Around Des Moines

The Des Moines Art Festival — celebrating its tenth year June 29 - July 1– has always been a juried art fair. And the calibur of its showcased artists keeps rising. This year, 135 participants were chosen from over 1,400 applicants. 15 award-winning artists from last year’s event were also invited back.Of these, nine outstanding Iowa artists made the cut. (This is addition to the 24 Emerging Iowa Artists featured at the festival.)

These veteran Iowa artists represent a wide range of media and a cross-section of the state. Doubly-talented artist Chris Vance, who describes his work as “a diary,” made the grade in two categories: 2-D Mixed Media and Painting. George and Martha Monson Lowe are perennial favorites with his green-glazed pottery and her woven rattan baskets. And, as is often the case, they are gems that often go unrecognized.

Be sure to look for all these Iowa treaures at this year’s event:

Mike Bose (Bedford, IA), Ceramics at Booth G11

Gene Brown (Urbandale, IA) 2-D Mixed Media at Booth P78

George Lowe (Decorah, IA), Ceramics at Booth P41

Martha Monson Lowe (Decorah, IA), 3-D Mixed Media at Booth P40

James Ochs (Iowa City, IA), Graphics/Printmaking at Booth G13

James Petran (Iowa City, IA), Painting at Booth P6

Jose Sierra (Pella, IA), Ceramics at Booth P49

Chris Vance (Bondurant, IA), 2-D Mixed Media and Painting at Booth L20C

David Young (Solon, IA), Wood at Booth P11C

For more information about the Des Moines Art Festival, visit http://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org/

Guest Author: Brenda Friedrich

technorati tags: Home Turf Media, Iowa, Des Moines, Des Moines Arts Festival, Brenda Friedrich

With festival time here, many of the uninitiated may be asking, “What’s all the hubbub about?” I’ll try to sum it up: the Des Moines Arts Festival is all about art, entertainment, fun and food! It’s about seeing old friends and gaining new perspectives.

Held June 29-July 1 in the downtown Western Gateway Park, the Des Moines Arts Festival is Iowa’s only free, three-day celebration of the arts. Its mainstay is a juried art fair which features visual arts from across the United States. The festival also encourages new talent with the Nurturing a Student’s Vision program, which exhibits artwork from young Iowa artists in grades K-12. And a recently added feature showcases the work of Emerging Iowa Artists.

Returning for a second year is the sculpture garden, located by the new library. Activities for children and families remain on the festival line-up. And, of course, a number of food vendors continue to indulge guests with an eclectic variety of culinary arts.

While this year’s event will continue to offer favorites from past years, the festival will also “expand into a variety of activities, encouraging patrons to Live the Arts,” say festival staff. Three stages have been added to showcase the performing arts, including dance, theatre and music. But expect the live excitement to spread as a variety of street theatre groups roam the site.

Amid all of this excitement, be sure to keep an eye out for pavement artist Gary Palmer. This internationally acclaimed muralist can be found creating art life at the corner of 15th St. and Grand Ave.

Festival hours are:

Friday, June 29 - 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 30 - 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fireworks Show at 9:45 p.m.
Sunday, July 1 - 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Visit the Des Moines Arts Festival Web site for driving directions, festival map or more detailed information.

Guest Author: Brenda Friedrich

technorati tags: Home Turf Media, Iowa, Des Moines, Des Moines Arts Festival, Brenda Friedrich

The arts are about to overtake downtown Des Moines in grand fashion! Located in the downtown Western Gateway, the 2007 Des Moines Art Festival promises non-stop live music, free dance performances and the work of over 500 visual artists.

And this year, to celebrate it’s tenth anniversary, the Des Moines Arts Festival is pulling out all the stops with a free performance with the world renowned Joffrey Ballet. The outdoor performance is scheduled for Friday, June 29, and made possible by Hancher Auditorium and the University of Iowa.

Although the event starts at 8 p.m., you’ll want to come early. Head for 12th Street, between downtown’s Central Library and the Pappajohn Higher Education Center and bring your blankets and folding chairs for this one-and-a-half-hour performance.

