Little Village magazine issue 274: Nov. 6 - Dec. 3, 2019

A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019

2019 local nonprofit & retail spotlight

CONTRA-TIEMPO & Las Cafeteras

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

joyUS, justUS

Thursday, November 21, 2019, 7:30 pm Hardship doesn’t preclude joy. In fact, a wellspring of joy is a powerful weapon of resistance in the face of injustice. The urban Latin dancers of CONTRA-TIEMPO and the musicians of Las Cafeteras—all grounded in the communities of color in South Los Angeles—celebrate this fact in an evening-length work grounded in social dance and live music that flips the script on the usual narratives about minority communities in the United States. Instead, they offer stories of hope, faith, family, and, yes, joy as we work together to build a more joyous, more just society.

Following the performance, Las Cafeteras will invite the audience on stage for a sabor session—a community dance that will keep the party in full swing.

TICKETS: ADULT: $40 | $30 | $20 COLLEGE STUDENT: $36 | $10 YOUTH: $20 | $10

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER

Photo: ©Steve Wylie

Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

EVENT SPONSORS: Ed and Ann Lorson

Discover more at hancher.uiowa.edu Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

A Cajun Christmas Saturday, December 7, 7:30 pm

It will be a spicy holiday celebration as the beloved music icons of BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet heat up a winter evening.

Get ready for swamp-pop takes on classic holiday tunes as well as a heaping portion of music from the long career of these multiple Grammy winners. Unwrap the music of the bayou and share this concert with your family and friends.

TICKETS: ADULT: $45 | $35 | $25 COLLEGE STUDENT: $40 | $10 YOUTH: $22 | $10

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

EVENT SPONSORS: KDAT Lamont D. and Vicki J. Olson Tim Terry and Gretchen Rice in memory of Jeremy Rice Patty and Steve Yeater

Discover more at hancher.uiowa.edu Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

CULINARY ARTS EXPERIENCE

HANCHER’S CULINARY ARTS EXPERIENCE:

Trumpet Blossom Wednesday, November 20, 5:00 pm Join us for dinner in Hancher’s beautiful Stanley Café.

Trumpet Blossom creates plant-based comfort food that reflects the season, respects the land, and is truly sustainable using organic ingredients and making dishes from scratch.

TICKETS: $40 PER PERSON TICKETS GO ON SALE MONDAY, OCTOBER 21

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

Discover more at hancher.uiowa.edu Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

VOL. 28 ISSUE 274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 ALWAYS FREE LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM PUBLISHER MATTHEW STEELE Zak Neumann / Little Village

DIGITAL DIRECTOR DREW BULMAN ART DIRECTOR JORDAN SELLERGREN MANAGING EDITOR EMMA MCCLATCHEY ARTS EDITOR GENEVIEVE TRAINOR NEWS DIRECTOR PAUL BRENNAN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ANGELA PICO PINTO VISUAL REPORTER—PHOTO ZAK NEUMANN VISUAL REPORTER­—VIDEO JASON SMITH STAFF WRITER/EDITOR IZABELA ZALUSKA FOOD & DRINK DIRECTOR FRANKIE SCHNECKLOTH DISTRIBUTION BRIAN JOHANNESSEN, DAI GWILLIAM, NORBERT SARSFIELD, NICOLE ELDRIDGE, THEO PRINEAS MARKETING COORDINATOR,

12

A Port in the Storm

Give Generously, Shop Locally

The Catherine McAuley Center marks 30 years as a resource and refuge in CR.

Get to know some of the nonprofits and retailers helping to make the CRANDIC a better place to live.

40

Outreaching to the Choir Singers aged 5 to 75 form Family Folk Machine, singing the community’s stories.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER JAV DUCKER ENGAGEMENT EDITOR CELINE ROBINS ADVERTISING ADS@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM LISTINGS CALENDAR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTRIBUTORS

IZABELA ZALUSKA

6 - Letters & Interactions 10 - Brock About Town 12 - CMC 16 - UR Here 20 - Give Guide 38 - Bread & Butter

GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

40 - A-List 44 - Events Calendar 60 - Photo Review 67 - Ad Index 69 - Dear Kiki 70 - Your Village

73 - Astrology 75 - Local Albums 77 - Local Publishers 78 - Reader Survey 79 - Crossword

DANIEL BOSCALJON, AUDREY BROCK, GARY CLARKE, THOMAS DEAN, JULIA DESPAIN, MELANIE HANSON, JOHN MARTINEK, KATE PAYNE, ALEJANDRO PEREZ, TREY REIS, TOM TOMORROW, PAIGE UNDERWOOD, SAM LOCKE WARD SUBMISSIONS EDITOR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM DISTRIBUTION REQUESTS DISTRO@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CREATIVE SERVICES CREATIVE@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTACT (319) 855-1474, 623 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY, IA 52240

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Little Village is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community in the Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids area according to a few core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture.

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A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 274 Nov. 5–DEc. 3, 2019

2019 local nonprofit & retail spotlight

Background illustrations by Julia DeSpain.

