ia: The best of Iowa arts and culture

Start off 2025 on the right foot

This year, 35 Iowa state parks and forests are offering First Day Hikes to celebrate the start of 2025. Nearly half of those will be led by local guides the morning of Jan. 1, and another 26 are offering staff-picked self-guided options that start whenever you please. Check out the full list on the DNR’s website and lace up your boots. Here are a few we recommend:

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque: Join staff from Dubuque County Conservation Board on a variety of guided hikes that kick off at noon. Refreshments will be provided afterward at the E.B. Lyons Nature Center.

Yellow River State Forest, Harpers Ferry: This 3-mile hike starts bright and early at 9 a.m. with hot drinks by the fire in the Firetower Cabin. Hikers will pass the only state-owned sawmill on their way to Cedar Point Overlook Road. After a short break for photos around the Firetower, the hike continues along Brown's Hollow Trail to the Forester's Trail and then back to the cabin where the cozy fire awaits.

Lake Darling State Park, Brighton: Join the staff at 9 a.m. to explore the newly completed Ding Darling Interpretive Trail along this 302-acre lake. The trail winds through wetlands, restored prairies and a 200-year-old cemetery. Hikers will get a first look at 10 new educational panels that have been installed along the paved path.

Detail from Laura Hallen's "LowBright" (2023), an acrylic painting on Plexiglas at the Sioux City Art Center.

Art examines the changing climate

Head to the Sioux City Art Center to check out the final week of “Climate/Change” before it closes on Jan. 5. The biennial juried showcase of more than 30 Midwestern artists features a dynamic mix of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photography and prints, all of which reflect themes of climate and societal change.

Guest juror Beth Gollnick of the Des Moines Art Center selected works based on how they explored questions about the changing climate’s impact on our region, country and world. The artwork ranges from realistic landscapes to abstract interpretations of environmental data.

Since its founding in the 1700s, Royal Copenhagen has made Denmark famous for porcelain.

Humanities grants support nonprofits statewide

The State Historical Society of Iowa recently announced that more than $140,000 in grants have been awarded to Iowa organizations and individuals working in the humanities. Eligible projects supported by these grants include educational programming and cultural art exhibits.

“We are thrilled to support humanities projects throughout Iowa because we know they make a difference in Iowa communities,” Interim Iowa Humanities Council Director Andrew Klumpp said in a prepared statement. “We’re delighted to be able to invest in the humanities here in Iowa and help make our home a more vibrant and engaging place to live.”

A few projects are already in the works, including:

The Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn will engage national and online audiences in the upcoming exhibition "Danish Ceramics: Beyond Blue and White," which opened in November and continues through April 2026. The grant will help the museum team amplify the exhibition's content and themes through print and online media.

Heritage Works Inc. will host a symposium to examine two Iowa examples of Prairie style architecture: Eagle Point Park in Dubuque, designed by landscape architect Alfred Caldwell and completed in 1934; and Cedar Rock in Independence, which Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Lowell and Agnes Walter in 1950.

"Hadestown" returns to Iowa in January and April. (Photo: Evan Zimmerman)

Warm up with a visit to Hades

The national tour of “Hadestown” returns to Iowa twice over the next few months. The musical is inspired by the Greek myth about a singer named Orpheus and the girl he tries to impress, Eurydice.
The national tour visits Davenport (Jan. 15 at the Adler Theatre), Mason City (Jan 16 at the North Iowa Community Auditorium) and Iowa City (Jan. 24-26 at Hancher Auditorium). It returns to Iowa in the spring with stops in Cedar Falls (April 4-5 at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center) and Des Moines Civic Center (April 11-13).

Ice sculptors go all out for Davenport's annual Icestravaganza. (Photo: downtowndavenport.com)

Chill out at Quad Cities ice festival

Maybe you saw the new movie “Hot Frosty”? About the snowman who turns into a hot guy dressed in nothing but a magic red scarf?

Well, make a wish and see if that happens at Icestravaganza, the annual ice sculpture festival in Davenport. At this year’s event, Jan. 17-19, the theme is “Art in Ice.” The event offers a farmers market, plenty of local food and beer, and a party on Saturday night. Bring a red scarf, just in case.

Emmy is one of the younger residents at Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford. (Photo: Kyle Heim)

Cocktails with the cows

Iowa Farm Sanctuary hosts its inaugural gala March 1 at Wilson’s Ciderhouse in Iowa City to celebrate its mission of compassion and the community who supports it.

The sanctuary gained attention this year after taking in Phill, the water buffalo that escaped in Pleasant Hill, and his siblings who were suffering in subpar living conditions at a nearby home. The sanctuary in Oxford houses and rehabilitates rescued and injured farm animals from all over the state, and the inaugural gala will raise money to support the daily care and medical treatment the animals need.

Tickets to the event include a cocktail hour and plated vegan dinner. There will also be live and silent auctions, a painting demonstration, and speakers.

Read more about the sanctuary in a story by our copy editor, Kyle Heim, who volunteers at the sanctuary in his free time.

See what's cookin' in downtown Sioux Falls. (Photo: Travel South Dakota)

Visit the neighbors and stay for a bite to eat

As much as we love Iowa, we also like to visit our neighbors — which is a very Iowan thing to do.

Why not pay a visit to Sioux Falls, where you can explore the culinary scene on a guided walking tour led by local expert Dana Wohlwend. Tours will stop at four or five of the city's best eateries, where you can sample a variety of delicious dishes that tell the story of the city’s colorful history, from its wild territorial days to its recent modern transformation. Reservations for January tours are now open online.