Can’t make the date? Des Moines won’t be the ballet company’s only Iowa stop. This summer,the Joffrey Ballet will present five free performances to mark Hancher’s 35th anniversary season. The tour will include appearances in Council Bluffs, Muscatine, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

For a complete schedule of the Joffrey Ballet’s Iowa River-to-River tour, visit http://www.hancher.uiowa.edu/hancher35/locations.html

Guest Author: Brenda Friedrich

technorati tags: Home Turf Media, Iowa, Des Moines, Des Moines Arts Festival, Brenda Friedrich

Reading through several comments available on the Internet about Project
Destiny, I have to agree with the headline offered by one Des Moines area
television station. Quite a few people do not even know that there will be a
vote on the proposal for a new 1% sales tax in the counties of Dallas, Polk,
and Warren. Even for people who do know about the July 10th election, there
is little understanding of the full consequences of the vote. (Read an
earlier Around Des Moines post on Project Destiny.)

The City of Des Moines hosted a virtual meeting to gather comments about
Project Destiny before the city council voted on how to allocate the third
of revenue not pre-determined by the regional agreement for the tax
proposal. There were 51 posts that can be viewed via pdf or via html. Many
of the posts were about neighborhood redevelopment, basic services such as
libraries and buses, and the proposed skateboard park near the Des Moines
River. The city council voted to spend the revenue for more property tax
reduction and other selective cost offsets.

One of the residents asked the question about which I have been wondering.
That is, how will votes be tallied? One print media noted that rural voters
in Polk County need to approve the ballot in order to benefit. A blogger
noted that residents in West Des Moines will be subject to the 1% tax if the
majority of voters in either Dallas, Polk, or Warren county vote for the
tax, because the city is located in all three counties. However, what
happens if voters in Polk County approve the tax, but not those in the City
of Des Moines? What happens if Des Moines goes for the tax, but not Clive?

Even if Clive and Des Moines voters both approve the local option sales tax,
will there be a standard rule on maintenance of bicycle trails? The mayor of
Des Moines claims that his city maintains trails the year around, but the
Greenbelt in Clive has signs posted warning that the trail is not maintained
in winter. In addition, it is illegal to use the Greenbelt during the night,
a restriction not imposed for bike lanes on city streets.

For people who have time and $12 to attend a luncheon on June 26, the former
mayor of Pittsburgh, which funded downtown development and sports arenas
with a Regional Asset Tax (RAT), will be speaking. A post was made about the
luncheon on EssentialEstrogen.com. There is also a comment to the post that
I made based on my years of living in Pittsburgh with the consequences of
the RAT.

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

With a rental car on hand from a business trip and unable to return the car until Monday, due to the rental agency being closed on Sunday, I took advantage of the situation and visited the covered bridges in Madison County. Whether the trip is worthwhile depends upon a person’s interests.

Madison County may have had the greatest density of covered bridges in the United States with 19 such structures once crossing the county’s waterways. The massive alteration of the land in Iowa and the frequency of creeks and rivers no doubt encouraged the building of many bridges. The pioneer-era county government contributed to history, and saved taxpayers’ money, by having the bridges covered in order to protect the more expensive planking on the roadway of the bridges.

If you love “The Bridges of Madison County,” either the book or the movie, you may want to visit the bridges identified in the story. Possibly because of attention drawn to the bridges by the story, or maybe just because the bridges are in sparsely-populated countryside, arson became a problem. As a result, the six remaining bridges have video cameras recording visitors. Arson destroyed the Cedar bridge in 2002, but a replica was built in 2004. This modern reproduction is the only covered bridge that is open to vehicles.

I took sketch pads and pencils with me but I needed a chair and sunscreen, too. Built in 1870, the Imes is the oldest bridge. It is now in a park in St. Charles. This was the most pleasant place to sit and draw thanks to a picnic table and shade. It is less than a mile from Exit 52 on I-35 and has a gift shop nearby.

