The Des Moines Symphony offered classical music enthusiasts an ideal date night on Valentine’s weekend with Love–Romeo & Juliet, the aptly titled fourth installment of their Masterworks Series. The baton was wielded by guest conductor, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, who led a nuanced program of European masterpieces. Harth-Bedoya’s rapport with the ensemble was remarkable considering this is […]
Des Moines events
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Iowa Stage Theatre Company, no stranger to ‘A Christmas Carol,’ incorporates songs, humor and a message from the Present
A Christmas Carol is a familiar tale. Familiar not just to the average English speaker, it is a tale that should be especially familiar to audiences of the Iowa Stage Theater Company (ISTC). Over the years, ISTC has made an annual production of A Christmas Carol a tradition, often repeating actors and crew year to […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: The Des Moines Playhouse serves ‘Waitress’ with the right mix of sweet and savory
Waitress at the Des Moines Playhouse tells you exactly what’s inside the show in its first 15 seconds: “Sugar … Butter … Flour.” A delicious pie will typically have the same base ingredients as a so-so slice — the difference comes down to additions, assembly and the aptitude of the chef. Similarly, Waitress, on paper, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: The Des Moines Symphony summoned a sense of patriotism, despite artillery and a presidential visit clouding the air
I love pop music. I love symphonic music. If those passions haven’t already revoked any of my pseudo-punk-rock cred let me offer one more confession: I love patriotic music. Little Village asked me to do this and I was excited. This would be my first time…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mainframe Studios becomes a free, interactive art museum on First Fridays, drawing thousands of Des Moines art lovers
On the first Friday of every month, something incredible happens at 900 Keosauqua Way. Creativity spills from every floor of Des Moines’ Mainframe Studios, transforming the city’s largest artist hub into a vibrant, open-door celebration of local art, music and community spirit. Inside, over 180 artists open their studios to the public, revealing an ecosystem of expression.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: There are no men in the Playhouse’s ‘Men on Boats,’ a charming sendup of manifest destiny
Before attending Men on Boats at the Des Moines Playhouse’s newly renovated black box Studio Theatre this past weekend, I recalled another production of the play I had seen six years ago. I didn’t remember much about the prior viewing, except that I had cried at the end.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Eat food from 25 countries at the Des Moines World Food & Music Festival this month
Des Moines World Food & Music Festival is coming early this year, as the 2023 celebration moves from its usual September spot to an August appointment. The festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. with a naturalization ceremony — during which 100 individuals will gain U.S. citizenship — and from there offers more […]
Posted inCentral Iowa, Central Iowa Food & Drink, Food & Drink
Photo Gallery: Iowa’s only spring beer festival, Salvator Fest, celebrates centuries of good suds
A festival of beer, music, fun and more beer usually pairs with warm weather. But sunshine or not, beer fest season actually starts in spring with the Salvator Festival, honoring the first strong beer brewed by the monks of Neudeck ob der Au Monastery in 1516. The Paulaner Salvator masterpiece the Salvator Double Bock, the […]
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Exchange students from Ukraine, Romania partner with Raygun to support women artists
Ana-Maria Petcu wants there to be more women in art. But first, she wants the women who are already in art to receive the recognition they deserve. At the Raygun store in Des Moines on March 25, Petcu — a 12th grade foreign exchange student at Valley High School in West Des Moines who is […]
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Ballet Des Moines earned their right to perform a Balanchine classic, debuting Friday: ‘It is really just a badge of honor’
Ballet Des Moines will bring elements of classical and contemporary dance to Iowa with its performance of Balanchine+ this Friday and Saturday at Hoyt Sherman Place. The piece’s title refers to George Balanchine, co-founder and founding choreographer of New York City Ballet. The company will perform Balanchine’s Who Cares?, a beautiful jazz-tinged dance unbound by […]
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Contact Buzz: Create your heart out across Central Iowa
Few countries have monetized making an annual expression of love more than America. Thankfully, true love does not place the almighty dollar as the main ingredient for its most alluring recipe. The arts offer a myriad of avenues to explore variant facets of love. Just as the beauty of nature is always around us, if […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Sherman Hill’s neighborhood-wide Halloween celebration will rise from the grave on Oct. 31
The oldest neighborhood in Des Moines is back with their beloved Halloween tradition after a two-year hiatus. Halloween on the Hill returns to the Sherman Hill neighborhood on Oct. 31, larger than ever. “The event has really started as just some couple [of] Halloween nuts, or we’ll say Halloween enthusiasts, like myself, that were decorating […]
