"Popular History Fest Moves to Better Days"

The 18th annual IOWA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL & Gathering o'Celts" will move to Memorial Day Weekend in order to bring more holiday fun to the region. It will also return to its attractive setting at Middle Amana Park.

"We're finally back to a three-day holiday weekend with our showcase history celebration and tribute to our cultural ancestry," announces producer Gregory Schmidt.

This year the popular multi-cultural event -- touted as 'Iowa's Best Family Fest' —  will run on May 23rd, 24th & 25th. (11am to 6pm)

New and returning classic acts will bring to life the five stages of entertainment and the large living history encampment fields. A wide variety of comedy stage and street performers will be seen, many of which are featured as headliners at the other large Renaissance fests in Minneapolis, Chicago and Kansas City. Plus, there will be a return of the traditional horseback jousting tournaments, the Highland Games demonstrations, the  Beer Garden & wine-tasting, and the military history exhibits. Various new comedy characters have been added to the cast that now consists of some 200 costumed performers and presenters.

The merchant's bazaar always brings in novel artisans and products that can only be found at a Renaissance faire. Two additional cuisine vendors have been added to the food court.

The children's realm will also have new surprises and games, along with it's favorite story-tellers and faerie greeters.

 Even with these enhancements the admission prices will remain the same. Adults are $10, kids 6 to 14 are $5, with tots free.  There's a two-day pass for $15, and a three-day pass for $18.  There are group rates available along with free parking for all. All ticketing will be done at the admission gate.

For further details on the IOWA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL go to www.iowarenfest.com or contact greg@festint.com  (641) 357-5177.




Iowa Pastel Society Spring Conference
The Iowa Pastel Society will host it second annual Iowa Pastel Society Conference on Saturday May 30, 2009 at the Fairfield Art Association Center in Fairfield, Iowa. Fairfield is a community with a celebrated environment for the arts. The conference will include an annual meeting, a demonstration by pastel artist Mary Muller of Des Moines along with an exhibit and critique of all participants’ pastel art work. This year the IPS will also present awards for those members who wish to enter the Judges’ Showcase.

For additional information contact Larry Ertz at his e-mail, lertz@netins.net or Gordon Kellenberger, 319 622-3562 or e-mail whaus@southslope.net




Madeline Maser Photography
Dick & Marty Wikert Art Walkway
May 26 to June 27, 2009
Opening Reception: Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 6:00pm-7:00pm

The Pearson Lakes Art Center will display self-portrait photography by Madeline Maser in the Dick and Marty Wikert Art Walkway from May 26 to June 27, 2009. An Opening Reception will be held on Tuesday, May 26, from 6-7pm.

Madeline Maser grew up in Le Mars, Iowa. After graduating from High School, she went to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied drawing, photography, and performance. Madeline received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in May of 2008 and has been living in Chicago ever since. Lately, Madeline has been focusing most of her energy on improv and sketch comedy. She studied at Second City in the Beginning and Conservatory levels and just finished all the levels of classes at IO (Improv Olympic). She has also performed in Chicago Sketchfest for the past two years in which she both acted and wrote for. Madeline now lives in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and is currently still pursing improv, acting, photography and illustration and is loving every minute of it!

This exhibit will feature Madeline’s self-portrait photography. The main piece in the exhibit will be her two largest prints, roughly 3' x 4' in size. They're self portraits but very eerie and intense and they're Madeline as a transformed version of herself. Madeline feels the people in her photographs are more characters she wanted to create than they are her representing herself. The rest of the photos will be some more "character" photos as well as some images of strange, empty spaces that she feels ties in with the idea of caricaturizing the intensity and darkness of real life through capturing images that seem too eerie and off-kilter to be believable. Most of Madeline’s work has to do with using regular people and places and photographing them in a way that turns them into more than just a reproduction of what they really are, and trying to skew them enough in her own dark sense to make them become odd and disturbing.




Grinnell College Symphonic Concert Band
Mark Dorr will conduct the Grinnell College Symphonic Concert Band on Sunday, May 17, at 8:00 p.m. in Roberts Theater, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts at Grinnell College. This performance is part of Commencement Weekend activities at Grinnell College. This concert will feature senior ensemble member Tyson Stock as trombone soloist during the Concerto for Trombone and Military Band by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The program will also include Pas Redoublé by Camille Saint-Saëns, Claude Smith's Emperata Overture, Shenandoah's Simple Gifts by Larry Clark, The Marriage of Figaro by W.A. Mozart, and Henry Fillmore's rousing circus screamer Rolling Thunder.

Admission to the performance is free. No tickets are required. Call (641) 269-4567 or e-mail dorr@grinnell.edu for more information.




Bell Tower Theater Announces the Comedy The Hand That Cradles the Rock
The Bell Tower Theater, your hometown theater, is pleased to announce the Dubuque premiere of the comedy, The Hand That Cradles the Rock written by Warren Graves and directed by Bell Tower Theater Artistic Director Sue Riedel.

