ia: The best of Iowa arts and culture

Emmetsburg, Iowa, and Dublin, Ireland, were officially declared sister cities in 1962. More than 60 years later, the local St. Patrick's Association continues to ensure celebrations are stronger than ever.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Around Iowa

You don’t need a rainbow to lead you to these Iowa pots of gold. Find several St. Patrick’s Day celebrations happening across the state.

Davenport: The St. Patrick Society keeps luck alive in the Quad Cities. The party kicks off March 17 with a luncheon and live music. The Grand Parade XXXVII begins at 10 a.m. sharp March 18, and a post-parade bash closes things out. Learn more about each event and make your travel plans on the society’s website.

Emmetsburg: This northeastern Iowa town overflows with Irish heritage and culture. Named by early Irish settlers for Irish patriot Robert Emmet (1778-1803), Emmetsburg goes all in for Ireland’s patron saint. Festivities include a Miss Shamrock Pageant, parade, fish fry and chainsaw artist. See the full schedule.

Burlington and Dyersville: Pretend you’re chasing your very own pot of gold in the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5K race in Burlington. Or get competitive with the 8K Gaelic Gallop in Dyersville.

Other cities: If you love green beer with bangers and mash, you can find them at plenty of Irish pubs across the state. Party like an Irishman at the “Let’s Get Lucked Up” event hosted by Founders Irish Pub in Bondurant, or head to Iowa City’s official St. Patty’s pub crawl. Otherwise, Jameson’s Public House in Waterloo and Dublin Bay Irish Pub & Grill in Ames serve Emerald Isle fare any day of the year.

After a hike through the Indian Creek Nature Center, go ahead and load up on the good stuff. Photo: Indian Creek Nature Center.

Tap Into Marion's Sweet Maple Syrup Tradition

For the 40th annual Maple Syrup Festival in Marion, we don’t – repeat: do not – recommend eating a pancake for each year of the festival’s history. But we do encourage you to taste at least a spoonful of that sweet syrupy goodness during the weekend festival March 25-26.

This year, as in the past, visitors to the Indian Creek Nature Center on the woodsy east edge of greater Cedar Rapids can hike the property, hear maple sap drip-drip-drip into buckets and see (and smell!) the historic sugar shack where all that sap is distilled, the traditional way, in big steaming cauldrons. And then, of course, you can head to the main building to hear some live music and stuff yourself with syrup-slathered pancakes and sausage. Tickets go fast, so jump on it.

The eco-friendly, all-ages Indian Creek Nature Center was built as a result of a community-wide vision plan that prompted the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to designate the Cedar Wapsi Recreational Byway as an Iowa Great Place in 2014.

The Eastern Iowa Arts Academy offers multidisciplinary and multicultural arts programs to enrich the learning of kindergarten through 12th grade students in the Greater Cedar Rapids metro area. Photo: Easter Iowa Arts Academy.

Honors for Artists and Arts Groups

Last week, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs bestowed a slate of Governor’s Arts Awards upon artists and arts groups who have contributed in big ways to the arts in Iowa.

The list of honorees included Robin Anderson, an advocate for historic preservation in Mason City; Amber Danielson from the Marshall County Arts & Culture Alliance; Jeff Fleming from the Des Moines Art Center; Penny Furgerson, the founding director of Gateway Dance Theatre in Des Moines; A. Alanda Gregory, an arts leader in Dubuque; and Leon Kuehner, a longtime music teacher in Hampton and champion of arts education. Additionally, several organizations were singled out for praise, including Brucemore and the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, both in Cedar Rapids, and Mainframe Studios in Des Moines.

Left: The historic Close House in Iowa City will host PS1 programming and has room to house visiting artists in residence. Right: Gardens between the two PS1 buildings on North Gilbert Street contribute to the community-oriented nature of the nonprofit organization. Photo: Janae Gray.

In Iowa City, Public Space One Lives Up to Its Name

One more of the Governor’s Arts Awards (noted above) went to Public Space One, a nonprofit arts incubator that is definitely worth a visit during your next trip to Iowa City. Founded more than 20 years ago, the creative nonprofit fills three historic properties with exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops and other community-focused activities.