Cover by Jordan Sellergren

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En los últimos años, nuevos programas de inmersión dual han sido implementados en Iowa. Los beneficios de la educación dual son abrumadores, y son muchos los distritos que han puesto sus ojos en el desarrollo de modelos bilingües como este.

Existen diferentes tipos de programas de inmersión dual, pero los más comunes son aquellos en los que aproximadamente la lengua nativa de la mitad de los estudiantes es el inglés y aprenden español como segunda lengua, y la otra mitad de estudiantes habla español en casa y aprende inglés en la escuela.

Estos programas son especialmente beneficiosos porque, por una parte, los estudiantes que hablan español en casa tienen la oportunidad de aprender inglés al

tiempo que conservan su primera lengua, indispensable para que muchos puedan comunicarse con su familia. Es decir, los estudiantes pueden así mantener no solo sus lazos culturales, sino también sus lazos lingüísticos. Además, los programas duales han demostrado ser los más efectivos para que los hablantes de español aprendan inglés progresivamente.

Los datos no dejan lugar a dudas: aquellos estudiantes que aprenden inglés como segunda lengua en programas duales obtienen iguales o mejores resultados académicos en inglés cuando llegan al high school, y al mismo tiempo dominan a la perfección el español.

Por su parte, los estudiantes que hablan inglés en casa tienen la oportunidad de desarrollar una segunda lengua que aunque a menudo es tachada como extrajera, está cada vez más

Have an opinion?

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BETTER WRITE ABOUT IT! Send letters to editor@littlevillagemag.com

viva y presente en muchas comunidades del Midwest. ¡Un buen ejemplo es este artículo!

Además, dominar el español es una herramienta cada vez más importante y los estudiantes que dominan el español y el inglés tienen más facilidades para conseguir buenas oportunidades laborales a largo plazo. Pero hay un aspecto incluso más importante que todo lo anterior: ambos, hablantes nativos de español y hablantes nativos de inglés, crecen en un ambiente inclusivo y cada vez menos discriminatorio. Un ambiente básico y necesario que otros programas a duras penas consiguen.

LOS DATOS NO DEJAN LUGAR A DUDAS: AQUELLOS ESTUDIANTES QUE APRENDEN INGLÉS COMO SEGUNDA LENGUA EN PROGRAMAS DUALES OBTIENEN IGUALES O MEJORES RESULTADOS ACADÉMICOS EN INGLÉS CUANDO LLEGAN AL HIGH SCHOOL, Y AL MISMO TIEMPO DOMINAN A LA PERFECCIÓN EL ESPAÑOL. Eso sí, los resultados no aparecen de un día para otro. Los estudios enfatizan que es esencial dar continuidad a los programas duales. En parte, porque entender y valorar diferentes culturas lleva tiempo, y también porque el periodo de aprendizaje de una lengua en programas como estos precisa de entre seis y ocho años.

No en vano, son muchas las voces que reúsan aventurarse en la educación bilingüe.

Estas voces se fundamentan en argumentos que han sido desmitificados en las últimas décadas en el campo de la sociolingüística y de la psicología cognitiva. Algunos de estos mitos son que aprender dos lenguas al mismo tiempo confunde al niño y reduce su capacidad cognitiva. Otros opinan que una mayor exposición al idioma garantiza mejores resultados, o que la educación bilingüe no es LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 7

LETTERS & INTERACTIONS eficaz y ralentiza el rendimiento académico de los alumnos. Sin embargo, todos estos mitos han sido desmentidos a partir de los resultados obtenidos en numerosos estudios científicos.

Denilson, Marshalltown, Sioux City, Waterloo, West Des Moines y West Liberty ya tienen programas duales. ¿Será Iowa City el próximo?

Cabe recordar que cuando un programa dual es implementado, no toda la población estudiantil tiene que participar en él. Es frecuente encontrar programas duales en las mismas escuelas en las cuales también se desarrollan programas tradicionales—aquellos programas en los que todas las materias son impartidas en inglés. ¿Qué piensa usted? ¿Le gustaría tener un programa dual en su comunidad?

BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAMS

During the last few years, new dual language immersion programs have been implemented

in Iowa. The benefits of dual-language education are many, and various school districts are now considering the development of bilingual models like this.

WE CANNOT IGNORE THE DATA: STUDENTS LEARNING ENGLISH IN DUAL-LANGUAGE PROGRAMS OBTAIN THE SAME OR BETTER RESULTS IN ENGLISH BY THE TIME THEY ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY ARE ABLE TO USE SPANISH PERFECTLY AS WELL. There are different kinds of dual-language immersion programs, but the most common are those in which approximately half of the student body speaks English as their first language and Spanish as their second language,

S T R E S S F R A C T U R E S

8 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

JOHN

MARTINEK

and the remaining 50 percent of students speak Spanish at home and learn English at school.

