The Iowa Arts Festival is a weekend-long, free, community celebration featuring over 130 local and regional visual artists displaying and selling their artwork, a music festival, a “Culinary Row” serving regional and ethnic food, a variety of activities and entertainment, both creative and educational, for children and families. The Iowa Arts Festival is the most anticipated visual art-centered event of the summer.
The Iowa Arts Festival kid’s activities are educational and fun, featuring puppets, crafts, music and dance. Kids can pick up a passport and tour the Global Village traveling from country to country, all in one day. Families can listen to great music and dance to tunes from all over the world. Children’s Day features over 10 booths of hands-on activities, crafts and learning experiences presented by area businesses and groups.
Be sure to come hungry! Culinary row features local food vendors with a global flavor. Roam about munching on some of the area’s best foods from traditional, Indian and African fare to good old fashioned Barbecue.
The general schedule is:
Festival Dates:
Friday June 4 to Sunday June 6, 2010
Art Fair Dates:
Saturday June 5 to Sunday June 6, 2010
Friday Night:
Main Stage musical performances
Saturday:
Main Stage musical performances
Family Stage Performance
Art Fair (featuring over 130 artists)
Global Village (bring the kids!)
Fun Zone
Culinary Row
Sunday:
Family Stage performances
Art Fair (featuring over 130 artists)
Children’s Day (bring the kids!)
Fun Zone
Culinary Row
For complete information on this event as well as all the other Summer Of The Arts events, please visit:
The ACT board of directors named Jon Whitmore, former University of Iowa provost who is currently the president of San Jose State University, as ACT’s new chief executive officer. The appointment is effective Sept. 1, the beginning of ACT’s new fiscal year.
“ACT’s directors are very enthusiastic to have Jon Whitmore become our next CEO. We wanted an accomplished leader with notable executive experience and an exemplary track record of success,” ACT Board Lead Director Mark Musick stated in a press release. “We found just the right person in Jon. We’re confident that he will provide outstanding leadership to expand ACT’s role in helping shape state and national education and workforce policy and in helping more people achieve education and workplace success.”
San Jose State University is a major comprehensive research university located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Previously, Mr. Whitmore served as president of Texas Tech University and as provost at the University of Iowa.
“I look forward to carrying on ACT’s upward trajectory, which has been skillfully advanced by Dick Ferguson and ACT’s excellent staff,” Mr. Whitmore stated. “ACT’s reputation for excellence, and its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success, are needed today more than ever. With President (Barack) Obama’s goal of dramatically increasing the number of citizens who graduate from high school, community colleges and four-year colleges, and with the need to retrain many Americans who have lost jobs or are looking to change professions, ACT has a vital role to play at this critical time in history.”
Mr. Whitmore was selected after a nationwide search by ACT’s board, assisted by the Spencer Stuart executive search firm. Richard Ferguson, ACT’s current CEO and chairman, joined ACT in 1972 and has led the organization for 22 years. Under his leadership, ACT grew into a highly respected international organization offering a broad array of assessment, information and program management solutions in the areas of education and workforce development, with more than 1,500 employees located in offices worldwide.
A pair of UI physicians will receive national awards for their contributions to the field of treating pain from the American Pain Society (APS) during the group’s annual meeting May 6-8 in Baltimore, Md.
Timothy Brennan, M.D., Ph.D., the Samir Gergis Professor of Anesthesia and vice chair for research, will receive the Frederick W. L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award. The award recognizes individual excellence and achievement in pain scholarship. Brennan is the first anesthesiologist to receive the award.
Richard Rosenquist, M.D., professor and director of the Center for Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesia, will receive the Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes outstanding and dedicated service to the APS. Rosenquist has made significant contributions to developing practice guidelines for pain management.
Friday, May 7th at 8:00 PM, Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street
This one-night-only show is in support of Joe Bonamassa’s upcoming album Black Rock, to be released on Bonamassa’s J&R Adventures label in early 2010. The tenth full-length solo release and eighth studio album of his career, the disc will mark Bonamassa’s sixth collaboration with Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Aerosmith) as producer.
2009 marked a year of milestones for Bonamassa. He kicked it off in February with the release of his ninth solo album, The Ballad of John Henry, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts. Nicky Horne from the UK’s Planet Rock Radio called it “a quantum leap from his previous albums, and they were damn good – if he keeps this up, he is destined to walk alongside the truly greats.”
In May 2009, he played a sold out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world and had the added honor of being joined on stage by the legendary Eric Clapton. The Times of London cited Joe’s “searing excellence and showmanship,” and Planet Rock said, “The sight of two of the world’s best guitarists trading solos was more than a little thrilling.” Released Oct. 6, 2009 and debuting at #6 on Billboard’s DVD Chart was Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall, a 2-disc live DVD capturing the intensity and excitement of that show which Bonamassa calls “a day 20 years in the making.”
This past year also saw Bonamassa’s twentieth year as a professional musician, an extraordinary timeline for a young artist just into his ‘30s. He was named “Best Blues Guitarist” in Guitar Player’s readers’ choice poll for the third consecutive year and graced their April 2009 cover. The magazine said, “He’s an old soul, and that comes through in his bends, vibrato, singing voice, and note choices, which – with each passing year – gets more restrained and refined.”
