ia: The best of Iowa arts and culture

Ballet Des Moines' summer tour shows how the arts and science can lift each other up. (Photo: Jami Milne)

Ballet tour offers STEM with a twist and a leap

Ballet Des Moines is taking its full company of professional dancers to five locations around Iowa this summer for its annual Summer STEM Tour. The company plans to showcase showcase arts, science and education programming in five free performances across the state:

June 1: Dubuque
June 4: Waterloo
June 7: Malvern
June 12: Des Moines
June 14: Cedar Rapids

The tour includes highlights from the company's 2024-2025 mainstage season and educational family activities about coding, choreography, sound waves and more. Organizers designed the hands-on activities to help visitors "see the music" and spark their curiosity through immersive performance.

This year, pre-show entertainment will feature artists-in-residence from both the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines and Brucemore in Cedar Rapids.

“This unique partnership highlights the deep connections between science and the arts, demonstrating how creativity fuels innovation and how scientific principles can be found in artistic expression,” Science Center of Iowa President and CEO Curt Simmons said in a statement. “It’s a powerful reminder that there truly is an art to science — and a science to art."

The statewide tour also involves Iowa PBS and Iowa State University’s FLEx Lab, among others. The tour additionally relies on host community support.

“Positive, systemic change happens through arts, education and community development,” Beau Kenyon, Ballet Des Moines’ director of outreach and education, said in the press release. “Together, we’re sending a message of hope to each community that we’re not alone in this very important work.”

Middlebrook is working hard to create a close-knit community centered around a safe and walkable town. (Photo: middlebrookfarm.com)

Sip and shop at the Middlebrook Mercantile

Middlebrook Mercantile, housed in a restored one-room school in Cumming, is hosting a Spring Sip and Shop on June 8. Visitors and locals alike can shop from local vendors while sipping on Mercantile drinks.

During the event, visitors can also tour homes for sale in the nearby Agrihood, the new development inspired by traditional neighborhood design.

Characters from "Downton Abbey" will come to life, if only briefly, during a murder mystery party. (Photo: PBS)

Bump off a guest at a winery in Leighton

Wine, dinner and murder ... . Beware: Tassel Ridge Winery is hosting Murder at the Abbey, a murder mystery and wine dinner on June 7. Guests will be treated to a scandalous "Downton Abbey"-themed show, presented by the Jest Murder Mystery Co., and a three-course dinner paired with house wines.

The dinner, hosted by the Earl of Grantham himself, will be filled with familiar characters from the show. You can play a role as big or as small as you’d like in this interactive dinner experience.

It's a wonderful life, especially at night, in uptown Denison. (Photo: Travel Iowa)

Summer nights heat up Denison

Uptown Denison will come to life with the annual Hot Summer Nights on June 7 and July 10. Stop by to listen to live music and visit the beer garden, kids zone and food trucks. Organizers from the Crawford County chamber and the Crawford County Women in Business Impact Organization decided to add the second night after last summer's success.

While you're there, be sure to stop by the Bake Shop and Hollywood Cafe (a nod to Denison native Donna Reed) or take a hike in the surrounding Loess Hills.

The Circus of Tensegrity is plans to hang out later this month. (Photo: Nina Reed)

A new kind of circus heads to Chelsea

The Circus of Tensegrity takes its name from an architectural term that combines "tension" and "integrity." The Iowa-based company riffs on that idea by custom-building structures for each performance spaces to promote creativity and collaborative entertainment.

Curious? See for yourself on May 31 at Windy Goat Acres in Chelsea, a short drive north of Grinnell. The show will be followed by a Q&A and a public workshop where artists will help audience volunteers through guided movements.