These programs are especially beneficial because students speaking Spanish at home have the opportunity to learn English at the same time as they preserve their home language, which is essential for many of them to satisfactorily communicate with their family.

That is, students can preserve not only their cultural heritage, but also their linguistic connection to their culture. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that dual-language programs are the most effective programs for Spanish speakers to gradually learn English.

We cannot ignore the data: Students learning English in dual-language programs obtain the same or better results in English by the time they attend high school, and they are able to use Spanish perfectly as well.

On the other hand, students speaking English at home have the opportunity to develop Spanish as a second language, a language that is often perceived as foreign, but that is alive and well-represented in many linguistic communities of the Midwest. A good example is this article!

Also, mastering Spanish is becoming more important, and students who learn a second language have better chances of finding good job opportunities in the long term. But there is an even more critical reason: Both Spanish native speakers and English native speakers grow up in a more inclusive and less segregated environment. This is a much-needed space that other programs struggle to create.

But, of course, one should not expect results overnight. Studies emphasize that it is imperative to continue nurturing dual-language programs, in part, because valuing and understanding different cultures takes time, and also because the language learning process in these types of programs takes six to eight years.

Yet, there are many who refuse to undertake bilingual education. Those rejecting bilingual education use reasons grounded in ideas that have been debunked in the last decades in the fields of sociolinguistics and cognitive psychology. Some of these myths are that learning two languages simultaneously confuses children and their cognitive abilities decrease. Others believe that having a greater exposure to English produces better results, or that bilingual education is not efficient and hinders students’ academic performance.

Nonetheless, all these myths have been challenged and contradicted throughout numerous

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 9

LETTERS research studies.

Denilson, Marshalltown, Sioux City, Waterloo, West Des Moines and West Liberty already have dual-language programs. Will Iowa City be next?

It is important to highlight that not everyone has to participate in the dual-language program. These programs may be implemented using a school-wide format or as a strand within a building with classrooms offering dual-language programming while the remaining classrooms follow a traditional English-only model.

What do you think? Would you like to have a dual-language program in your community?

Alejandro Perez is a Ph.D. student at the University of Iowa who advocates for bilingual education, and a former elementary school teacher in West Liberty.

BROCK ABOUT TOWN

INTERACTIONS Letter to the editor: Iowa City Council should reject Capstone Collegiate building proposal I agree wholeheartedly with Azzah Nasraddin about affordable housing and concerning this new development. The hardworking people that pour your drinks, wait your tables, wash your dishes, ring up your purchases, handcraft your pizzas, usher you into seats, run your errands, wrap up your holiday presents, recommend books, advise on the proper art materials, take care of your pets, tend to your garden, clean your restrooms … where can we live? Where is our affordable? This is absolutely disgusting. Everybody’s got the right bumper sticker but nobody’s drivin the car. —Corbin

AUDREY BROCK

GIVING BACK I absolutely guarantee that none of you had as much fun as me this Halloween. I went to seven parties, wore three different costumes and ate 16 percent of my body weight in Twizzlers alone. I’m starting to think this phone number on my arm might be a tattoo, because it’s been a week and I still can’t get it to come off. Easily the spookiest thing I did was have a snowball fight down a back alley. (There’s nothing scarier than climate change, people.)

Unfortunately, fun has consequences. Now that I have completely lost my self-respect, as well as my pancreas and liver function, my mind turns to the future, and the future looks a little grim.

As you might have noticed re: the snow, the fun part of the year is starting to wrap up. From here on out, it’s all respiratory infections, uncomfortable conversations with your Aunt Mary about when you’ll have a baby (or at least health insurance) and trying to do new things with butternut squash. I know some people really love Christmas, and personally, I think those people are insane. December is just a month of extra chores, albeit unusually festive ones, that often make you feel a little gross. It’s very American to turn a religious holiday into a bacchanalia of consumerism and eating cheese in front of the TV instead of going out because even your sweatpants don’t fit anymore.

That said, if what I’ve written here describes your forthcoming holiday season, you’re lucky. There are a lot of people, in our community and others, who can’t afford food, let alone to go crazy on Black Friday. There are those for whom this part of the year, which I whine about because it’s cold and I look bad in turtlenecks, will truly suck because they’re sick or separated from their families.

So, this year, get out of your head and do something nice for someone else.

This issue is full of nonprofits that would make great use of your time, money and talents. Pick one and find a way to give back. It’s a great way to score points with the man upstairs (Santa, obviously) and, if you’re anything like me, to atone for the fact that you woke up on Nov. 1 in a bed full of candy wrappers.

10 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

/LittleVillage

READER POLL: How do you eat string cheese?

75% Pulling off strands 25% I just bite it

I could not agree more with Azzah. I was horrified when I watched the Rose Oaks debacle unfold. This is the not the Iowa City I fell in love with 20 years ago. We are better than this and we need to do better. —Cara I. It’s well worth pointing out there that reports have said they’re planning to charge by the individual person rather than by the unit, which harms affordability even more. Those of us older than 25-30 know damn well what people used to do to make a two- or threeBR apartment more affordable: get another roommate and split the costs. Landlords have been squeezing out extra cash (and squeezing out more working-class and poorer people) by cutting that move off.

