Around Des Moines

Put aside your Halloween candy and watch an exhibition game at Drake University on Thursday, November 1st. The women’s basketball team will play Quincy at 7:05 p.m. The men’s basketball team will play an exhibition against (Minnesota) Southwest State on Saturday, November 3rd at 2:05 p.m. Tickets for women’s games are $12 reserved; $6 general admission. The cost for men’s games is $17-$20 reserved; $14 general admission. Both games will be played at the Knapp Center (25th Street and Forest Avenue).

Reggie’s Sleepout to raise funds to help homeless youth starts Friday afternoon (registration from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Drake stadium, 27th and Forest) and goes until Saturday at 7:00 a.m. If you are concerned about a particular youth you know or believe to be homeless, you can call (515) 264-1222 for information and referrals 24 hours a day.

If you are looking for a cerebral activity, the Young Professionals Book Discussion Group at the North Side Library (3516 5th Street) will meet on November 3 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Call (515) 323-8378 to pre-register.

There are several theatrical performances from which to choose. Stage West Iowa at the Civic Center’s Stoner Auditorium (221 Walnut Street) opens Take Me Out on Friday, November 2nd. General admission is around $20, but half-price rush tickets may be available thirty minutes before curtain on Sunday and on Wednesday. The play is about a popular baseball player and what happens when he announces he is gay. Roosevelt High School (Polk Boulevard and Chamberlain) is putting on Les Misérables Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $8 adult, $5 K-12 students. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. Although Ebenezer & the Spirit of Giving at Terrace Hill does not start until Monday, November 5, seating is limited so you might want to call for tickets (515-280-3450) before the final performance next Saturday, November 10. All shows start at 7:00 p.m. and cost $75. The audience will move from room to room to watch this adaptation of A Christmas Carol and will enjoy desserts with the cast afterwards.

The Two Rivers Art Expo at Hy-vee Hall (730 3rd Street) Friday through Sunday is put on by the same group that offers Jazz in July. In addition, according to the web site for the expo, the group that hosts the event, Metro Arts Alliance, “coordinate[s] a number of educational outreach programs focused primarily on school age children.” Prices on IowaTix are $7 for Saturday or Sunday and $25 for the Friday night soiree. There is no admission charge for children 12 and under.

Wednesday, November 7 is not the weekend but there will be a guitar concert by George Winston on that date. It will be held at the First Christian Church (25th and University) and will benefit the Thresholds Arts Festival. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Thresholds will be held in February 2008 and is hosted by Drake University and First Christian Church.

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