The Imes and the Cutler-Donahoe are the two bridges with pitched roofs. I found the Imes to be prettier, but the Cutler-Donahoe is just a few blocks from the birthplace of John Wayne. If you are in Winterset to honor The Duke, to see the courthouse built of local limestone, or for another reason,
you easily can stop at the bridge in South Park. Winterset, the county seat of Madison County is about 30 miles from Des Moines.

The Roseman, Hogback, and Holliwell bridges are all at their original sites. These were my favorite because I enjoy rivers and observing how nature and history mix. Roseman has a gift shop. Hogback is nearest to I-80 (via Hwy. 169) and a stone school house. Holliwell, at 122 feet, is the longest bridge.

Publicity material for the bridges barely mentions the bridges’ design and construction nor did I not note anything particular in those areas, but I am neither a carpenter nor an engineer. Although, given the number of bridges throughout the United States in need of repair, I wondered if it might not be time for PBS to do a series called “This Old Bridge.”

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

Walking to the monthly meeting of the Friends of Iowa Women Prisoners
(FIWP), I looked down at the Des Moines River from the Locust Street bridge.
My mind pulled up memories of ocean-covered beaches until I realized I was
seeing the sidewalk that runs alongside the river. It has been so long since
the water level was low enough to see the sidewalk that I momentarily forgot
it existed. The weeks of high water have taken their toll on the retaining
walls.

I was looking for something to drink beside the water that I had with me
when I remembered the Brenton Skating Plaza serves lunch. When I stopped to
see what the options were, I learned that the site offers numerous
activities during the summer.

The FIWP meeting featured a woman from Des Moines Area Community College
(DMACC) who talked about an ex-offender re-entry program designed to reduce
recidivism. Also attending the meeting was a person from Iowa Workforce
Development who talked about POETS, which stands for “Providing
Opportunities for Ex-offenders To Succeed.” It meets every Tuesday, from
8:30 to 10:00 a.m. at 430 East Grand. The course curriculum helps
ex-offenders, both those on parole and those who have completed their
sentences, to present their past so employers will hire them, bankers will
give them home loans, and landlords will rent to them. No reservation is
needed to attend the classes. This program helps the community because
employment is a significant deterrent to committing crimes.

After the FIWP meeting, I walked to Union Park to ride the Heritage
Carousel. Along the way, I discovered Des Moines has a traffic circle! It is
located at Buchanan and East 12th Streets.

The Heritage Carousel is now open Tuesdays through Sundays during the
afternoon and evening. It costs 50¢ for children to ride and $1.00 for
adults. The ride lasts long enough to get over the initial disconcerting
motion and to enjoy the view. One rotation lasts 15 seconds. There are
t-shirts, magnets, and posters for sale to help provide for maintenance of
the carousel. The #5 bus goes past Union Park. The #3 bus stop at Birdland
Park is a pleasant 10-15 minute stroll away. The #4 bus along East 14th
Street also is within walking distance of the park.

FIWP meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 12:00 noon at Wesley United
Methodist Church, 800 East 12th Street. Leading Voices: Iowa will have a
write-up of the June meeting in its June 27 issue.

Brenton Plaza mostly offers basic grill food and munchies from 11:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. weekdays from May to August. Friday nights in June there are free
movies at 9:00 p.m.. (”Happy Feet” on June 22 and “Flipper” on June 29.)
Friday nights have roller skating, but you must provide your own skates.
Karaoke is offered both Fridays and Sundays. Saturday nights there is
Dancing Under the Stars for $8.00.

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

The adult amateurs started their triathlon early on the morning of Sunday, June 17, as part of the festivities surrounding the Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon held in Des Moines. The athletes swam in Gray’s Lake, then bicycled into West Des Moines and back into downtown Des Moines for the final run. I caught some of the bicycle action along Grand Avenue late into the race.

A few people came out to enjoy the weather and to cheer along the bicyclists. The large, easy to read road closure signs apparently drove home their message effectively.

Law enforcement officials were allowing motorists to cross Grand at 42nd Street. Emergency response teams also used that intersection as a stand-by base.