Summer heats up with this hilarious comedy. Just a few short days after Alex’s daughter is born, she is offered the job opportunity of a lifetime. No problem, her husband Ross can stay home and take care of the new baby. The demanding tasks of working Moms and the insecurity of stay-at-home Dads have never been funnier.

The production stars Bell Tower veterans David Jackman, Patti Giegerich and Ken Snodgrass and new comers to the Bell Tower Theater stage Chrissy Hogue and Molli Finn.

The Bell Tower Theater is conveniently located in Fountain Park at 2728 Asbury Road in the city’s vibrant West End just minutes from both Highway 20 and the Northwest Arterial. Performances are Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm, and Sunday afternoons at 3 pm from June 11 to 27, 2009. (There is no performance on Father’s Day, June 21.) June 12 and 13 are the Early Bird Special performances, tickets are just $8.50. Tickets for all other performances are $17. Thursdays are Girls’ Night Out; all audience members get a free glass of wine. For information and to purchase tickets call 563-588-3377 or visit us online at www.belltowertheater.net.

Cast photos are available on request. Sue Riedel and all members of the cast are available for interviews if you contact the Bell Tower. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Miki Robinson at 563-588-3377 or mrobinson@belltowertheater.net.





Brucemore in Bloom
Tour the blossoming gardens and lush terrain during the specialty tour Brucemore in Bloom, Saturdays, June 9 and 11 at 6:00pm and June 13 at 9:30 a.m. The Brucemore garden staff will trace the development of the formal garden and grounds from the original plan conceived by O.C. Simonds, a prominent Prairie style landscape architect.

During the 90-minute tour learn about the integration of function, recreation, and entertainment, which were important elements of Mrs. Douglas’ vision for the country estate. View current plants and landscape techniques that help maintain the historically accurate design created by O.C. Simonds.

Admission is $10 per person and $7 per Brucemore member. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (319) 362-7375 or online at www.brucemore.org. Space is limited.

Brucemore is located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403.




Partners in Crime opens Old Creamery’s Studio Series at the Ox Yoke Inn
The Old Creamery Theatre Company opens its 2009 Studio Series at the Ox Yoke Inn on May 14 with Partners in Crime; two one-act plays by and about Midwestern women. The Totally True Completely Fictional Story of the Mother of Jesse James, is an original work by Iowan playwright Cynthia Mercati. Trifles, written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell, is as fresh today as it was forward thinking then.

The cast includes Camille Mazurek, from New York, Jonesy McElroy from Los Angeles, and Iowan performers Rachel Lindhardt, Jason Grubbe and Howard Meadows. Old Creamery favorite, Marquetta Senters is making her directing debut with this presentation.

Partners in Crime runs through May 31 with show times at 3 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays and 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Because last year’s flooding damaged the Old Creamery’s Depot Stage, - the original home of The Old Creamery’s Studio Series - Partners in Crime will be performed at the Ox Yoke Inn, Amana. The show is rated Theatre PG.

Single ticket prices run $12.50 to $22.50. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Old Creamery box office at 1-800-35-AMANA, or by visiting www.oldcreamery.com. Partners in Crime is sponsored by the Ox Yoke Inn and 1600 ESPN.

The Old Creamery Theatre Company is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1971. The company is celebrating its 39th season of bringing live, professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest.




Viva Mexico: Event to Celebrate Mexican Folk Art
The Waterloo Center for the Arts is well known for its permanent collection of artwork, and one of its newer collections, Mexican Folk Art, has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last two years. The collection began in 2008 with a donation of over 300 Oaxacan carved animals from Janet Feldman. These brightly colored and carefully designed animals delighted children and adults alike during the premiere exhibition in McElroy Junior Art Gallery III during the grand opening of the Phelps Youth Pavilion in April 2008. This collection has become an important strategy in accomplishing the Center’s mission to build a stronger appreciation for the arts and provide cultural experiences for people of all ages throughout the Cedar Valley community. The Center is planning another exhibition in the next year that will feature new items purchased in the last two trips taken to Mexico.

To celebrate and showcase this unique and expanding Mexican Folk Art collection, the Waterloo Center for the Arts is hosting “Viva Mexico” on Saturday, May 9 from 11:00am to 4:00pm. This free event will feature Mexican Fiesta and Marketplace events, including artwork for sale that was recently acquired from a collection-buying trip to Mexico (such as jewelry, textiles, basketry and woven bags). Traditional Mexican crafts will be offered for all ages, samplings of traditional foods, and live music. Selected Folk Art recently acquired for the Center’s Mexican Folk Art collection will also be on exhibit throughout the event. And the Phelps Youth Pavilion will be open from 10:00am – 5:00pm with special $1 admission on Saturday only.




Oil Paintings by Jenny Braig on display at Iowa Artisans Gallery

A selection of thirteen landscape oil paintings by popular gallery artist Jenny Braig will be on display May 1 – June 14, 2009. A Dubuque native now living in Spearfish, South Dakota, Braig will be on hand for the June 5 downtown Iowa City Gallery Walk during the Iowa Arts Festival.

