Weekend Pick: Groundhog Tales

By the sun, Monday, February 4th is mid-Winter. Start the celebrations early with groundhog sugar cookies. Bake up a batch Friday night then rise with the sun on Saturday, February 2nd. Hold a cookie, in the shape of a groundhog, up to the sun and see if it casts a shadow. It sure beats standing out in the cold and disturbing a live animal.

     

February appears to be the month when people return to activity, after the food of the year-end holidays and a January recovery. The inaugural Des Moines Winter Games are this weekend, from February 1st through the 3rd. Later in the month are the 23rd annual Skywalk Golf tournament (Feb. 9th) and the 801 Grand Power Climb (Feb. 24th).

Friday, February 1st is the annual day on which women are encouraged to wear red to remind them to care for their hearts. The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease (WomenHeart) has information on women, heart attacks, and coronary disease.

Quilts will be on display at the Polk County Heritage Gallery (111 Court Avenue) starting February 4th, with an opening reception on Sunday, February 3rd, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. In 2007, a series of classes was held to make bed-sized quilts for the C-on Kinshuko Christian family camp in Iwate, Japan. More than 50 quilt makers from 12 area churches participated. A sampling of their work is what will be on display at the gallery.

The fifth Sunday of Blues at the Botanical Center is also February 3rd. Tina Haase-Findlay will be performing from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Cost is $4.

Even though Ballet Des Moines is holding its A Chocolate Affair this Friday night, with chocolate treats at East Village merchants followed by chocolate martinis and salsa dancing at 504 East Locust (cost $40 at door, starting at 5:00 p.m.), I just cannot get excited by anything on my calendar this weekend. I blame it on Enchanted April. The play, now showing at the Des Moines Playhouse, got me daydreaming of romance, warm ocean breezes, and the flavor of the Mediterranean. Then I was forced to confront 40 mph wind gusts, stinging snow pellets, and gray skies over Iowa. As I was complaining about this to a friend, she started telling me about how she used to warm up the men in her family who returned inside after caring for livestock and doing other rural chores in the bitter cold. The cure involved butter, sugar, cocoa, heavy cream, and vanilla. Now that is serious hot chocolate.

The Drake University men’s basketball team is drawing crowds and attention. Now you have the choice of watching the Bulldogs play tennis, too. This Sunday the men’s team will play St. Louis at the Drake Tennis Center at 11:00 a.m. Oh, yeah, Sunday is when the Super Bowl is played.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. She encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com.