View Some Art, Eat Some Food, Enjoy Your Lunch Break

“Nobody comes out here anymore.” That is how Sam Soda described lunch time at Nollen Plaza where he said there used to be 23 vendors. The Sodas, Sam and his wife Marilyn, sell brats, Italian grinders, polish sausage, grilled turkey tender, grilled chicken breast, BBQ pork, chips, and pop from their two carts. Look for the Saverio’s sign.

This year The Great Midwestern has a grill at Nollen Plaza. Eloy Garcia and his brother, Lalo, bought The Great Midwestern, which is in the Kaleidoscope’s food court, in March of this year. The menu has been changed slightly. Instead of offering a soup of the day, all soups are available every day. The new owners also added rubens, wraps, and grilled wraps.

Sam Soda, who has been vending food at Nollen Plaza for 15 years, said he is there from about May until he “can’t stand it any more.” The food vendors are allowed on the plaza only between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Nollen Plaza is in downtown Des Moines at the corner of Locust and Third Streets. The Kaleidoscope can be accessed by taking the escalators in Capital Square to the Skywalk and heading west. For those directionally-challenged readers, that means the direction opposite where you face as you ride the steps upward.

Capital Square is the building right next to Nollen Plaza, with a Kinkos and a post office. The Associated Artists of Central Iowa (AACIA) are holding their spring show in the atrium of Capital Square now through June 2. The show includes several floral still lifes, plus a few landscapes, portraits, and animals. There were a few pieces that grabbed the eyes of passers-by.

Deborah Jensen’s “Baby Zebra” pastel tugs at human heartstrings as the spindly legs wobble, suggesting an uncertain future. The length of the legs serve to pull the viewer’s eyes up towards the face of the zebra where a person could look into the animal’s eye and try to discern the nature of the beast. The strong colors and shapes of Sharon Kouri’s “Untitled I” suggest the power of coffee to raise the sun and to move the oceans. Donna McConkey’s “Kaleidoscope” is hard to discern. From a distance, it resembles a Roman soldier with his helmet camouflaged by a plant. Viewed more closely, it hints at other stories. Linda Kielsmeier’s pastel portrait of an older woman reveals a grace sustained despite the sadness of years.

AACIA was founded in 1963 and is composed of professional and amateur artists. In addition to regular meetings, the group holds two shows a year at Capital Square, as well as occasional shows at the Polk County Heritage Gallery and the Ankeny Library.

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

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