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Say 'cheese!' and 'kelp!': Photographing longevity
For more than 15 years, the globe-trotting photographer David McLain has been chronicling the five places in the world where people live the longest: Loma Linda, California; the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan.
He plans to share his findings in a show-and-tell talk called “The Blue Zones: Unlocking the Secrets of Longevity” on May 1 at the Des Moines Civic Center. Some of his ongoing work with author Dan Buettner has already been published in a book, a bestselling cookbook and stories for various publications, including the Smithsonian.
Part of McLain’s working strategy is to immerse himself in the areas he explores. Throughout his career as a photographer — for National Geographic, Sony, Apple and many notable nonprofits — he’s worked all kinds of people in all kinds of places to produce the best photos possible. He’ll show off just a few of his best during his visit to Des Moines.
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Kathranne Knight: “Recurrence,” April 11-May 3, Moberg Gallery. The Iowa Arts Council fellow explores the meaning of repetition with minimalist, meditative drawings and paintings that “pulse with a backbeat rhythm, a staccato of line and color that works on the body and eye.”
“Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art in Iowa,” April 18-Sept. 7, Des Moines Art Center. Check out paintings, metalwork, sculptures and more, all influenced by the island country’s African roots and history of colonialism. The artwork is on loan from the Waterloo Center for the Arts, home of the largest collection of Haitian art in the United States.
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Gallery Night, April 18, Historic Valley Junction. Stroll the neighborhood to see regional, national and international artwork on display in galleries along Fifth Street in West Des Moines. Be sure to visit Olson-Larsen Galleries, where the opening reception for an exhibit called “Art & Ecology” includes a fashion show and live music.
Iowa Exhibited, May 8-June 26, Polk County Heritage Gallery. The long-running annual tradition features juried artwork in various media by Iowa artists. Winners will be announced on opening night.
Valley Junction Arts Festival, May 19, Historic Valley Junction. The juried arts festival hosts more than 50 artists from Iowa and farther afield.
Firelei Baez, June 13-Sept. 21, Des Moines Art Center. The Dominican artist whose installation made from emergency tarps was part of last year’s “Hurricane Season” exhibition gets the whole Meredith Gallery to herself this time, showcasing work that explores anthropology, geography, folklore and other Afro-Caribbean crosscurrents.
Des Moines Arts Festival, June 27-29, Western Gateway Park. Hundreds of artists from across the country exhibit their creative work, surrounded by live music, hands-on activities and more.
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Digital images set the scene for "The Cunning Little Vixen." (Rendering: Oyoram Visual Composer)
THEATER, OPERA & DANCE
Des Moines Metro Opera goes wild
When the Des Moines Metro Opera stages “The Cunning Little Vixen” this summer in Indianola, its designers will have to be just as clever as the title character. Since Leos Janacek’s 101-year-old opera involves multiple species — humans, birds, frogs and even dragonflies and mosquitoes — it presents a challenge of scale.
The new solution involves high-tech scenery designed by Luke Cantarella and the Des Moines-based video artist Oyoram, whose digital images of the forest zoom in or out, depending on the scene. (“Honey, I Shrunk the Diva!”) To add to the magic, Vita Tzykun’s costumes blend fur, feathers and wings with traditional folk costumes from Janacek’s native Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic).
The show runs in rotation with “The Flying Dutchman” and “The Rake’s Progress” during this summer’s festival, June 27 through July 20, at the Blank Performing Arts Center at Simpson College.
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“& Juliet,” May 6-11, Des Moines Civic Center. The musical reimagines a happier ending for Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, with a book by David West Read (a writer for “Schitt’s Creek”) and a pop score with hits like “Since U Been Gone” and “Hit Me Baby One More Time.”
Flamy Grant, May 8, Temple Theater. The award-winning North Carolina drag queen who broke through with her 2022 album “Bible Belt Baby” sings, dances and shares a few surprises in Capital City Pride’s speaker series.
Circuit Court Day, June 7, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Reenactors as lawyers, witnesses and a judge present real Iowa court cases from the 1870s. Visitors sit on the jury and get to see whether their verdicts match the real ones.
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“Hamilton,” June 3-15, Des Moines Civic Center. A little song-and-dance show about the American Revolution — maybe you’ve heard of it? — takes another shot in Central Iowa, just about 250 years after the real story that inspired it.