—Base and Superstructure

Phone scam about Social Security reaches Iowa City I’ve been getting them for a while. I tried to report to it Social Security, but they refused to take a report. —Tajharia F.B. Got six of them in one day last Friday…

—Joshua K.

Sidekick Coffee & Books encourages guests to unplug and connect I live on the east side of town. This cafe is not in a neighborhood that I frequent. But the concept of a tech-free zone is intriguing enough to lure me across the river for coffee, pastry and a book. I could become a “regular” in a spot like this. —Susan

Love the place and love the wi-fi free choice. Everywhere has wi-fi. Not everywhere has customers having conversations and staff totally attuned to what’s going on. When we were there, people were looking at and talking about the books, and people were reading for fun without tabbing over or punching notifications. Other customers were actively engaging with the staff and each other and smiling at us. We felt welcome to strike up a chat if we reached for similar books. This is the value added that bookstores are supposed to have. …

I love it. If I’m not there when you need me, I’m at home, reading what I bought there. You know the number if you need to find me. —Nialle

Plan to replace neighborhood schools will play a large part in this year’s Cedar Rapids school board election I live across Council Street from Wright School. There is a great deal of traffic already. Doubling the size of the school will create a greater traffic snarl and put more students in danger of being hit by a car. Also, the tract of the school property is not huge. The building and parking lots will leave little room for playgrounds and green space. Many historic oak trees will be destroyed. Abandoned school neighborhoods will become blighted. The school board plan was not given enough public input. I for one am opposed to this plan. —Mary Jane G.

Christina Bohannan announces run for an Iowa City seat in the Iowa House of Representatives If Bohannon had attended legislative forums regularly for the past ten or so years, she would realize that Vicki Lensing is very knowledgeable, skillful, and effective in working with Republicans. Lensing has fought valiantly for all the causes that Bohannon has listed. If Bohannon wants to make a difference, she should move to a district currently occupied by a Republican representative, and run again him/her. To run against Lensing is to cannibalize the very causes she purports to champion.

—Anna M.K.

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COMMUNITY

Part of CMC’s adult basic education pro-

Starting the Next Chapter

gram includes tutoring for individuals

The Catherine McAuley Center celebrates 30 years of providing education and crisis services to women, immigrants and refugees—and prepares for a major expansion. BY IZABELA ZALUSKA

meeting with her tutor for almost a year.

F

or nearly a year, Marimer Stadtmueller has been attending classes at the Catherine McAuley Center (CMC) in Cedar Rapids to improve her English and learn as much as she can about the United States.

preparing for their U.S. citizenship exam.

Marimer Stadtmueller (right) has been Zak Neumann / Little Village

Stadtmueller moved to the U.S. from Mexico City with her son and daughter 11 years ago. She lived in Ohio and Kentucky before relocating to eastern Iowa, where she’s resided for seven years.

Currently, Stadtmueller is preparing for

her U.S. citizenship exam, which is quickly approaching. “[A friend from Venezuela] was studying for the citizenship test, so I asked her, ‘What school do you go to learn?’” Stadtmueller said. “She told me to go to CMC. So I came

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here. I love it—I love the staff and environment here.”

“Right now it’s just practice, practice and practice. I’m nervous. I’m very nervous,” Stadtmueller said about her exam.

This year marks CMC’s 30th year as a resource in the community. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide educational and supportive services that promote stability, skill-building and connection.

As the center looks forward, there’s also a new chapter on the horizon—moving into a building four times their current space’s size.

This move, which is expected to happen in August 2020, will allow the center to expand its services and help even more people in the community.

“It’s pretty remarkable that we are at this point in our history and that we’re ready to move to a larger facility,” executive director Paula Land said. “We have continued to grow and to meet the needs throughout our history and that really stands true to Catherine McAuley’s mission and the sisters’ mission.”

CMC was founded in 1989 by the Sisters of Mercy and is named after Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland and dedicated her life to educating women and serving others.

The center started as an organization that provided education to women who were pursuing their GED, explained Kelsey Steines, the center’s development and communications manager. Soon after, CMC staff recognized that many of the women who used the education services also had housing needs, which led to the creation of the center’s transitional housing program.

From there, the center based its programs on what people in the community needed.

Currently, the organization has three main focuses: resettling refugees and immigrants,

transitional housing for women and basic education tutoring for adults.

“We serve very different populations here, and sometimes I think people don’t always see the connection right away,” Steines said.

“Women experiencing crisis and healing from trauma, adult learners and immigrants and refugees can seem like very different groups of people, but what ties all our services together is they’ve been developed in response to community needs. We’re an organization that really tries to fill in the gaps in the community and really build connections.”

In its first year, CMC served 15 people.

Now, the organization provides services to hundreds of people every year, and it has a growing waitlist. Moving into a larger space will help the center “creatively address” the waiting list, Steines said. CMC is also constantly looking for volunteers.

