Film director (and former University of Iowa professor) Sasha Waters first recalls being struck by the work of Mary Oliver as a new parent, listening to A Prairie Home Companion in her Iowa City kitchen. Years later, PBS would ask her to make a documentary about the late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet for the American Masters […]
Iowa City events
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Painter Marcia Wegman’s final exhibition includes nods to Things & Things & Things, her beloved bygone Iowa City store
Marcia Wegman has been in the Iowa City zeitgeist since arriving here in 1957 to study printmaking with Mauricio Lasansky at the University of Iowa. Now at the age of 90, Marcia is presenting what she is calling her final show, one that also serves as an homage to her time running a beloved retail store in the heart […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Photos: Pokey’s Fest 4 had the longhairs and baldies head-banging in Iowa City
The fourth, expanded iteration of hardcore and punk festival Pokey’s Fest commanded three venues over three stormy nights in Iowa City, and saw the debut of a slick new band. There were last-minute revisions to the lineup and day-of venue changes thanks to uncooperative weather, but would it really be Pokey’s Fest if there weren’t […]
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Review: ‘Natchez’ shows romanticized history, while sometimes comforting, is far creepier than the truth
When the trailer for the Best Documentary Feature winner at the Tribeca Film Festival, Natchez, first played at FilmScene, my initial, curious response was eclipsed by my partners’ who said, “I’ve been there. We had a family reunion there.” Even before watching the film, its themes of history and tourism were placed firmly on our lap, already haunting the theater. How far away was the past, really?
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An Iowa ukulele player interviews a Hawaiian ukulele god ahead of their show at the Englert
Jake Shimabukuro is a world-renowned ukulele virtuoso whose career spans decades. His playing also became the source of one of YouTube’s earliest viral videos. A user uploaded a vid of Shimabukuro covering “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in April 23, 2006, a literal year [to the day] after the platforms first uploaded video.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Playwright Emily Bohannon on trusting Riverside Theatre with ‘The Fiancé,’ inspired by her broken engagement
After more than a decade, Emily Bohannon, a graduate of the Juilliard Playwrights Program, finally got to see her play, The Fiancé, produced for the first time in Iowa City’s Riverside Theatre. The world premiere capped Riverside’s 2025-2026 season with a run of performances led by two of the theaters founders, Jody Hovland and Ron Clark. LV sat down with the playwright and screenwriter “dedicated to finding the deep humanity in complicated people.”
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A project led by two Iowa City filmmakers, 13 years in the making, is welcome in both art galleries and film fests
Experimentation and chance are at the heart of Homegrown Stories, a 13-year online collaborative media project founded by local photographer and video artist Sandy Dyas and filmmaker LeAnn Erickson.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Beyond Fashion Festival returns this weekend to turn downtown IC spaces into runways and boutiques
Building off of their very first fest in 2025, the Wright House of Fashion returns to the streets of downtown Iowa City this weekend for the second Beyond Fashion Festival. The festivities kick off with an alleyway fashion show behind Studio 13 on Friday at 6 p.m. The streetwear fashion show will see a mix […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Using her gift of gab for good, Tiara Phillips hosts random social opportunities for Iowa City locals through Bitchin’ Events
Tiara Phillips invited the public to her 30th birthday party on Monday, April 20: a ’90s themed party at the Iowa City Big Grove. Instead of bringing her gifts, she requested attendees bring items such as cake mix, frosting, gift bags and blank birthday cards so she can build birthday kits to donate to the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with FilmScene’s Ben Delgado on the new Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival
My favorite interaction regarding FilmScene’s upcoming Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival is on an Instagram post promoting the snacks available during the fest. The post sports a cross-section of Latin American snacks found in a tienda near you; Ricolino Duvalín’s, Gansito cakes, Chupa Chups and more.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Three generations of women lead with heart and humor in ‘The Fiancé’ at Riverside Theatre
On the opening night — and the world premiere — of The Fiancé at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, among the first things I noted was how the playwright, Emily Bohannon, describes her body of work…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Milwaukee’s Maximiano will share a new album with Iowa City featuring nature sounds, blunt lyrics and a song called ‘Puppers’
Milwaukee-based musician Maximiano is preparing for their Iowa debut on April 18, bringing a deeply personal and close-listening performance to the stage at The Black Angel.