In November ‘09, he headlined Guitar Center’s annual King of the Blues contest in Los Angeles and was awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.
Bonamassa averages 200 shows every year, almost always playing to sold-out and ever-larger houses, and with each gig, he comes more into his own as a virtuoso and a vocalist. The Washington Post’s Mike Joyce cites his, “wicked guitar thrills” and British journalist Pete Feenstra wrote of a BBC Live performance, that, “he is both as eloquent and learned about the music he plays as he is technically brilliant.” Guitar icon Ted Nugent has said, “This kid deserves to be in the same class with Stevie Ray F*&cking Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.”
A child prodigy, Bonamassa opened shows at age 12 for blues legend B.B. King, who said after first seeing him play, “This kid’s potential is unbelievable…He’s one of a kind.” Bonamassa’s recording career began in the early ’90s with Bloodlines, a rock-blues group also featuring Robby Krieger’s son Waylon and Miles Davis’ son Erin. His solo debut was in 2000 with the Tom Dowd-produced A New Day Yesterday, named for the Jethro Tull hit that Bonamassa delivers with what allmusic.com calls, “a jaw-dropping performance.”
As he heads back to the road in support of his new album, Bonamassa remains infinitely passionate about playing live and connecting with his audiences, something evident in comments like Paul Roy’s for the recurring Blues Bash feature on blogcritics.org: “Joe is not only one of the world’s best guitar players, but he is also one of the most charismatic and down to earth performers in the business…I would get out and see this guy the first chance you get.”
The Project GREEN Garden Fair is a special tradition in the Iowa City/Coralville community. Gardeners and would-be gardeners will find a great assortment of trees, shrubs, vines, and sunny and shade perennials, as well as sources of expert information to help with plant selections.
Again this year, Project GREEN will be the beneficiary of Judy Allen’s wonderful garden sculptures, donated by her for sale at the fair.
Local experts will be available to answer your garden questions. This year’s authorities will include Mark Vitosh, DNR forester; Terry Robinson, Iowa City forester; Tim Thompson, DNR wildlife biologist; Jim Scheib, member of Eastern Iowa Bird Watch; Master Gardeners of Johnson County; a garlic mustard specialist; and Jennifer Jordan, the IC recycling coordinator, who will be available for information and questions relating to the IC Community Compost program.
Plan to come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on May 8. Doors open at 9 a.m.
In Project GREEN, we learn by doing. Whether you have a “green thumb” or a “brown” one, there is a job for you. Volunteers are needed not only for assistance with the plants, but the Garden Fair also requires a sizable management team which helps with tasks ranging from finance and publicity to container acquisition. Volunteer here.
For more information, contact Fair Coordinators:
Barb Gartner, (319) 338-5781, barbara-gartner@uiowa.edu
Fern Allison, (319) 338-8580, frdallison@msn.com
Whether you’re anticipating the end of the school year, celebrating the beginning of spring or have nothing to do this weekend, there’s something for you down by the river.
The 31st annual RiverFest runs today through Sunday at Hubbard Park on the University of Iowa campus, its traditional location. Because of the 2008 flood, last year’s RiverFest was held for only two days in downtown Iowa City. This year, RiverFest Executive Director Molly Golemo said, it’s a longer event with more activities, thanks to the expanded space.
“I’m looking forward to bringing it back to campus,” Golemo said. “It’s kind of nice bringing back the tradition.”
There will be three stages at the festival, so “there will always be music happening at one time,” she said. One stage features student groups, including dance troupes, a juggling team and karate kids from a local tae kwon do studio. After 7 p.m., the stage turns into DJ territory, where up-and-coming disc jockeys will perform.
RiverFest also is bringing back carnival rides and bumper cars, along with an obstacle course and a station for bungee jumping.
“It’s all-age friendly,” she said. “College kids will like it and so will 3-year-olds.”
According to the RiverFest website, however, this year’s festival efforts are focused on bringing back “quality music,” including The Tanks, Avian Sunrise, History on Repeat and this year’s headliner, Matt Nathanson.
Nathanson’s show, sponsored by UI’s SCOPE Productions, is an acoustic finish to RiverFest. Nathanson performs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Main Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union.
“We’re very excited about this show in particular. Matt’s a great performer,” SCOPE marketing director Carly Susral said. “He’s very interactive … and makes sure everyone has a great time.”
Nathanson will perform songs from his newest album, “Some Mad Hope,” which was released in 2007.
Along with the music, visitors can get a taste of Iowa City at RiverFeast from 4 to 8 p.m. today on the pedestrian mall downtown. Nearly two dozen local restaurants will feature taste portions of their menu in exchange for food tickets, which cost $1 each.
Stephanie Wise • Iowa City Press-Citizen • April 22, 2010
4th Annual Dance Fest is supported by Summer Of The Arts
What better way to celebrate the start of spring than with dance!
Summer of the Arts is proud to help support the 4th annual Dance Fest! They continue to gather performers from all over the State of Iowa to share their passion for dance with the Iowa City community. Everyone is working pro-bono for the love of dance!