CMC purchased the former UnityPoint Health–St. Luke Hospital’s Living Center East building, which is less than half a mile

Anne Dugger (left), the education program manager at CMC, said the center, “in a very intentional way,” tries to figure out ways that all three of their programs can interact. Dugger has been with the center since July 2015. Zak Neumann / Little Village

from where the center is currently located.

The plan is to start renovations in January of 2020 to prepare for the August 2020 move-in goal, Steines said.

“In our 30th year, timing worked out really well that this is also the year we’re announcing our plans to move to a new facility and really be able to start the next chapter of the center,” Steines said. “We’ve got room to grow and so many better opportunities or ways we can serve our clients, as well as just the space to do it.”

CMC’s transitional housing program helps around 40 women a year—15 at any given time—providing shelter, case management and skill-building opportunities. Women can

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In addition to tutoring for the U.S. citi-

stay for up to two years.

In the new facility, 22 women at a time will have housing through the program, Steines said.

The adult basic education program provides one-on-one tutoring in English as a second language, U.S. citizenship exam preparation and computer skills. Tutoring is also offered for basic math, reading and writing. Last year, there were 450 tutors working with 480 students.

In the current location, there are few private study spaces, and the main education area can get loud and distracting, Steines said. The new facility will have 32 private or semi-private areas for tutors and their students.

The transitional housing and education programs are based on community needs, not what is happening at the federal level. This isn’t the case, however, for refugee resettlement, which is dependent on how many people can enter the country, according to Anne Dugger, education program manager at CMC. “Even though resettlement numbers have been trending downwards, just because of the political environment, the word is out within refugee communities that [the Cedar Rapids/ Iowa City area] is a safe place,” Dugger said.

Steines estimates that in the last year, CMC has directly resettled around 250 individuals.

In January 2017, CMC became an affiliate 14 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

site of of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

Through the program, CMC provides “intensive support” for incoming families for their first 90 days in the country. This includes housing and connection to education and employment services, among other services.

“Although 90 days is all that’s officially prescribed at the federal level, we understand additional support is needed,” Steines said.

“We want to be able to serve those families well, and if that means helping them make those connections beyond 90 days and helping consult with people if they want to find new or better employment after initially been connected, we can do that.”

In honor of the 30th anniversary, CMC also brought back an old tradition: Catherine’s Comfortable Tea. Named, like the center, after the Sisters of Mercy’s founder, Catherine’s Comfortable Tea was a side business that sold jewelry, mugs and hand-packaged teas. It was discontinued in 2012, but tea remained an important motif for the center; it is the drink of choice during the annual Catherine’s Tea event in the spring. Through the rebooted Comfortable Tea program, people can place orders online for various teas. Sales will end when the current stock of tea runs out. “[Catherine McAuley] was famously

zenship exam, the adult basic education program offers tutoring in English as a second language, computer skills and basic math, reading and writing. Last year, CMC had a team of 450 tutors working with 480 students.

Zak Neumann / Little Village

quoted on her deathbed as telling the sisters around her, ‘Be sure you have a comfortable cup of tea for them when I’ve gone,’” Steines said. “So that’s where the tea came from. It really has just become a symbol of hospitality here. Something I think we hope to communicate to everybody that walks through the doors is that they are welcome that they can feel comfortable here.”

As the center prepares for its move next year, its director, Paula Land, emphasized the importance of preserving that accessible environment.

“One of the components that’s very important for us is to maintain a welcoming feel to the space and make sure that people continue to view this as a safe place and a place for learning and a place where they can be welcome,” Land said.

Izabela Zaluska is one of the few in the Little Village office who is an avid tea drinker instead of a coffee consumer.

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READER PHOTO

Zak Neumann / Little Village

submissions!

FOR OUR JANUARY ARTS ISSUE

Send up to five high resolution photos (no watermarks, please!) and any inquiries to jordan@littlevillagemag.com by November 30, 2019. Photos must be your own work and previously unpublished. Please include a brief description of each photo (who, when, where), your name and your social media handle. Selected entries will be published in Little Village’s January Arts Issue.

COMMUNITY

Zak Neumann / Little Village

Take (Climate) Action Local groups and nonprofit organizations fighting to protect the environment 100 Grannies 100grannies.org Backyard Abundance backyardabundance.org Bur Oak Land Trust buroaklandtrust.org Clear Creek Watershed Coalition clearcreekwatershedcoalition.org

UR Here

Thomas Dean

Solastalgia and You The Pentacrest larch, embracing grief and taking action. BY THOMAS DEAN

S

ometime during the night of Sept.

9 and 10, a tragedy befell the community on the University of Iowa Pentacrest. The beloved old European larch fell to the winds brought by a wicked thunderstorm. The larch had survived the 1998 straight-line winds and suffered damage from both the 2006 tornado and 2007 ice storm. It provided shade for many during the Iowa City Jazz Fest and other Pentacrest performances. It had entertained generations of students and kids with its long, low branches that were easy to climb on, though many on campus tried to discourage it. And it was a daily companion to many who regularly traverse UI’s central campus. But on this night, it succumbed to the ravages of time and weather.