Hy-Vee donated plenty of donuts, bagels, coffee, and juice for residents who were not able to get out and about for their regular Sunday morning activities due to the road closure. One of the departmental managers at a West Des Moines store staffed this particular site. She was in place before 5:30 a.m. and still standing at 9:30. She patiently answered a nosy person’s questions. The first bicyclist rode past about 6:45 a.m., well ahead of the pack. Hy-Vee employees came from all over to help out, including a store manager from Cherokee who was nearby.

(I have to apologize for the quality of this photo. I neglected to check my camera’s auto setting. I wanted to include the picture, however, to thank Hy-Vee for thinking of the residents, as well as the triathletes.)

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

We have a new page featured on AroundDesMoines.com called “In My Opinion…” (on the right sidebar).

It’s a chance for you to express your ideas. Maybe you will find kindred spirits in Iowa. Give it a try. Let’s start talking.

The neat thing about conversations is that when people are open to listening to others’ opinions, sometimes they each move closer to middle ground. We have more in common than we might think. Let’s learn from one another every day and make a difference - one relationship at a time.

Of course, we want to be respectful of people. We’re each entitled to our opinions, even if others don’t agree with them. So any comments that are not made in that spirit may not be published.

People in Des Moines and West Des Moines may have heard that a major sporting event called the Hy-Vee Triathlon will be run in the city on Sunday, June 17, with associated competitions and activities being held on Saturday, June 16. From past experience, I know that people who visit Des Moines on those days for reasons other than the race will have no idea about the road and other closings. Heck, even people who live here and don’t travel the same route every day, and only that route, will be shocked by the closings. Thus, I am offering this public alert.

Des Moines won’t really shut down for the triathlon, but at times it might seem that way. The information I have as to what will close and when it will be closed is very minimal. (Here is West Des Moines information.) I know the central library will be closed on June 17. The local buses will be re-routed and delayed at least part of June 16. The State Historical Building has information on its web site about parking when the streets around it are closed. Even the majority of Grand Street from around the state capitol into West Des Moines will be closed for four hours the morning of June 17. Triathlon races begin at Gray’s Lake, so expect early congestion around that area.

Non-triathlon events are still planned throughout the city. As far as I
know, the downtown farmers market will be open on June 16. Music Under The Stars kicks off June 17 at Roosevelt High School. Locally-owned stores and restaurants throughout the city would still appreciate your business. If you are out and about Des Moines, please drive, walk, run, bike, and swim safely and expect detours and delays.

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.

Project Destiny is a proposal for Dallas, Polk, and Warren counties to add a
1¢ local sales tax. This will be in addition to and separate from the 1¢ school-related sales tax currently in place. If the proposal passes, the
sales tax rate in Des Moines will rise to 7%.

A conversation with the Des Moines City Manager Rick Clark and other
advocates for the proposed sales tax will be held on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church. The church is located at 3829 Grand Avenue. (For people who take the bus, the last #1 bus runs from 42nd and Ingersoll to downtown at approximately 8:11 p.m.) The event is hosted by AMOS, A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy.

The special election will be held on July 10, 2007. The new Iowa law
allowing same-day voter registration will NOT be in effect for this
election. If you want to vote on this tax proposal, the deadline to register
in person is Friday, June 29th. If registering by mail, the postmark must be no later than June 29th. Absentee ballots may be cast now through Monday,July 9th, at the Polk County Auditor’s office or requested by mail. If voting by mail, the ballots must be returned with a postmark no later than July 9th.

Unfortunately, there is no Internet site or print publication that even
attempts to offer a complete and balanced look at Project Destiny. This is
not good because there are myriad and far-reaching reasons for this
particular proposal being put to voters at this particular time. At the
extremes, large property-owning corporations will see a significant
reduction in property taxes paid and low-income renters will see an
undefined increase in sales taxes paid. Enticements have been added to the ballot measure to encourage people in the middle to support the tax, and there are basic structural reasons for considering a sales tax. However, there are also many problems such a tax can cause for Des Moines, its residents, and surrounding communities.

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa .