dsmWeekly: February 4, 2020

2020 LEGACY LEADER HONOREES ANNOUNCED

We're pleased to announce this year's recipients of the LGBTQ Legacy Leader awards, presented by dsm magazine and the advocacy group One Iowa. This annual recognition honors community leaders who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. We also selected one individual from outside the LGBTQ community to honor as an Ally, someone who has embraced and promoted LGBTQ Iowans as friends and colleagues.

This year's Ally award honoree is Wellmark CEO John Forsyth. The 2020 Legacy Leader honorees are:

• Tracy Lewis, Des Moines, vice president of Ankeny-based Mom’s Meals.

   • Alexandra Gray, Des Moines, actress/performer and activist.
   • Jan Jensen, Iowa City, associate head coach of women's basketball at the University of Iowa.
   • Eileen Gebbie, Ames, minister of the United Church of Christ.
   • John Harper, Iowa City, retired minister and retired English professor at the University of Iowa.

Honorees will be profiled in dsm magazine and celebrated at a public reception June 4 at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines. More details will be announced soon in this newsletter and on our website, dsmMagazine.com.

Hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows at the Wallace House, site of a "Gal-entine's Brunch" Saturday, Feb. 8.

A HO-HUM WEEK FOR FOODIES? NOT NECESSARILY

By Wini Moranville

Next week is Valentine’s Day week, which comes with a built-in reason to celebrate with food. But until then? Dull, dull, dull. If you, like me, crave a chance to get out and get happy, check out these fun food/drink events in the coming seven days:

Wednesday, Feb. 5
• A Special (but Casual) Piedmont Wine Experience at Table 128
Wine guru and T-128 co-owner Sarah Pritchard admires G.D. Vajra wines from Piedmont for their approachable price point and their range of styles – from powerful reds (Barolo and Barbaresco) to terrific sparklers. Giuseppe Vajra (son of the winery’s founder) will be on hand from 5 to 8 p.m. to chat with wine lovers, and Chef Lynn Pritchard will feature a three-course menu ($75) paired with these wines. This isn’t a typical wine dinner, says Sarah Pritchard – there’s no formal presentation, and you can engage with the winemaker as much (or as little) as you want. T-128’s regular menu also will be available.

Thursday, Feb. 6
Dinner at Tangerine at the Art Center
Tangerine at the Art Center is open for dinner on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. through February. Enjoy the casual, fresh-forward menu that they serve at lunch, as well as a dinner-only wine special and featured entrée. The latter is often comfort-food focused; past options have included beef short ribs with polenta and chicken pot pie. Take in a walk through the galleries before or after your meal -- the Art Center is open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays.

Saturday, Feb. 8
Gal-entine’s Brunch at the Wallace House
Celebrate female friendships with a brunch ($15) of French toast, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and a hot cocoa bar that includes homemade marshmallows. 10 a.m. to noon. More information at Wallace.org.

Saturday, Feb. 8
Wine Dinner at Prairie Moon Vineyards
From 6 to 9 p.m., Aaron Holt will be the chef for a four-course dinner ($75), paired with wines, at this Ames winery. The main course is a sous-vide Iowa beef shortrib, but I’m equally excited about the dessert of layered caramel trifle with candied pecans. Mead and cider also available. Full menu and tickets here.

Monday, Feb. 10
Cupcakes and … (wait for it!) Beer at Peace Tree’s Des Moines Branch
Starting at 6:30 p.m., enjoy four samples of Peace Tree’s craft beer with four mini cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes. More details and tickets ($25) here.

Wini Moranville writes about food, wine and dining for dsm magazine and dsmWeekly. Follow her on Facebook at All Things Food–DSM.

Karla Black's mixed-media "Nothing is a Must" (2009). Photo: Saatchi Gallery, London.

SCOTTISH ARTIST FEATURED IN NEW EXHIBIT

Scottish artist Karla Black, known for her large-scale installations that blur the line between sculpture and performance art, opens an exhibit Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Des Moines Art Center.

Inspired by childhood play, Black uses everyday materials, such as cellophane, cosmetics, Alka Seltzer and broken glass, to create large-scale pastel-colored abstract forms. About 15 sculptures will be installed in the gallery, plus two additional site-specific ones Black is creating for the I.M. Pei galleries.

The Des Moines Symphony's guest violinist Grace Park has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as being "fresh, different and exhilarating" and by Strings magazine as "intensely wrought and burnished."

GUEST VIOLINIST FEATURED WITH SYMPHONY

The winner of the 2018 Naumburg International Violin Competition, Grace Park, performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Des Moines Symphony this weekend, conducted by Peter Oundjian, former first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet and conductor emeritus of the Toronto Symphony.

The Symphony's program of Mendelssohn & Brahms will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Des Moines Civic Center. The program features Brahms’ Second Symphony along with Christopher Theofanidis’s "Rainbow Body," one of the most-performed orchestral works of the past 15 years.

Tickets are $15-$72, available online through dmsymphony.org (up until two hours prior to performances) and at the Civic Center box office.

The Des Moines Home and Garden Show offers unlimited opportunities to rethink every aspect of your own home.

HOME AND GARDEN SHOW OPENS THURSDAY

The annual Home and Garden Show at the Iowa Events Center never fails to lift our mid-winter mood. There's always something inspiring or motivating to get us thinking about improvements to our own homes and yards. This year's show runs Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 6-9. Ticket prices vary, depending on age and on-line discounts, all explained here, along with details about hours, speakers, exhibitors and programs.