“Torch Song,” June 6-15, Des Moines Civic Center’s Stoner Theater. For Pride month, Iowa Stage Theatre revives Harvey Fierstein’s award-winning show about a New York drag queen who wants nothing more than a husband, a child and a pair of decent bunny slippers.
AACTFest, June 25-28, Hoyt Sherman Place. The biennial festival of the American Association of Community Theatre includes dozens of public performances from companies across the country. The festival’s official host is the Des Moines Playhouse, one of the oldest and largest community theaters in the country.
Des Moines Metro Opera, June 28-July 20, Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola. The company’s festival season opens with “The Cunning Little Vixen” on June 28 and “The Flying Dutchman” on June 29, followed by “The Rake’s Progress” on July 5.
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Pianist I-Hsuan Olivia Tsai and violinist Yang Liu visit Des Moines on June 3. (Photo: Yang&Olivia)
MUSIC
Chamber music festival thinks outside the box
The Zenith Chamber Music Festival launched in 2014 with the support of an anonymous Drake University alumnus who envisioned a project that would meld his love of music with a passion for community-building. This year's free festival will continue to offer a diverse mix of concerts at several venues around town:
June 3: Yang&Olivia at Willow on Grand
June 4: Iowa Guitars: Oleg & Dan at Mainframe Studios
June 5: Damani Phillips at the Simpson Barn
June 6: The Indianapolis Quartet at the Iowa Theater
June 7: The Indianapolis Quartet at Drake’s Sheslow Auditorium. The concert also features the Zenith Virtuosi, a class of youth musicians led by Héctor Agüero, who leads Drake’s orchestra program.
Zenith’s executive director, Ashley Sandor Sidon, teaches cello at Drake and performs across the country and internationally. She shared how the festival shatters expectations and builds appreciation for what chamber music can be.
“Only so many people can go to the opera house,” she said. “With chamber music, composers were able to get their music out to wider audiences.”
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Des Moines Symphony, April 26, Des Moines Civic Center. The orchestra plays music based on Masashi Hamauzu and Nobuo Uematsu tunes for the “Final Fantasy” video games.
“Corn-Fed Jazz: The Next Generation,” May 1, Drake’s Turner Jazz Center. The Turner Center Jazz Orchestra plays tunes by homegrown jazz composers and arrangers who follow in the footsteps of Bix Beiderbecke, Glenn Miller, Herbie Hancock and other Hawkeye State legends.
Des Moines Choral Society, May 3, St. Ambrose Cathedral. The choir celebrates its 45th season with a program that features the prolific composer and conductor Rene Clausen.
Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble, May 4, Plymouth Church. The choir closes its season with “A Celebration of Psalms,” including Bernstein’s landmark “Chichester Psalms” from 1965.
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Abbie Sawyer, May 9, Temple Theater. The local singer-songwriter who often performs with the Diplomats of Solid Sound, Night Lights and NOLA Jazz Band takes a solo turn in the inaugural Made in the Midwest series from Des Moines Performing Arts.
Des Moines Community Orchestra, May 11, Drake’s Sheslow Auditorium. Conductor Carl Johnson wraps up his 24th and final season on the podium, conducting a few of his all-time favorite finales.
Greenbelt Music Festival, May 16-17, Horizon Events Center in Clive. The annual indoor-outdoor shindig features live music with games, food, drinks and fun right off the Clive Greenbelt Trail.
Des Moines Symphony, May 17-18, Des Moines Civic Center. The orchestra wraps up its regular season with Respighi’s brassy “Pines of Rome,” Mendelssohn’s “Italian Symphony” and Saint-Saens’ Second Piano Concerto, featuring guest soloist George Li.
Yankee Doodle Pops, July 3, state Capitol. The Des Moines Symphony kicks off its 31st annual Independence Day celebration on the west terrace, before fireworks erupt over downtown.
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Valley Junction Farmers Market, May 1-Sept. 25, Fifth Street in West Des Moines. Head out any Thursday for fresh produce, prepared food and live music around the corner at Railroad Park.
Fiesta at the Mansion, May 2, Rollins Mansion. Celebrate local Latino culture, community and springtime with food trucks, pinatas, family-friendly crafts, entertainment from Guitarras ATM and Grupo Folklorico Jovenes Embajadores.
Downtown Farmers Market, May 3-Oct. 25, Court Avenue. The market opens with clang-clang-clang of the ceremonial cowbell and continues every Saturday morning through the growing season.
Cinco de Mayo, May 3, Fifth Street in West Des Moines. The annual fiesta celebrates the Valley Junction’s past and present connections to Latino culture with live entertainment and plenty of delicious food.
