint presentation with the Englert. In past years, Witching Hour has been a weekend festival. For 2022, individual events spanning from late September to the end of October will all bear the Witching Hour name. They will remain focused on the ongoing Witching […]
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‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ sees Willow Creek Theatre Company bask in genderfuckery
I write this review of Willow Creek Theatre Company’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, text; Stephen Trask, music and lyrics) with the music of Tomato Boy playing in the background on Bandcamp. There’s not much available; a few singles, a collection of three titled birthday demos. The earliest was added […]
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‘The Machine Stops’ blends opera, sci-fi and rock to showcase Iowa talent, explore a tech dystopia
Not everyone sits at home dreaming of attending an opera. But it might just be time to start. The Machine Opera Company is bringing an exciting new modern opera to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. The Machine Stops will be staged for just two performances later this month. Librettist Cecile Goding has always […]
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‘Make art. Shoot a video. Play in a band.’ Gen X rockers reunite in Iowa City to encourage the next generation
“At the Old Threshers Reunion this summer, you’re going to come across some old pumps, tractors and hay balers, and there’ll be too-cute nanny goats and freckled girls in pigtails,” said musician David Murray, summing up the annual festival in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa that celebrates the state’s agricultural heritage. “If you go to the Old […]
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Jugglers of the world gather in Cedar Rapids for 75th international juggling festival
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Blues & BBQ returns to North Liberty this weekend
After two years of COVID cancellations, Blues & BBQ returns to North Liberty this Saturday. The 13-hour festival kicks off in Centennial Park (1565 St. Andrews Dr) at 10 a.m., with more than a dozen stands offering not only barbecue but sweet treats such as ice cream and shaved ice to help people stay cool […]
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What to see (for free!) at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art this summer
Summer heat got you down? Consider cooling off with A/C and art. Starting Friday, July 1 and continuing through Sept. 4, entry to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art will be free to all for the 13th year in a row. This summer the museum’s curator Kate Kunau has put together a “fun, vibrant collection […]
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Street closures and bus route changes for Iowa City Jazz Fest start on Friday
The music starts at 5 p.m. on Friday for the Summer of the Arts Jazz Festival in Iowa City, as the Mike Conrad Trio takes the Weatherdance Stage on the Ped Mall, but downtown street closures for the festival start even earlier. City crews will close Iowa Avenue from Dubuque Street to S Clinton Street, […]
Posted inWeekender
THIS WEEKEND: IC Pride, Juneteenth, Buddy Guy, Benz Beer Fest
READ THE LATEST | SUPPORT LITTLE VILLAGE | SHOP PERKS THE WEEKENDER Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium June celebrations converge in Eastern Iowa this weekend, as Iowa City Pride takes over downtown along with a scattering of other Pride events, and Juneteenth festivities fill both ends of the CRANDIC. Sprinkled in between are some not-to-be-missed […]
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Lilacs and grieving form the central focus of MusicIC’s 2022 events
Ed Folsom first heard Walt Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” in 1963 on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Folsom, now the Roy J. Carver Professor of English at the University of Iowa and editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, was in 11th grade at the time. He recounted […]
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Iowa City Pride’s June celebration returns
Iowa City Pride’s 2022 celebration returns to Pride Month this weekend after two years of cancellations and delays. Festivities officially kicked off yesterday with the organization’s bar crawl and events will continue leading up to the all-day festival on Saturday. This year will mark the 51st Iowa City Pride Festival. On Wednesday evening, drop by […]