I saw the fallen larch early on the morning of Sept. 10 as I walked from the bus to my

16 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

office in Jessup Hall. My eyes widened and my spirits dropped as, from a distance, I saw the tree lying flat on the ground. I audibly said, “Oh no.” Before I went to work, and before the remains of the tree would be gathered and taken away by university personnel, I walked over to the larch to confirm my grief and to pay my respects. A number of others also stopped, almost all expressing incredulity and sadness.

While we can’t precisely say the larch was toppled because of climate change (and the university arborists acknowledge that the tree actually was not healthy), the violence and greater frequency of ice storms and thunderstorms in more recent years—storms that were the immediate cause of the larch’s demise—are certainly due to climate disruption. And in this age of accelerating climate change, grief is an emotion and process that

Environmental Advocates environmental-advocates.org Friends of Hickory Hill Park hickoryhillpark.org/blog Harvest Preserve harvestpreserve.org Indian Creek Nature Center indiancreeknaturecenter.org Iowa City Climate Advocates iowa-city-climate-advocates.org Iowa City Student Climate Strikers (pictured) Twitter: @moogysmaszimo Prairiewoods Franciscan Ecospirituality Center prairiewoods.org Sierra Club - Iowa City Area Group sierraclub.org/iowa/iowa-city Find more at littlevillagemag.com

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we must all embrace.

Environmentalists, from scientists to activists to artists, are now calling on us to confront the reality that climate destabilization and other environmental calamities have already caused great losses and will continue to do so—and we need to grieve those losses. In 2005, philosopher Glenn Albrecht coined the word “solastalgia” to describe the distress we feel by environmental change.

The American Psychological Association reported in 2017 that, as summarized by Peter Kalmus of Yes!, “climate change is causing stress, anxiety, depression and relationship strain. The psychological weight of climate change can lead to feelings of helplessness and fear, and to climate disengagement.”

That day, and for several days following, our community—and even many beyond our community who knew and loved the larch—poured forth with an astonishing cascade of sorrow. Social media lit up with pictures of the fallen tree followed by virtual gasps and wails, and all three of our local newspapers carried stories of the downed Pentacrest stalwart.

Clearly this particular tree had been beloved by many throughout the years, and its loss triggered real emotional pain.

I loved the larch not just as a daily landmark in my comings and goings during the workday, but also for the inspiration it offered me. In an essay in my book Under a Midland Sky (Ice Cube Press, 2008), I wrote how the larch, with its unique characteristic of color-turning needles that fall in autumn, “dances across borders, lives its existence through transitions while it appears to be an evergreen. It challenges our conceptions, the straight-line boundaries we draw around our lives and the world outside us.” The encompassing bower of this particular tree—so full and welcoming before the ice storm left only one large branch on its bottom ring—also reminded me of childhood, suggesting “a retreat, a quiet place to read a book, a home for runaway 5-year-olds,” as I also wrote earlier.

In my own mind and heart, and clearly in those of many others, the grief over our fallen friend was real. This is a kind of grief we all need to tap into and express on a larger scale as well, not just for an individual being that has departed from our world. Kalmus’ “climate

Want to make a difference in Johnson County?

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COMMUNITY disengagement” is the greatest danger of solastalgia, so we cannot wallow in anxiety. We must push that feeling into the process of grief, as so many of us readily did when we lost the Pentacrest larch.

When we lose beloved family members and friends, our grief moves us forward. We acknowledge, experience and honor our emotions as well as our lost ones, and then we integrate the loss into our lives as best we can. As meteorologist and environmental writer Eric Holthaus says regarding climate change, “After decades of delay, the scale of changes that are necessary will force us to rethink everything. To put in the changes necessary, we have to be able to connect our emotions to our actions.

We have to process our grief. We have to somehow move through it, and we have to do all that together.”

Grief is not hopelessness. It can seem like it in the moment, but it is essential to moving forward, to making the best world amidst loss. In knowing, acknowledging and feeling what we have lost, the future of our world can be brighter than despair. We know what is gone, and we know we cannot get it back. But our efforts to mitigate climate disruption can make of this wounded world a much better place. We cannot disengage from our obligations to the earth.

So let us acknowledge our anxiety and fear over what we have lost and what that loss portends. Then let us move from solastalgia to grief to action. And in order to keep engaged, even during the grieving process, we must keep up the fight to literally save the world. As we approach the season of giving—and as we help guide you in your giving in this issue of Little Village—I encourage you to support our local and state environmental organizations as one important way past solastalgia, through environmental grief and toward a better world.

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Thomas Dean also addressed environmental grief with some similar words and ideas in his essay “Loss” in Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of the Prairie Spirit, co-authored with Cindy Crosby (Ice Cube Press, 2019).

