ia: The best of Iowa arts and culture

Downtown Decorah, in its picture-postcard glory. Photo: Mary Willie

36 hours in Decorah, one of our all-time favorites

True confession: We once ordered an ice cream cone at the Sugar Bowl in downtown Decorah and ate it on the way to the Whippy Dip, the famous soft-serve spot just a few blocks away.

You could happily spend a whole weekend eating ice cream — hey, it’s a free country — but there are plenty of other things to do. The scenic Winneshiek County seat inspired one of our all-time favorite “36 Hour” itineraries, with a slew of excellent recommendations. Book a room at the historic Hotel Winneshiek, bike the Trout Run Trail, visit the Bily Clock Museum in nearby Spillville, sample a few brews at Toppling Goliath or Pulpit Rock (or both), and dig in to a delicious seasonal dinner at the Rubaiyat.

And go ahead: Eat all the ice cream you want.

Sip and sample a souvenir from Swisher. Photo: Travel Iowa

Tour and taste at three Iowa distilleries

Iowa has plenty of charms, but one thing is certain: We’ve got spirit, yes we do. Distilleries around the state produce everything from vodka and rum to barrel-rested gin, honey whiskey and amaretto liqueur. Many even use corn grown a few miles away or by their own farmers.

So if you’d like to learn about the origins of your favorite cocktail or you're just interested in sampling something new, grab your designated driver and explore where the magic happens.

Templeton Distillery, Templeton
At 209 S. Rye Ave., you'll find a visitors center stocked with products and an exhibit about the company's colorful history. While the brand has been in business for a while, production shifted full time to Iowa in 2018, and the first batch of whiskey made entirely in Iowa was released just last year. Tours are offered at select times Wednesday through Saturday.

Revelton Distilling Co., Osceola
This distillery opened in 2021 and almost immediately won awards for its honey whiskey, mulberry gin and whiskey cream liqueur. They have a total of eight hard liquors on the market right now, as they wait to age their bourbon and rye whiskey. The first batch, Distiller’s Edition Rye Whiskey, was released in April and sold out in half a day, but there's certainly more where that came from. Schedule tastings to try up to five spirits, or tour the barrel rackhouse where the prized whiskey rests.

Cedar Ridge Distillery, Swisher
This place opened in 2005, the state's first licensed distillery since Prohibition. They launched their first Iowa bourbon in 2010 and have continued to expand their offerings ever since. You’ll find their award-winning whiskeys fully stocked, along with other spirits like vodka and gin, as well as a full winery. If you visit, make sure to go on an empty stomach so you can enjoy wood-fired pizzas, butcher plates and shareables from the full-service kitchen.

Aebleskiver alert: It's Tivoli time in Elk Horn!

This Friday and Saturday, May 26-27, enjoy all things Danish during Tivoli Fest in Elk Horn. The town of about 600 is home to the largest rural Danish settlement in the United States.

This year's parade starts at 11 a.m. Saturday with Hawkeye basketball coach Jan Jensen from nearby Kimballton serving as the grand marshal. Throughout the weekend, you can celebrate Danish and Danish-American traditions and history with free admission to the Danish Windmill and a trip to the Museum of Danish America. Folk dancers will perform on the main stage, and you just might spot some Vikings demonstrating their battle skills, minting coins and generally living their best Viking life.

The full schedule is packed with things to see and eat, including aebleskivers, the addictive golfball-sized puffs made from a secret Old World recipe of pancake batter and dreams.

The clarinets of the Mason City High School Band. Not pictured: 76 trombones. Photo: Mason City Chamber of Commerce

March to Mason City for the big parade

It looks like the clouds will obey the “Funny Girl” and won’t rain on the parade. The forecast is just about perfect for the 84th annual North Iowa Band Festival Parade, set to start at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Mason City. The largest free marching band competition in the Midwest is the main event, but it’s just part of the festival that annually attracts 60,000 visitors to the hometown of Meredith Willson and his sister, Dixie Willson, for a weekend of concerts, a carnival, an “instrument petting zoo” and more.

Most events will take place in the heart of downtown’s Cultural and Entertainment District, which includes a new performance pavilion that was unveiled in 2021 as part of the River City Renaissance Project. Progress marches on.

Can't wait for Halloween? Don your costume for a contest at Des Moines Con. Photo: Des Moines Con

C'mon to Des Moines Con

Fans of all ages are welcome at the second annual Des Moines Con this summer. During the June 3-4 weekend, the Iowa Events Center will become a pop culture mecca full of TV, movie and voice actors, comic creators and other entertainers.

The celebrity guest list is long, and includes the likes of Ross Marquand (“The Walking Dead,” “Avengers: Infinity War”) and Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants”). Look out for a Q&A session with your favorite characters, and panels with show producers and writers.

Other attractions include game tournaments, costume contests and an exhibitor and artist marketplace where fans can find merch, comics, toys, art and more. Tickets are available for single day or weekend passes.

Artists interpreted a "Prairie Footprints" theme for their artwork at the Wallace Farm. Photo: Wallace Centers of Iowa

Walk on the wild side in Orient

There are plenty of good reasons to take a nature walk, but if you’d like one more, consider this: 80-some paintings will be displayed along a 1-mile path in the “Prairie Art Exhibit,” which opens June 1 at the Wallace Farm in Orient. Area artists of all ages and skill levels contributed the 2-foot-square paintings inspired by this year’s “Prairie Footprints” theme.

Admission is free to the 9-acre patch of restored grassland, with a pond and an orchard, and the art exhibit is self-guided, so you can explore it at your own pace any day from dawn to dusk through Oct. 1. The buildings (and restrooms) on the historic farm where Vice President Henry A. Wallace was born are open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.

If you plan ahead, you can finish your walk with a delicious farm-to-table meal in the Wallace Center’s restaurant or outside on Friday nights when they serve made-from-scratch pizzas straight from a wood-fired oven. The live music and lightning bugs add a little magic.

Welcome home: Sarah Davis returned to her home state and launched the podcast "Warmly, Iowa." Photo: Lauren Matysik

Listen up: There's a new podcast about Iowa

We've always published this newsletter and its annual print edition as a love letter to Iowa.

But we're not the only ones who love this place: Des Moines native Sarah Davis recently returned to the state after two decades away and started a new podcast, “Warmly, Iowa,” as her own ode to the Hawkeye State.

Davis studied at the University of Iowa, and her passion for travel took her to both U.S. coasts and abroad after graduation. The self-described digital nomad made her way home last year, and she’s intent on reacquainting herself with everything Iowa has to offer. That's what prompted the podcast.

“It takes listeners on a journey of rediscovery as we explore the beauty and complexity of life in Iowa,” Davis said. The first season will cover pizza farms, agritourism and farming in your backyard. It's available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and several other podcast platforms.