Around Des Moines

Tuesday, April 22nd is Earth Day but area business districts are hoping to celebrate this weekend. Earth Day in the Junction will be held on Sunday, April 20, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be opportunities to run a race, to walk through Brown Woods, and to drive a hybrid car. Historic Valley Junction in West Des Moines has additional information on a special website and in the organization’s April newsletter. I could not find a similar listing of events for the Saturday, April 19th, Spring in the Village. Individual stores are arranging their own events in the East Village, centered around Locust Street between East 3rd and East 7th Streets.

An earthquake in Illinois at about 4:37 a.m. on April 18th, registering 5.4 on the Richter scale, started the celebrations. Iowans living along streams and rivers, particularly in the southeast quarter of the state, are hoping that recent rains don’t flood out the earth around their homes and farms. With sunshine and 70 degree temperatures forecast for Sunday, hopefully everyone will have an opportunity just to enjoy the pleasure of spring flowers and fresh air.

The Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive) will offer free admission all day on Tuesday, April 22nd. On Sunday, the 20th, Director of Orangutan Research Dr. Rob Shumaker at the Great Ape Trust will talk about apes in the wild at 1:30 p.m. Cost is $4 for adults. On Saturday, the 19th, the Iowa Bonsai Association will hold its annual show at the Botanical Center from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. the owners of Butterfliz of Iowa will give a presentation on building a backyard butterfly habitat.

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle is the motto for limiting landfills. Reduce your packaging (e.g., buy loose fruits and vegetables instead of prepackaged ones at the grocery store. Reuse products you buy or find (e.g., a non-Iowa friend has an old lobster-shipping crate serving as a coffee table). Recycle what you can’t reduce or reuse. Recycling comes last in this trio because it requires energy and water to sort, to clean, and to reshape recycled products. If you have an old item that you think could be recycled into money from an antique dealer, the Terrace Hill Society is holding its annual Treasures in the Attic event on Sunday, the 20th. For $5 per item, you can have an appraisal made on your antiques. The time is from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at West End Architectural Salvage, located in a renovated 1913 grocers warehouse at 9th and Cherry Streets.

If you prefer to look at the sky rather than the Earth, this Friday’s topic at the spring astronomical series at the Drake Municipal Observatory is “Gravity is the Key.”

The Drake Relays start off with street painting on the 19th and a parade on the 20th. This is the 99th year of the Relays.

DART buses can get you to and from most of these events.

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