Ring in Peace, May 4, Iowa Judicial Branch Building. Take a turn ringing the massive Japanese Bell of Peace and Friendship during a second annual ceremony for world peace.
Architecture on the Move, May 9, June 13, July 11, downtown. The Iowa Architectural Foundation leads expert-guided walking tours on the second Friday of each month. The tours start at Capital Square and follow four different routes.
Market to Market Relay, May 10, Jefferson to Des Moines. Teams of runners cover the 75 miles, step by step, from Jefferson’s Mahanay Bell Tower to downtown Des Moines.
CelebrAsian, May 23-24. The city’s best-named festival (from the folks behind the annual Pho King Cook-Off) livens up Western Gateway Park with music, dancing, cultural exhibits and food. So. Much. Tasty. Food.
Decoration Day and Baseball, May 24, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Learn about the post-Civil War origins of Memorial Day during a ceremony and procession, followed by a game of 1870s baseball.
Dam to DSM Half Marathon, May 31, Saylorville to downtown. The 46-year-old race formerly known as Dam to Dam starts on the Saylorville Dam and finishes with a well-earned party at Cowles Commons.
PrideFest, June 6-8, East Village. Capital City Pride’s flagship weekend unfurls a whole rainbow of music, dancing, drag royalty, a 5K run/walk/sashay and not one but two parades — one for people, another for fabulously dressed pets.
Iowa Craft Brew Festival, June 7, Water Works Park. It's a full day of beer, cider, food trucks and music. You get the idea.
Free Range Music and BBQ Festival, June 14, Jasper Winery. The first annual festival will feature a mouthwatering lineup of local barbecue, craft brews, live music and family-friendly fun.
Emancipation Day, June 14, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Even though Iowa entered the Union as a free state in 1846, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 still reverberated here, where many Black Iowans had formerly been enslaved. Learn more during a day to commemorate Juneteenth.
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Architecture on the Move, May 9, June 13, July 11, downtown. The Iowa Architectural Foundation leads expert-guided walking tours on the second Friday of each month. The tours start at Capital Square and follow four different routes.
Market to Market Relay, May 10, Jefferson to Des Moines. Teams of runners cover the 75 miles, step by step, from Jefferson’s Mahanay Bell Tower to downtown Des Moines.
CelebrAsian, May 23-24. The city’s best-named festival (from the folks behind the annual Pho King Cook-Off) livens up Western Gateway Park with music, dancing, cultural exhibits and food. So. Much. Tasty. Food.
Decoration Day and Baseball, May 24, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Learn about the post-Civil War origins of Memorial Day during a ceremony and procession, followed by a game of 1870s baseball.
Dam to DSM Half Marathon, May 31, Saylorville to downtown. The 46-year-old race formerly known as Dam to Dam starts on the Saylorville Dam and finishes with a well-earned party at Cowles Commons.
PrideFest, June 6-8, East Village. Capital City Pride’s flagship weekend unfurls a whole rainbow of music, dancing, drag royalty, a 5K run/walk/sashay and not one but two parades — one for people, another for fabulously dressed pets.
Iowa Craft Brew Festival, June 7, Water Works Park. It's a full day of beer, cider, food trucks and music. You get the idea.
Free Range Music and BBQ Festival, June 14, Jasper Winery. The first annual festival will feature a mouthwatering lineup of local barbecue, craft brews, live music and family-friendly fun.
Emancipation Day, June 14, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Even though Iowa entered the Union as a free state in 1846, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 still reverberated here, where many Black Iowans had formerly been enslaved. Learn more during a day to commemorate Juneteenth.
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PrideFest, June 6-8, East Village. Capital City Pride’s flagship weekend unfurls a whole rainbow of music, dancing, drag royalty, a 5K run/walk/sashay and not one but two parades — one for people, another for fabulously dressed pets.
Iowa Craft Brew Festival, June 7, Water Works Park. It's a full day of beer, cider, food trucks and music. You get the idea.
Free Range Music and BBQ Festival, June 14, Jasper Winery. The first annual festival will feature a mouthwatering lineup of local barbecue, craft brews, live music and family-friendly fun.
Emancipation Day, June 14, Living History Farms in Urbandale. Even though Iowa entered the Union as a free state in 1846, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 still reverberated here, where many Black Iowans had formerly been enslaved. Learn more during a day to commemorate Juneteenth.
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