When our contributing writer Brianne Sanchez visited last year for a story in the current issue of ia magazine, she found a handful of workshop participants who were altering film strips with nail polish and etching tools at folding tables underneath a glittering chandelier. Upstairs, Indigenous artist and curator Dawson Davenport had recently opened the doors to his gallery space. A small writers’ workshop was underway, and the quilt-filled LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library had just finished a family-friendly project with the Iowa City Poetry Lending Library.

“Beyond each doorway,” Sanchez noted, “it feels like a different world, dreamed up by an ever-evolving team of creative collaborators committed to making connections that transcend disciplines and mediums. People at PSI share a sense of optimism that the possibilities are endless.”

Read the full story in ia magazine.

Indoor and outdoor spaces blend together, thanks to large windows and natural materials in this vacation home. Photo: Carolyn Vaughn Photography.

Luxury Lake Time in Northwestern Iowa

When it comes to blending the natural landscape of northwestern Iowa with contemporary design, MainBuilt achieved the perfect resort-style retreat. MainBuilt is a custom home builder located in Clive. This vacation home is set up for stately views of the lake and enjoying the spacious patio—day or night.

Cedar ceilings and limestone panels on the exterior walls and interior floors bring the lush outdoor energy into the home. Commercial-grade aluminum windows used throughout provide natural light from all angles as the lake beckons out back. A car port to the left of the house blends the design across the property.

“Building and designing secondary homes requires a great understanding of how the client will utilize the space,” says Katelyn Huber for MainBuilt. For this lake home, the client was looking for something contemporary, with a natural feel to embody the landscape surrounding it. Pocket doors open the main living area to the outdoors, and a fire ribbon lining the length of the deck adds a dramatic spark. “Indoor to outdoor living on a lake home is a necessity,” says Huber.

The project won gold in the Architecture and Vacation Home categories of the 2023 Home Design Awards.

The pork tenderloin sandwich comes with parmesan fries a Newton's Paradise Cafe. Photo: Newton's Paradise Cafe.

Hungry for a Getaway? Try Downtown Waterloo.

If you haven’t seen downtown Waterloo for a while, you might be surprised by its evolution – and its eateries.

For breakfast, try Newton’s Paradise Cafe in Newton’s Jewelry building, an enduring example of Art Deco style. The diner serves all kinds of pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and breakfast pizza, but we recommend the Iowa Toast, a luscious riff on French toast that comes with bacon, ham or homemade sausage. For lunch, try a sandwich or wood-fired Neapolitan pie from Basal Pizza.

If you still have room for dinner, enjoy a local beer at Singlespeed Brewing along with upscale bar food like the Iowa Taco (topped, of course, with corn, bacon and ranch). The 1927 building that once housed a Wonder Bread bakery is now a hot spot with patio dining, play areas for the kids and even a place to stash bikes. For a more formal dinner, we recommend the Brown Bottle in the historic Russell Lamson Building. The old-school Italian restaurant has been serving classics like lasagna (try the seafood version!) since 1974 and has a loyal following.

To work up an appetite between meals, rent some wheels at the Waterloo Bicycle Works. Pedal around downtown or the ever-growing network of trails that connects Waterloo and Cedar Falls. But pace yourself: There are more than 120 paved miles of Cedar Valley Trails.

Big Driftless in Decorah is set up to showcase the creative process behind their custom-made bags. “It’s a fun way to bring the customers into the life span of their backpack or fanny pack,” says owner Cody Whittle.

Pick and Pack Your Bags in Decorah

When Cody Whittle decided to leave California and find a fresh start in Iowa in 2015, he aimed for the northeast corner, where he grew up. He had a background in product design and eventually opened a shop in Decorah called Big Driftless, which sells handmade backpacks, bags and apparel to help people get outside. The business also organizes hikes and bike rides.

“What I’m trying to do with Big Driftless, as well as making and selling things, is also harboring relationships and creating a place where people who share common interests can come,” he said.

The downtown shop sits between an art supply store and a travel agency, which is fitting since creativity and adventure are the two biggest inspirations for Whittle’s work. He hopes the shop will be both a destination and a launching point for people to explore new trails in the region and beyond.

Read the full story, by Brianne Sanchez, in the current issue of ia magazine.