THE WEEKENDER
Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium
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It’s not summer yet, but it’s in the air! Summer of the Arts kicks things off with the Iowa Arts Festival this weekend, offering a multitude of musical acts, visual arts booths and food vendors galore. You can also catch the second weekend of the Iowa Renaissance Festival, stock up on summer reads at the Friends of the Cedar Rapids Public Library book sale, walk around downtown Iowa City for the 25th Gallery Walk, and much more. Top pick for the weekend? You won’t want to miss the screenings, installations and performances of Public Space One’s Open Air Media Festival.
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The Weekender is sponsored by:
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Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic
Celebrate 50+ Years of the Iowa City Free Clinic!
Jun 1 – 5:30pm
Please join us at the Clinic to thank Barbara Vinograde for her 30+ years of service and learn about how we’re growing.
More info >>
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Mad Modern
1st Thursday at Mad Modern
Jun 1 – 6:30pm
Akwi will be providing a sneak peek to her project, cor·re·spond·ence, which culminates at the end of June and is funded in part by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
More info >>
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FilmScene—Chauncey
Doing Gender: WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR
Jun 1 – 7:00pm
Presented in partnership with Iowa City Pride and the University of Iowa, as part of Doing Gender: Trans Perspectives on Film
More info >>
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Downtown Iowa City
2023 Summer Gallery Walk
Jun 2 – 5:00pm
For over 20 years, this event has taken over downtown and filled your favorite businesses with wonderful works of art. Make a day of it!
More info >>
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Prairie Lights Books & Cafe
Jane Wong in conversation with Kaveh Akbar
Jun 2 – 7:00pm
Writers’ Workshop alum Jane Wong will read from her new memoir, ‘Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City.’ Wong will be joined in conversation by poet Kaveh Akbar.
More info >>
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CSPS
Honk!
Jun 2 – 7:30pm
Honk! is an Olivier award winning musical tells the story of Ugly, who looks quite a bit different from his darling duckling brothers and sisters.
More info >>
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Iowa Arts Fest Main Stage
Diplomats of Solid Sound
Jun 2 – 8:00pm
Diplomats of Solid Sound is an American band and song writing powerhouse. Their sound blends Americana, soul, funk, and blues.
More info >>
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Middle Amana Community Park
2023 Iowa Renaissance Festival
Jun 3 – Jun 4 –
The Iowa Renaissance Festival continues its 31st year with a second spring weekend
More info >>
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Cedar Rapids Public Library-Downtown
Friends Of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Farmers Market Sale
Jun 3 – 7:30am
Visit the Urban Plaza outside the Downtown Library to purchase new or gently used books in support of literacy programs during the Downtown Farmers Market.
More info >>
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The Green House
Summer Pop Up Market at the Green House!
Jun 3 – 10:00am
Check out locally made goods from area businesses founded by women
More info >>
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Paramount Theatre
SoundWave Dedication & Demonstration
Jun 3 – 12:00pm
Commissioned by Orchestra Iowa, and designed and created by local artists, SoundWave is an interactive sculpture that invites people of all ages and abilities to create music.
More info >>
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Iowa Arts Fest Main Stage
Natty Nation
Jun 3 – 6:00pm
For over 25 years, the Madison, Wisconsin-based group has purely and fearlessly followed its inner artistic continuum.
More info >>
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The Tuesday Agency
Luis Alberto Urrea
Jun 3 – 6:30pm
Prairie Lights presents Luis Albert Urrea at the Tuesday Agency, to discuss his new novel based on his mother’s service in WWII, ‘Good Night, Irene.’
More info >>
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The Ideal Social Hall
TREESREACH Farewell Show w/ Halfloves
Jun 3 – 8:00pm
BYOT (bring your own tissues) for the treesreach farewell show
More info >>
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The Weekender is sponsored by:
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Public Space One
Open Air Media Festival 2023
Jun 3 – 8:30pm
Open Air Media Festival is a free outdoor media arts program hosted at PS1 in Iowa City. Our annual festival invites the public to experience video, performance, installation, sound, and other media.
More info >>
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The James Theater
Jim Swim, Ahzia, + Alyx Rush
Jun 3 – 9:00pm
Jim Swim, Ahzia, + Alyx Rush; all ages; 9 p.m.
More info >>
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Iowa Arts Fest Main Stage
Charlotte Blu
Jun 4 – 11:00am
Charlotte Blu is a talented singer-songwriter who has been captivating audiences with her soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics.
More info >>
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Cedar Rapids Public Library-Downtown
Mike Anderson: Beauty of the Dulcimer
Jun 5 – 6:00pm
Musician and storyteller Mike Anderson will present an overview of the dulcimer, including histories, styles of playing, and a lot of old-time and modern music, in a show for adults and kids alike.
More info >>
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House of Large Sizes returns to the stage in Cedar Falls with swagger for first shows in 10 years
by Fred Love, Jun 1
CEDAR FALLS – It takes serious swagger to pull off the kind of rock and roll House of Large Sizes became known for over 35 years ago.
The intricate, machine-gun timing of the songs, the energetic delivery and the ear-splitting volume all rely on a certain confidence and attitude to pull off convincingly. At a pair of shows at Octopus College Hill in Cedar Falls on May 26 and 27, the local band’s first live performances since 2013, that characteristic swagger remained intact.
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Book Review: ‘The Behavior of Words’ by Efe Duyan, transl. Aron Aji
by Sarah Elgatian, May 31
In the translator’s note, Aron Aji — director of MFA in Literary Translation at the University of Iowa — gives some insights on his methodology and experience as both a reader and translator of Efe Duyan’s The Behavior of Words (White Pine Press, 2023). “Given the infamous incommensurability of English and Turkish grammars, the process often required forcing the natural Turkish syntax … on the English in order to foreground the physical direction of the verse and the gradual accretion of meaning.”
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