Jenny Braig writes, "I like putting roads and rivers in my landscapes because they serve the formal purpose of dividing the space and drawing you into a painting. Growing up on the Mississippi River gave me a romantic notion of traveling, kind of a Huckleberry Finn complex. Just seeing that river moving along constant, and changing, gave me a desire to move along too, so I took up traveling. I moved to the Black Hills in South Dakota, and spend a lot of my free time driving or hiking. Following foot paths up canyons, along creeks, to the tops of hills, driving through small towns on the plains, all with the desire to see what is around the next bend, and to keep moving.”

Braig was raised in Dubuque and educated at Loras College.

Iowa Artisans Gallery was established by artists in 1984 and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in October, 2009. The gallery features work by American artists and focuses on Midwestern artists wherever possible. Daily hours are Monday-Friday 10-6pm; Friday 10-7pm; Saturday 10-5:30 and Sunday 12-4. For more information, please contact the Gallery at 319-351-8686.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Gallery Walk, June 5, 5-8 pm at 18 locations in downtown Iowa City

June 19 - July 19: Fiber Invitational Exhibit (in conjunction with Midwest Weavers’ Conference: In the HEARTland, Jun 25-27, Grinnell, Iowa)

July 24 – August 23, 2009
Landscape References
Digital Paintings by Randy Richmond, Wood-turned Vessels by Robert Wallace

August 28- September 27, 2009
Emily Vermillion

October 2 – November 9, 2009
Happy 25th Birthday, Iowa Artisans Gallery! Exhibition to be announced
Opening Reception during Gallery Walk, 5-8 pm at 18 locations in downtown Iowa City

November 13 – Dec 31, 2009
Handmade for the Holidays
Our annual festival of holiday ornaments, seasonal items and unusual gifts.




A Juneteenth Corridor Celebration of Freedom Event
The African American Museum of Iowa and the African American Council of Iowa City host the Juneteenth Celebration June 13, 19, and 20, 2009 in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.

June 13, 2009 – Iowa City. Juneteenth in the Spirit

The Juneteenth Celebration is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in America. On June 19, 1865, some of the last slaves in America were freed when word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas. Since then the celebration has spread to all the cities in the United States and is now an official observance in Iowa that is celebrated every year.

The African American Council at the University of Iowa and its community partners invite members of the surrounding communities to learn more about the dreams, actions, and spirit that led to the fulfillment and promise of liberty that came for all slaves on June 19, 1865 when they finally learned they were free at last!

 The Juneteenth in the Spirit program promises to be educational, enlightening, and engaging including a University of Iowa speaker, musical performances, and a cake reception. Sponsored by the University of Iowa the event cost is free and it is open to all ages. For more information please contact Theresa Armstead at 319-384-4193 or e-mail: theresa-armstead@uiowa.edu

For more information, contact:
Julie Mitchell
55 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Phone: 319-862-2101 ext 24
events@blackiowa.org



Ben Harper And Relentless7, Public Enemy, Matisyahu, Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks, And More To Perform At The Second Annual 80/35 Music Festival

National headliners will converge with top local and regional acts at 80/35 presented by U.S. Cellular on July 3 and 4 in downtown Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. 80/35, the second annual summer music festival organized by the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC), announced 11 of the more than 40 acts scheduled to appear over 4th of July weekend.
  
Acclaimed national acts Ben Harper and Relentless7, Public Enemy, Matisyahu, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Girl In A Coma will celebrate their Independence Day weekend at the epicenter of Interstates 80 and 35 (80/35). House of Large Sizes, The Josh Davis Band, Beati Paoli, Cleo’s Apartment, and Floodplane are among the Iowa-homegrown bands announced. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
  
Last years’ 80/35 drew an estimated 30,000 people to see more than 40 acts on four stages, including The Flaming Lips, The Roots, Andrew Bird, Black Francis, and Drive By Truckers. The 2009 80/35 will again feature more than 40 acts over the two-days. The festival will include acts in both free and paid areas of the event. Both areas will house interactive art, activities, vendors, resting places, food and beverage sales, and plenty more. A fireworks display is planned for Saturday, July 4.
  
“Since the inaugural 80/35, Des Moines has seen a surge of promoters bringing new and exciting music to the city,” says Amedeo Rossi, DMMC project manager. “The goal of the DMMC is to grow the city’s music scene and we see a lot of activity out of our local bands with new records and tours. This year’s event will continue to expand the growing base of music fans and provide an even higher profile for the Des Moines music scene.”
  
Advance tickets are on sale now at IowaTix.com: $70 two-day pass, $35 Friday single day pass, and $45 Saturday single day pass. There will be a limited number of advance single day passes available. VIP passes to the festival have sold out.

The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and collaborative movement committed to building a stronger and more diverse live music economy in greater Des Moines. For more information visit www.desmoinesmc.com.