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Local artist, author and illustrator Christine Hilbert uses everyday materials to capture seasonal beauty. She made that cherry tree blossom with a light touch and a sponge. (Photo courtesy of the artist)
ARTS & CULTURE
Snow, shmow. Head to the Home & Garden Show.
By dsm staff
It may not look like it today, but spring is coming. The robins are still vacationing down south. The crocuses are still nestled underground. But the annual Des Moines Home & Garden Show will burst forth this weekend at the Iowa Events Center with more than 400 exhibitor booths and a few pop-up gardens in full bloom.
You can walk a lap or two any time during visiting hours Thursday through Sunday or plan your visit to catch any of 21 demonstrations about gardening and home decor on the Rose Farm Inspiration Stage.
Here are two that caught our eye:
Painting Seasonal Foliage and Flowers
11 a.m. Sunday
Christine Hilbert, who teaches all kinds of art classes at Rose Farm in Norwalk, will demonstrate a few simple watercolor techniques to capture the natural beauty of each of Iowa’s four seasons: springtime cherry blossoms, summer skies over wildflowers, fall sunsets behind bare tree silhouettes and wintry snowscapes like the one right outside your window today. She’ll cover a few basics for beginners and mix in tips with unusual materials — sponges, spray bottles, sprinkles of salt — for painters with a little more experience.
“People are nervous about messing up,” she said. “But I show them that even the mistakes can lead to unexpected, delightful results.” She confessed to being a little nervous herself, about speaking in front of such a big crowd, but she's presented at the show before. Besides, she said, “I love Bob Ross. That’s been my jam since I was a kid.”
Chelsea and Cole DeBoer from “Down Home Fab”
6 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday
On each episode of their HGTV show, the designer-and-handyman duo from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, tackles a renovation project for a client while holding down their own fort with four young kids. “People often ask us about our working relationship, how we work together, how we manage a large family, a hobby farm — how we balance it all,” Chelsea said. “We’re definitely still figuring it out. … We’ve learned to ask for help and bring people onto the team.”
During their sessions here in Des Moines, they’ll take questions from the audience about their show, their business, their design aesthetic and anything else that might come up. Lately, they said, their renovations have leaned into a “lived-in look,” with wood elements, mixed textures and a little bit of Western flair that nods to their home base in Sioux Falls.
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WEEKEND SECTION PRESENTED BY CATCH DES MOINES
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Chicago star Ronnie Baker Brooks is one of many artists in this year's Winter Blues Fest lineup. (Photo: Paul Natkin)
BEST BET
Warm up at the Winter Blues Fest
Music historians say the blues first bubbled up in the 1860s in the Deep South, where its call-and-response patterns echoed Black spirituals and work songs. But those rhythms still resonate even here in 21st-century Iowa, where music fans forget their troubles every year at the Winter Blues Fest.
“It’s 20 bands all under one roof and out of the cold,” Central Iowa Blues Society President Scott Allen said of the 30th annual event, set from 5-11 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday at the downtown Marriott.
The shindig fills two ballrooms: one for regional and national acts, like Chicago’s Ronnie Baker Brooks, and another for Iowan musicians, including those in Heath Alan’s Iowa Blues Expo and an Iowa Blues Hall of Fame showcase hosted by the one and only Bob Pace. Check out tickets and details online.
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"Time Travelers," 5-7 p.m. Friday, Des Moines Art Center. Two big installations from the permanent collection anchor a new show about "the past, the human relationship with time, and the various points in between." It opens with a free reception Friday and runs through May 11.
Made in the Midwest, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Temple Theater. The new concert series from Des Moines Performing Arts showcases local artists. On Friday, go see “Brad & Kate,” a married pop-folk duo. On Saturday, see “The Finesse,” a soul-pop group.
Des Moines Symphony, 7:30 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Des Moines Civic Center. The orchestra plays Nicholas Hooper’s score with screenings of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
Iwo Jima 80th Anniversary, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Iowa Gold Star Military Museum. Stop by for a guided tour and to hear experts discuss the pivotal World War II battle and Iowa native Harold "Pie" Keller, who helped raise the famous flag there.
A Celebration in Song, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, St. Ambrose Cathedral. The finely tuned voices of the Luther College Nordic Choir, Iowa State Singers and Des Moines Choral Society sing to the rafters.
Kennedy-Reynolds Guitar Duo, 3 p.m. Sunday, Grand View University Student Center. Area guitarists Steven Kennedy and Dave Reynolds perform a concert to benefit the Heart of Iowa Classical Guitar Society.
Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble, 6 p.m. Sunday, Noce. The singers let loose for a cabaret. Grab a drink and settle in.
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Eye openers: A group show premieres Friday and runs through March 17 at Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design this Friday. According to a press release, “Vibrant Abstractions” highlights "movement, spontaneity and unexpected elements, captivating the senses and celebrating the beauty found in abstraction and the freedom of creative expression.”
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New art, old tradition: The Des Moines Women’s Club will host its 117th annual Art Exhibition of original works by area artists March 2-8 at Hoyt Sherman Place. Artists can register to participate online by Feb. 28.
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Ready to roll: The Red Bull Soapbox Race will return for its third year in Des Moines on May 31. The competition brings amateur drivers and crews together to race homemade carts around obstacles on East Walnut Street. Any brave or foolhardy souls who wish to participate should submit their cart designs by March 31.
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Learn about the land: Former Des Moines Register journalist Larry Stone will host an educational presentation, “Iowa: Portrait of the Land” at Terrace Hill on March 10. He'll base the presentation on his award-winning book “Earth Year 2000” for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which advocates for the protection of Iowa’s rich natural resources. The program is free, but advance registration is required.
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True blue: A vial of “Egyptian Blue” pigment the scientist and artist George Washington Carver mixed by hand is on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current exhibition “Flight Into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876-Now.” It’s on loan from Iowa State University’s special collections and archives. Curious? Skip to 5:56 in this video with the Met’s curator.
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A team from Good Life Therapy in West Des Moines went to Perry after last year's school shooting. (Photo: Duane Tinkey)
PEOPLE & COMMUNITY
Pitching in for Perry
By Jody Gifford
Life in Perry changed forever the day a 17-year-old student opened fire on classmates and staff at Perry High School. In the months after the January 2024 shooting that killed two people — principal Dan Marburger and sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff — and wounded six others, students, parents and the entire tight-knit community have struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.
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Anna Zuidema, the clinical director at Good Life Therapy in West Des Moines, remembers the day she received a call from the Heartland Area Education Agency as it was mobilizing a team of counselors to help students and staff try to make sense of such a senseless event. The AEA was enlisting clinicians to provide longer-term support, for the people who still needed counseling after the initial response teams had moved on.
“The response was almost immediate,” she said. “I think there was a collective awareness amongst my colleagues and other practices and organizations that just created this mass outpouring of support.”
One of the volunteers, Morgan Edgeton, had experience working with school-age children. She jumped at the chance to help. In the beginning, discussions focused on the aftermath of the shooting, “but there are other kinds of problems that their parents wanted them to be seen for, too,” Edgeton said. “I have clients who come in for anxiety and depression, which are always going to be present in some way or another. I can see a need for more mental health services, especially in that area.”
The school district recently hired a full-time mental health coordinator, funded by a federal recovery grant, as well as two trained therapy dogs to assist students and staff along their healing journeys.
“It’s been incredibly meaningful to see the Perry community supporting these efforts and their children,” Edgeton said. “Perry is a small community, but you can see they’re working together to help the students and families as much as they can.
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