18 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

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SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY is a shared effort and one that’s accomplished in a variety of ways. Perhaps you volunteer your time to an organization in need. Maybe you’re an advocate for shopping locally. Or maybe you make a yearly donation to a nonprofit you believe in.

In these pages, you’ll find a sampling of the hardworking nonprofits in the CRANDIC that fight day in and day out to make this a more livable place. These groups rely on donations from individuals like you and businesses that support their mission.

You’ll also learn about some of the independent retailers that line our streets and bring a thoughtful and unique product mix to local shoppers. These retailers depend on shoppers’ dollars to continue to thrive in the future.

Year-round support of our nonprofits and retailers is essential to the longevity of our community, but end-of-year giving and holiday sales can provide a much-needed boost and leg up for the new year. This holiday season, find a cause you can rally behind in our donation drive (www.littlevillagemag.com/give) or knock out some gift shopping at a small business you can champion, and see that what goes around truly does come back around.

For more information about our Give Guide program, contact ads@littlevillagemag.com.

Get the scoop on some local nonprofits, from their background to their big idea.

ACCESS 2 INDEPENDENCE OF THE EASTERN IOWA CORRIDOR 1556 S 1ST AVE, IOWA CITY 319-338-3870 ACCESS2INDEPENDENCE.ORG/GETINVOLVED/DONATE BIG IDEA: Founded

in 1979—Celebrating 40 years of service to the Eastern Iowa Corridor disability community

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We envision the Eastern Iowa Corridor as a community without barriers, where every individual has the freedom to control the direction and quality of their life.

We know the power of equitable access to housing, transportation, health care, and employment, and the difference it makes to

our community as a whole. In the last year, Access 2 Independence (A2I) provided over 1,000 services to persons with disabilities, their families, and providers, and participated in over 200 community activities ranging from community education, collaborating in advocacy initiatives, and outreach. We empower persons with disabilities to achieve greater social inclusion and self-determination through goal-setting and providing a network of support, education, and skill-building opportunities.

A2I serves all disability types and ages in an eight-county region: Johnson, Linn, Washington, Iowa, Cedar, Jones, Benton, and Henry.

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Consisting of five staff, A2I works from a budget of $280,000 in state and federal grants. We rely on your donations to develop sustainable and innovative programming, build capacity in our rural counties with limited disability services, and support our vision of living in a community without barriers.

For more information on how to become involved with our services, volunteering, or board of directors, please email Executive Director Sarah Martinez at ed@access2independence.org.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1979 ANNUAL BUDGET: $280,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 5

Courtesy of Antelope Lending Library

Julia DeSpain / Little Village

ANTELOPE LENDING LIBRARY IOWA CITY

319-343-6872 ANTELOPELENDINGLIBRARY.ORG/DONATE BIG IDEA: Antelope

Lending Library is an independent, nonprofit bookmobile library working to overcome barriers and provide full and equal access to information and ideas in our community. All materials are lent on a no-fees basis, so access is always LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 21

DONATE NOW AT LIT TLEV ILL AGEMAG.COM/GI V E

free, no matter what.

Traditional library fees and fines may seem like no big deal: 50 cents here, a few bucks there for items returned late, maybe as much as $40 or more for lost or damaged items. While for some these charges can be annoying or maybe even embarrassing, for those living at or below the poverty line, library fines are barriers to library use that can negatively impact generations.

We value partnerships with other community organizations and are proud to provide service in partnership with the CommUnity Mobile Food Pantry, Iowa Youth Writing Project, and other local groups.

We are a small organization, with all our funding coming from grants, contracts, and support from people like you! We are a James Gang endeavor, a 501(C)(3), so all donations to support our service are tax deductible. With your help we’ll keep serving our community for many years to come.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2012 ANNUAL BUDGET: $45,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 2 part-time

endangered and threatened species like the rusty patched bumble bee and ornate box turtle. From reestablishing native prairie and oak savanna to reducing the spread of invasive species, our work provides habitat for native plants and animals, as well as a place for the public to experience and enjoy nature.

Our mission is to protect and conserve natural areas to enrich and engage current and future generations. We maintain national Land Trust Alliance accreditation and currently protect 11 natural areas and hold 14 conservation easements. Our organization purchases and accepts donations of land to be held in perpetuity for the enjoyment and education of the public and actively maintains that land through a variety of land management practices.

Make your gift count for current and future generations today!

