ia: The best of Iowa arts and culture

Crowds gather for a Taste of Summer at the riverfront museum in Dubuque. (Photo: Elevated Images)

Around Iowa

Roll over to the river in Dubuque

There’s no wrong time to visit the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque. The three-building complex on the historic riverfront showcases the fascinating history and dynamic ecology of the Mighty Mississippi and the role it plays in the city, region, country and world.

But next Thursday, Aug. 1, is an especially good time to go. The museum stays open late, 5-9 p.m., to host a Taste of Summer with food trucks and a beer-and-seltzer stand outside in the boatyard and plaza areas. So gather your friends, grab some refreshments and enjoy the live music from Boys of Lloyd and Dirt Road Rockers.

Meet these cute critters at an overnight camping adventure. (Photo: Iowa Farm Sanctuary)

Arts & Culture

Camp out with new friends, human and animal, in Oxford

If counting sheep hasn’t been working for you, maybe some cows can lull you to sleep this weekend at Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford.

The sanctuary for injured or disabled cows, pigs, goats and sheep hosts an overnight camping event this Saturday. At Buddy’s Bonfire, sleepover guests will meet all the resident animals before a rowdy game of kickball or Jenga, vegan s’mores around the bonfire and a movie under the stars. On Sunday morning, you’ll wake up with coffee and a yoga session.

Be sure to bring your own camping gear, including a folding chair, yoga mat and comfortable clothing you won’t mind getting dirty. Read more about the animals and get your tickets.

Irish culture is on display this weekend. (Photo: Young Heart Photography)

Arts & Culture

Celebrate Iowa-ish heritage in Waterloo

Follow the rainbow (or just Interstate 35 to Highway 20) to some gold-star entertainment in Waterloo. The annual Iowa Irish Festival, Aug. 2-4, is one of the state’s biggest celebrations of Irish heritage, organized by the Cedar Valley Irish Cultural Association.

Visitors can see a variety of Irish performances across several stages in downtown’s Lincoln Park, including Irish dancing and kilt competitions, plus concerts full of bagpipes, harps and fiddles. There will also be cultural workshops and demonstrations, from blacksmithing to whiskey tastings to Irish language learning and more. If you’re feeling lucky (or competitive), try your hand at a few classic Irish sports in the Highland Games, Gaelic football, rugby and even sheep herding. (Seriously, how baaaaahd can it be?)

Art in the Park overlooks the blue waters of West Lake Okoboji. (Photo: Vacation Okoboji)

Arts & Culture

Okoboji offers natural and human-made beauty

Just in case you wanted another reason to visit Okoboji this summer, here’s a good one: The Pearson Lakes Art Center hosts its annual Art in the Park festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Aug. 3. The juried show features more than 50 artists from across the Midwest and beyond, selling sculpture, pottery, glass, drawings, paintings, photos and more. There will also be plenty of hands-on activities for kids (and kids at heart).

While you’re there, take a lap through the galleries inside. The current exhibitions include a display of Kelly Devitt’s beautifully lumpy ceramics, inspired by the human body, plus plenty of local color in an exhibition called “Okoboji’s Photographic Palette.”

With summer temps peaking in the upper 90s this weekend, it’s a perfect time to head to Lake Icaria near Corning. (Photo: Travel Iowa)

Destinations

Escape to the lake near Corning

If you’re due for a weekend getaway, Lake Icaria in southeast Iowa is definitely worth a visit. Completed in 1978, the lake near Corning offers loads of amenities, including furnished cabins and cottages, camping, a swimming beach and more.

Two campgrounds — Lakeview, with views of the lake on three sides, or Timber Ridge, nestled into the woods — have electric and nonelectric lodging options, to suit your preference. Choose a basic air-conditioned cabin for a more rustic stay, or a lakeside cottage with a fully stocked kitchen, fresh linens and a covered deck for a full-on glamping trip.

While at the park, hike along several miles of trails, make s’mores or grill burgers at your campsite fire pit, try fishing, play disc golf, or simply splash around at the sandy beach. Bobbers Down Marina offers boat rentals for exploring the coves. Take it easy on a pontoon or burn some calories on a canoe, paddle board or pedal boat. The marina also offers refreshments, beach toys like tubes and fishing gear. They also offer occasional sunset kayaking events, with lessons for newbies. Check out the website to learn more.

TikTok deemed 2023 a "tomato girl summer." We say it's always tomato girl summer.

Food & Dining

Iowa is in its tomato era

It’s summer in Iowa and our farmers markets and gardens are bursting with tomatoes. The price and quality of those boxes are hard to resist, but how many BLTs can one family eat? A lot, to be sure, but canning your excess harvest can preserve their summertime flavor for the long, cold winter. Here are three ways to enjoy home-canned tomatoes well after the season is over:

1. For decadent cream of tomato soup, sauté a 1/2 cup of chopped onion and a minced garlic clove in a couple of tablespoons of butter until soft. Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour until creamy. Add 1 cup of half-and-half or milk and cook, stirring until it’s thick. Add a quart of tomatoes and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Heat it just until hot and season with salt and pepper to taste. (For bonus points: Top it with a spoonful of that frozen pesto you made while you were canning those tomatoes.)

2. For fresh-tasting salsa in the dead of winter, dump a quart of tomatoes into a strainer, set over a bowl to catch the juice. Drink the juice. Tip the tomatoes into a blender or food processor and add one fresh jalapeno, 1/2 cup of cilantro, juice from half a lime, 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped onion, a smashed garlic clove and salt to taste. Blitz it a few times and you’re done.

3. For “cheap spaghetti,” cook a 1/2 pound of spaghetti as the package directs. While it boils, cook two strips of chopped bacon with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet until crisp. Use your hands to squish a quart of tomatoes into the skillet. Cook to reduce the juices a bit. Dip out a cup of the pasta water, and add about half of it to the skillet. Drain the pasta and toss it in the skillet to coat. Add a little more pasta water if it needs it. Season and serve with parmesan cheese. A dollop of fresh pesto on top is a nice addition here, too.

Find more tomato recipes from contributor Mary Jane Miller in the current issue of dsm.

We want to know: What's the best road trip you've taken through the state? (Photo: Dave Darby)

Around Iowa

Tell us about your ia summer road trip

A century ago, when many Iowa families were buying their first cars, there was a statewide campaign to get Iowa “out of the mud.” That phrase summed up a massive effort to pave Iowa’s dirt roads, which often turned into gloppy soup after a heavy rain, and make the state more accessible for the new-fangled horseless carriages.

Today, Iowa ranks 15th in the United States in terms of total road miles and seventh per capita.

So why not make use of them? If you’re road-tripping this summer — around the state or around the block — we want to hear about it. Where did you go? And why? What was your favorite part and the best thing you ate?

Send a note and some photos to editors@bpcdm.com, and we’ll publish our favorites in early September. Happy travels!