THE WEEKENDER
Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium
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Music! Comedy! Theater! A freakin’ circus! The sky’s the limit in greater DSM this weekend, whether your teen angst bullshit has a body count or you’re looking to learn more about the use of black bodies in classical art. Top pick? Snuggle in your couch and catch the virtual opening of the new exhibit at Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design. “Terrain” features Jimmy Navarro from Des Moines, Iowa; Karin Olah from Charleston, South Carolina; Rachel English from Dallas, Texas; & Shelby Monteverde from Memphis, Tennessee. Beauty is everywhere; even in your own computer!
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Racoon River Park
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
Jul 21 – 11:00am
Learn to Juggle, Walk a Wire, Clown Around, Ride a Unicycle, March on Stilts, Build a Human Pyramid
More info >>
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Des Moines Art Center
American Apollo
Jul 21 – 2:00pm
American Apollo is a new opera based on a story forged at the crossroad of celebrity, class, race, and power in America, giving voice to a pivotal figure in American art.
More info >>
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Grays Lake
UPCYCLE
Jul 21 – 5:30pm
Help us improve our water quality, diversify our woodlands, and UPCYCLE our invasives into food and fun for Blank Park Zoo’s birds, reptiles, primates, and mammals.
More info >>
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xBk Live
Mo Lowda & the Humble
Jul 21 – 6:00pm
Mo Lowda and the Humble at xBk Live
More info >>
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Jasper Winery
Brazilian 2wins
Jul 21 – 6:00pm
Brazilian 2wins perform at Jasper Winery.
More info >>
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Des Moines Botanical Garden
Music in the Garden
Jul 21 – 6:30pm
Don’t miss Music in the Garden, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden summer concert series presented by EMC Insurance Companies. Concerts will be held live and in person in the outdoor Koehn Garden
More info >>
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Des Moines Community Playhouse
Matilda the Musical
Jul 21 – 7:30pm
Magical. Mischievous. Miraculous. From the nonsensical mind of Roald Dahl comes this timeless tale of young Matilda Wormwood.
More info >>
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Online
Virtual Opening: Terrain
Jul 22 – 10:00am
Liz Lidgett Gallery and Design announces their next art exhibit with a virtual opening. The show titled ‘Terrain’ can be viewed online on Friday, July 22nd.
More info >>
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Union Park
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
Jul 22 – 11:00am
Learn to Juggle, Walk a Wire, Clown Around, Ride a Unicycle, March on Stilts, Build a Human Pyramid
More info >>
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Wooly’s
Girls Rock! Des Moines Summer Showcase
Jul 22 – 6:00pm
Girls Rock! Des Moines Summer Showcase at Wooly’s
More info >>
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Teehee’s Comedy Club
Max Walter | Stand-Up Comedy
Jul 22 – 7:00pm
Max Walter, a Chicago-based comedian, performs at Teehee’s
More info >>
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Des Moines Civic Center
Heathers the Musical
Jul 22 – 7:30pm
“Ingenious, naughty and very funny.” – New York Post
“A rowdy guilty pleasure.” – The New York Times
“Cue the corn nuts — and much-deserved applause. HOW VERY.” – NY Daily News
More info >>
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Des Moines Civic Center
An Evening with Vince Gill
Jul 22 – 8:00pm
One of the most popular artists in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing and warm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit.
More info >>
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xBk Live
Live, Local, and Loud! Featuring Lani
Jul 22 – 8:00pm
In the house or online, it’s back and it’s free! Join us for the latinx-pop stylings of Lani at the next Live, Local, and Loud!
More info >>
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Platform
Astronoize
Jul 22 – 9:00pm
IowaTechno Quarterly: Astronoize at Platform DSM
More info >>
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Gas Lamp Des Moines
The Wilder Blue
Jul 22 – 9:30pm
The Wilder Blue is a well crafted selection of Texas musicians and songwriters, led by songsmith Zane Williams.
More info >>
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The Venue
Catalyst! 2022 A LQBTQIA+ Art Exhibition
Jul 23 – 5:00pm
Thirteen local LQBTQIA+ artists showcase their work in the first Catalyst! 2022.
More info >>
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Teehee’s Comedy Club
Never Before Scene
Jul 23 – 7:00pm
Never Before Scene at Teehee’s Comedy Club. Comedy made up on the spot, based on audience suggestions, never the same show twice.
More info >>
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xBk Live
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
Jul 23 – 7:00pm
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die at xBk
More info >>
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Blank Performing Arts
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Jul 23 – 7:30pm
Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream presented by the DSM Opera.
More info >>
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Roosevelt Park
Yoga in Roosevelt Park
Jul 24 – 11:00am
Join us in community and revitalize your mind, body, & spirit.
More info >>
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xBk Live
Daniel Champagne
Jul 24 – 6:00pm
Australian singer, songwriter and one-of-a-kind guitar virtuoso
More info >>
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Heritage Carousel
National Carousel Day Celebration
Jul 25 – 4:00pm
Free Carousel Rides, Gourmet Cotton Candy, popcorn, and more!
More info >>
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Teehee’s Comedy Club
Eddie Pepitone
Jul 25 – 7:00pm
Eddie Pepitone: Stand-Up Comedy
More info >>
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‘The Machine Stops’ blends opera, sci-fi and rock to showcase Iowa talent, explore a tech dystopia
by Laura Johnson, Jul 13
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. |
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Five questions with West Des Moines’ Samantha Daily, two-time ‘MasterChef’ competitor
by Courtney Guein, Jul 15
A West Des Moines cooking enthusiast with a penchant for comfort food has found her way onto the summer’s top-rated food show, featuring award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, chef Aaron Sanchez and renowned restaurant owner Joe Bastianich — for the second time.
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Book Review: ‘Endlessly Ever After’ by Laurel Snyder, ill. by Dan Santat
by Genevieve Trainor, Jul 15
Poet Laurel Snyder, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum, is a Geisel Award-winning children’s book author. Endlessly Ever After is her first collaboration with Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Dan Santat (beloved in my home for his work on Corey Rosen Schwartz’s The Three Ninja Pigs). It is not, however, her first pick-your-path book.
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Book Review: ‘A Playbill For Sunset’ by Dan Campion
by Sarah Elgatian, Jul 15
Formulaic poetry seems to be simultaneously under- and overrated, something force-fed us by teachers and then never seen again — as though only the archaic men of our textbooks were allowed to use the respective forms. Truthfully, formulaic poems have never actually left the literary milieu.
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