THE WEEKENDER
Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium
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We all know it’s RAGBRAI season this weekend. The scent of chain oil on the air, the coworkers and friends you’re losing for a week — it’s everywhere. If you’re sticking around town this weekend, there’s a ton to do to soothe your potential FOMO. For example, Run of the Mill Theatre’s Chrimmus in July variety show! Stay merry even as the mercury’s climbing. For Iowa City locals, there’s also an opportunity for a face-to-face with Mandi Remington as she launches her campaign for City Council. Top pick: Celebrate the other craze sweeping the socials with a Barbie-themed drag show at NewBo City Market this Sunday! Drag queens and kings will be performing at their most dolled-up in a show you won’t want to miss (and if you’re watching Barbie anyway, support local theaters and grab a ticket at Filmscene!)
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The Weekender is sponsored by:
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National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
Brilliant Bohemian Garnets
Jun 17 – Jan 14 – 9:30am
Brilliant Bohemian Garnets is a one-of-a-kind exhibition of nearly 200 priceless antique and modern garnets from the National Museum in Prague.
More info >>
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Hotel Chauncey
Barista Throwdown
Jul 20 – 6:00pm
Join us at fix! Coffee (Chauncey Hotel, second floor) for our first official throwdown!
More info >>
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Wildwood BBQ & Saloon
Tim Montana
Jul 20 – 7:00pm
First Fleet Concerts Presents: Tim Montana
More info >>
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Theatre Cedar Rapids
Rock of Ages
Jul 20 – 7:30pm
Book by Chris D’Arienzo
More info >>
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The ArtiFactory
Chrimmus in July
Jul 21 – 7:00pm
It’s that time of year again! RoM’s Variety show is just around the corner! This year’s theme is Chrimmus in July!
More info >>
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FilmScene—Chauncey
Barbie at FilmScene
Jul 21 – 7:00pm
After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie sets off for the human world to find true happiness.
More info >>
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Giving Tree Theater
The Lightning Thief
Jul 21 – 7:30pm
As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly-discovered powers he can’t control, a destiny he doesn’t want, and a mythology textbook’s worth of monsters on his trail.
More info >>
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The James Theater
The Wilder Blue with Bri Bagwell
Jul 21 – 8:00pm
Sharp storytelling. Gripping and gorgeous five-part harmonies. Arrangements that can swing between fun, engaging, and lively one moment and stirring, booming, and chill-inducing the next
More info >>
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The Lucky Cat Comedy & Events
Comedy: Prelims – Funniest Person in Iowa 2023
Jul 21 – 8:00pm
The Funniest Person in Iowa Contest is BACK this July! Watch the best comics in Iowa compete for the title of Funniest Person in Iowa.
More info >>
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Turkey Creek
Crayfish Crawl at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
Jul 22 – 10:00am
More info >>
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Riverside Casino & Golf Resort
Snowbird Street Band
Jul 22 – Jul 23 – 6:00pm
The Snowbird Street Band is a project created by Cody Dawkins and Betsy Brink to support their adventures across the warmer parts of the U.S., picking and grinning along the way.
More info >>
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Wildwood BBQ & Saloon
TRIXTER at Wildwood
Jul 22 – 7:00pm
TRIXTER
w/ Skarlett Roxx & My Juliet
More info >>
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Riverside Theatre
Everybody
Jul 22 – 7:30pm
Riverside invites you to their final production of the 22/23 season, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins hilarious and moving adaptation, Everybody!
More info >>
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CSPS
The Soft and Low & Crystal City
Jul 22 – 8:00pm
Neither all that soft nor low, The Soft and Low plays music from the heart. Jeffrey C. Capps and Tara McGovern formed their partnership with a desire to focus their full energy on original songs.
More info >>
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NewBo City Market
Life in Plastic, It’s Fantastic! Drag Show
Jul 23 – 11:00am
Get your pink on! Join local king and queens at NewBo City Market! The talented Lexi Belle, Hollywood Hope, Jackie Frost, Hazel Sanchez-Belle, and Chey Boi will be performing.
More info >>
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The Green House
Mandi’s Campaign Launch Event for Iowa City Council
Jul 23 – 1:00pm
Enjoy an afternoon with Mandi, learn more about her campaign, and tell her what your biggest concerns and hopes for our community are.
More info >>
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Craft’d
What’cha Reading Book Club
Jul 23 – 1:00pm
Join us for our What’cha Reading Book Club. This book club just encourages you to read and then come share what you’ve read recently.
More info >>
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As ‘Oppenheimer’ drops, local cinemas focus in on nuclear films, Iowa’s atomic history
by Emma McClatchey, Jul 18
With the highly anticipated premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer on the summer calendar, FilmScene staffer Lee Sailor decided to curate a Nuclear Movies series over a few weeks in July. The Iowa City cinema’s series typically last longer, but “we were slightly concerned about how many people would want to go see the world end for four weeks in a row,” Sailor explained.
“And I eventually came to the conclusion, partly from watching Threads, that spending too much time thinking about nuclear war was a good way to go crazy.”
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Essay: RAGBRAI’s one-note music lineup is an insult to riders
by Kent Williams, Jul 19
This is the 50th anniversary of the RAGBRAI, the yearly summer bike ride from the Missouri to the Mississippi. I remember the first one happened when I was in high school. Between being a fan of Donald Kaul and John Karras’ writing in the Des Moines Register and hanging out at the local hippie bike shop, RAGBRAI seemed revolutionary at the time. Bicycle touring events were rare, and unheard of in the Midwest. It was a crazy idea that became sane because people showed up. Kaul and Karras built it, and they came. Fifty years of an event like this is worth celebrating, but Kaul and Karras are gone, and RAGBRAI has lost some of its edge. RAGBRAI’s staff resignations in 2019 and the Des Moines Register’s awkward reaction to it tarnished its reputation. |
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