Help us spread the voice! April 16-24: Art Installation at the Deadwood (6 S Dubuque Street, upper level).
Bring your favorite performance art articles to exhibit: costumes, videos, music, old dancing shoes, pictures, photos, pictures, lights, props, masks. April 5th is the deadline for entry. Please contact Deanne at electricjumpinghorse@hotmail.com to apply.
April 16: Set-up, 5-10pm
April 17: Set-up, 12-4pm
April 18: Opening Reception at 7pm, $5 donation at the door (BYOW)
April 19-22: Installation will be open 7-10; space is available for workshops, performance, readings, etc.
Reserve your evening NOW!
First come-first serve. Remember: Black walls, carpeted room, small stage, funky space, and Free.
April 23: Concert at Robert A. Lee Rec Center IC., 7pm, $5 at the door. Dance groups from Ames, Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Fairfield, Davenport, West Branch, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City-Coralville have already saved the date! For more information, please contact Nora Garda at (319) 400.4695 or email at iowadancefest@gmail.com
Forbes Magazine ranks the Iowa City area No. 2 in its annual listing of “Best Small Places for Business and Careers.” Iowa City was edged out from the number one spot by Sioux Falls, SD.
Iowa City Area Development Group President Joe Raso said the ranking is a validation of recent national studies recognizing the Iowa City area’s economy, workforce and other factors important to businesses and professionals.
“It’s always great news when we’re recognized,” Raso said. “It just validates a lot of things we talk to people about when we talk to people about the Iowa City area.”
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Nancy Quellhorst said Iowa City has a history of being recognized as a place to start a business, so the ranking came as no surprise. She said new businesses are a key component of economic recovery.
“This recognition is well-timed and relevant,” Quellhorst said.
Cost Of Living Still High
The ranking included sub-rankings in categories such as colleges, cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate and other factors. The Iowa City area was ranked third out of 184 communities in the percent of the population over 25 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, eighth in income growth and 18th in crime rate. Colleges, cost of doing business and job growth ranked in the 30s, as well.
According to the rankings, 95.6 percent of the metro area’s population has a high school diploma, 46.9 percent have a college degree. The median household income is $50,934 and income growth was projected to be 4 percent.
“The subcategories help to define what we tend to hear,” Raso said. “This is kind of a gem within the Midwest…the biggest challenge we have is not enough people know about it. We have the challenge to overcome the mindset of what the Midwest or Iowa is like.”
Iowa City fell short in the cost of living and projected economic growth categories, ranking 103 and 126, respectively. Raso said many employers or professional who come from the coasts or large cities do not notice a dramatic change in the cost of living. However, it’s still an issue that can improve, he said.
“We want to do everything we can to address workforce housing and transportation costs…so that we don’t become a Chicago or other major market where they’re having issues with infrastructure and costs along those lines,” Raso said.
As for economic growth, Raso said the ranking’s projected 1.8 percent job growth for the area is a strength, rather than a weakness. Rather than job growth rates sharply rising and falling, job growth has generally crept steadily higher over the years, Raso said.
“It’s a very steady growth over time,” he said. “What might be tabbed as a concern, I don’t see that.”
When Interpreti Veneziani made its U.S. debut at the University of Florida in January 2007, the chamber orchestra was rewarded with a resounding standing ovation—before intermission. Positively bursting with brio, Interpreti Veneziani specializes in baroque music and performs on period instruments for rapturous audiences at Venice’s San Vidal Church and around the world. The ensemble kicks off a new tour of the United States with a performance in Iowa City that will feature the exuberant virtuosity for which the group is known. Seating is limited so order your tickets now. At the concert, expect thunderous applause early and often.
PROGRAM
Arcangelo Corelli
Concert Grosso for 2 violins, cello, string, and harpsichord, op. 6, no. 1
Antonio Vivaldi
Concert for violin, strings, and harpsichord (“Il Favorito”)
Antonio Vivaldi
Concert for 2 violins, strings, and harpsichord, op. 3, no. 5 (“Estro Armonico”)
Gaetano Pugnani / Fritz Kreisler
Preludio e Allegro for violin and strings
Intermission
Pablo de Sarasate
Zingaresca for violin and strings
Antonio Vivaldi
Concert for 4 violins, cello, strings, and harpsichord, op. 3, no. 10 (“Estro Armonico”)
Niccolò Paganini
La Campanella for violin and strings
Where & When
Interpreti Veneziani
Saturday, April 10, 7:30 pm
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Less than 24 hours after the House gave final approval to a health care reform bill, the White House announced President Barack Obama will visit Iowa City on Thursday to discuss health insurance reform’s effect on small business and American families.
The Democrat-heavy Iowa City area served as a frequent campaign stop from late 2006 to early 2008 during Obama’s march to the presidency. Thursday will mark his first visit as president.
“I am just excited as can be. I want him to give me my marching orders and tell me what to do next,” said Sue Dvorsky, Obama’s former Johnson County campaign co-chairwoman.
Copyright © 2010 | Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. |