Around Des Moines

In the past week enough flowers have been in bloom and enough leaves have unfurled to make it seem like Spring is finally here to stay. Alas, spiders and other crawling things also have been spotted with increasing frequency. It won’t be long before the summer events season begins. Indeed, the list of activities for next weekend, the first in May, is growing long. This weekend, though, is relatively quiet.

If you find yourself in downtown Des Moines, take a walk around the historic Polk County Courthouse. It is located between Cherry and Mulberry with the original entrance facing Fifth Street at Court. The special election to decide a referendum on building a new court building and renovating the current structure will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.

Java Joe’s, at 214 Fourth Street, offers several incentives to go downtown this weekend. On Thursday, April 24th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. there will be a family game night and an ice cream social. The ice cream comes from KaleidoScoops in Ankeney and costs $2.50 per scoop. (If politics is your game, Drinking Liberally meets a few doors up Fourth Street at the Lift every Thursday at 8:00 p.m.) Ankeny Free Church Pastor John Colyer will lead an open forum on “The Bible” from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27th. Musicians appearing this weekend include Leslie Wells, Nick LaPointe, and Sound Rabbit. In addition, the Iowa Scriptwriters Alliance presents Seven Deadly Sins as seven short plays. Performances are on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Cost is $10, or, as the ISA website notes, only $1.43 per sin.

If you’re looking for a musical, The Pajama Game is playing at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) through May 4th. Show times are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Adult tickets are $34.

Starting on Monday, April 28th, and running through Saturday, May 3rd, a block party will be held by Ingersoll merchants and businesses between 35th and 42nd Streets. Specials can be found on food and merchandise. Personally, I’m going to try Bauder’s $0.99 root beer float. The pharmacy/soda fountain’s ice cream is quite good and the staff provides a friendly service that is only found in small, local establishments.

Wednesday, April 30th, is the last day to purchase discounted pool passes from Des Moines Parks & Recreation. The mayor’s ride to the trails was last week and this would be a good weekend to do your own bike riding. Take the 4-mile Creek trail up to Sargent’s Park on the city’s northeast side and check out the prairie flowers. There is not yet a trail to Ewing Park down by Easter Lake on the southeast side of Des Moines but the lilac arboretum in the park should be relatively accessible by bicycle. (It’s a pain to be reached by foot, but it is possible.)

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com.