Around Des Moines

It will be warm enough to go outside this weekend, but you will want to be indoors at the Botanical Center on Sunday, January 27th for week four of the Botanical Blues. Performing this weekend will be Dewey Cantrell and Jodi Bodley. Cost is $4. Time is from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Location is the Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive). Hopefully it will be cold enough to stay on the ice at Easter Lake by Shelter #2 where the Polk County Conservation Board has a lesson on the basics of ice fishing planned for Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Neither of these locations is really convenient to public transportation, but the Botanical Center is only about a 20-30 minute walk from the bus routes that run along East Locust and East Walnut Streets.

Enchanted April starts performances this weekend at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) with opening night on Friday, January 25th, at 8:00 p.m. Can Matthew Barber’s stage adaptation do justice to post-World War I women created by novelist Elizabeth Von Arnim? Marc Cherry hasn’t done poorly with his post-modern desperate housewives. I wonder if this play’s characters will be comparable to that television show’s characters. Tickets are $24-$34. Show times are 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. on Sundays, and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays through February 10th.

Turning serious, the American Friends Service Committee is presenting two performances of My Name is Rachel Corrie, with talk-backs on Saturday, January 26th at 2:00 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. The location is Grace United Methodist Church (3700 Cottage Grove). For students, a suggested donation is $10; $20 for adults. This is a play that is based on writings by the late activist. The performance, put on by a troupe from Denver, runs about 100 minutes, so allow at least a couple hours. Afterwards, the performer, Rachel’s father, and members of the community will discuss the current issues of Palestine and Israel with the public. Any money not needed to cover production costs will be given to the Rachel Corrie Foundation.

At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, the 2nd Avenue Jazz Band is scheduled to play at Ritual Cafe (13th Street between Locust and Grand) for an unspecified donation. On Friday, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Java Joe’s (4th Street between Walnut and Locust) the Urbandale High School Jazz Combo Showcase will perform. From 9:00 to 11:30 p.m. DJ Keelix, from San Francisco, will mix a “smooth jazzy house and downtempo.”

A Chocolate Affair won’t happen until next Friday, February 1st, but tickets are $40 at the door and only $30 in advance so I’ll mention it in this weekend’s picks. This event is a social fundraiser for Ballet Des Moines. The adventure begins at 5:00 p.m. with chocolate samplings at various East Village merchants. Starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Ballet Des Moines building at 504 East Locust there will be chocolate martinis, salsa dancing from Salsa Iowa, and more.

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.