YEAR FOUNDED: 1978 ANNUAL BUDGET: $320,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 5

COMMUNITY CRISIS SERVICES AND FOOD BANK 1121 S GILBERT CT, IOWA CITY

Courtesy of Bur Oak Land Trust

319-351-2726 LOCAL CRISIS LINE: 319-351-0140 BUILTBYCOMMUNITY.ORG/GIVEGUIDE2019 BIG IDEA: CommUnity

BUR OAK LAND TRUST

5 STURGIS CORNER DR #1250, IOWA CITY 319-338-7030 BUROAKLANDTRUST.ORG/DONATE BIG IDEA: Connecting

with nature is critical to the health of a community. Through your donation, you can help Bur Oak Land Trust conserve some of the last natural places in east-central Iowa and help protect

22 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Crisis Services and Food Bank, formerly The Crisis Center, is a volunteer-driven organization that provides immediate and non-judgmental support for individuals facing emotional, food, or financial crisis. CommUnity’s Crisis Intervention team operates our 24-hour crisis line, offering services through phone, chat, and text. We also dispatch mental health counselors to homes, schools, emergency rooms, and other public places through our Mobile Crisis Outreach program. Our Food Bank provides food assistance, distributing more than 1.6 million pounds of food annually. Additionally, we provide housing and utility assistance, identification, new employment work items, bus tickets, box fans, and more through our Basic Needs Program.

Courtesy of Community Crisis Services and Food Bank

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The people of CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank are passionate about treating individuals in crisis as valuable human beings. From this passion comes the ability to excel at providing practical help. We are the only crisis intervention agency accredited by CONTACT USA in the state of Iowa. In fiscal year 2019, we completed 32,867 crisis contacts and distributed over 2 million pounds of food to families in our community.

How to help: Visit our website (builtbycommunity.org) to join our team of invaluable volunteers, give the gift of a meal for a family in need, or donate money to sustain our programs. Your contribution of time, talent, or treasure will make a tremendous impact in the lives of thousands of individuals and families right here in Iowa.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1970 ANNUAL BUDGET: $4,496,850 NUMBER OF STAFF: 74

CORALVILLE COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY 1002 5TH ST, CORALVILLE 319-337-3663 CORALVILLEFOODPANTRY.ORG/GIVE BIG IDEA: Everybody deserves good food. At the Coralville Community Food Pantry, we know that good food can be a catalyst for change. We’ve seen it act as a powerful tool that can transform one’s health, strengthen community solidarity, foster social connections, and even

DONATE NOW AT LIT TLEV ILL AGEMAG.COM/GI V E

Julia DeSpain / Little Village

Courtesy of Coralville Community Food Pantry

challenge inequality.

At the Coralville Community Food Pantry, we work to ensure that every child and adult in our community goes to bed with the food they need and deserve.

Through our innovative programs, we provide access to vital sustenance and personal care items for more than 3,300 Coralville and Tiffin residents every year. We distribute nutritious groceries on a weekly basis, offer food to families with children when school is not in session, share nourishing food through free community meals, equip our neighbors with tools to grow their own food, and 24 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

connect people facing diet-related health conditions to fresh produce grown at local farms.

We are powered by community support.

Small gifts can go a long way! A gift of $25 enables us to provide a family of four with the food they need for an entire month. Join us in building a stronger, healthier, and hunger-free community by giving today at www.coralvillefoodpantry. org/give.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2009 ANNUAL BUDGET: $215,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 2

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM 1105 S GILBERT CT #300, IOWA CITY 800-373-1043 DVIPIOWA.ORG

Courtesy of DVIP

BIG IDEA: The

main goal of the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) is to be a positive and healing resource for victims/survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and human trafficking. Safety, dignity and respect are at the heart of all that we do as we provide resources and support to our clients.

Ultimately, our goal is to end intimate partner violence and violence against women.

This goal can only be accomplished with the engagement of our communities, and the key support of our volunteers and funders.

The community is invited to support the vital services that DVIP provides to victims/survivors of intimate partner violence.

All services provided to the community are free and confidential, which include a 24-hour hotline (800-373-1043), resource gathering, emergency shelter, housing assistance, youth programming, pet sheltering, support groups and advocacy. For 40 years, DVIP has provided support to women, men and children throughout eastern Iowa. In celebration of 40 years of providing advocacy and hope, DVIP is hosting many fundraising events and educational opportunities over the next year to support and share the work we do every day to support victims/survivors of intimate partner violence. Email dvip@dvipiowa.org to be added to our newsletter list and visit dvipiowa.org for more details on how you can get involved.

During the holidays, you can also help by providing gifts for individuals to give their children at any of our drop off locations around the Corridor, or by mailing/ dropping off Walmart, Target, Build-ABear, or Visa gift cards to 1105 S Gilbert Ct. #300 Iowa City, IA 52240.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1979 ANNUAL BUDGET: $2 million NUMBER OF STAFF: 33

Courtesy of Friends of the Center

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FRIENDS OF THE CENTER 28 S LINN ST, IOWA CITY 319-356-5220 ICSENIORCENTERFRIENDS.ORG BIG IDEA: Stay Active.

Stay Curious. Stay Connected.

The Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center’s mission is to enhance quality of life by creating opportunities to support wellness, social connections, community engagement and lifelong learning for a diverse and growing older adult population. Johnson County’s fastest growing demographic group is people age 65+ and The Center is laying a foundation to ensure everyone has a place to stay active, curious and connected.

Being a Friend of The Center makes a significant difference in the lives of your neighbors and community. Your one-time contribution, a monthly pledge, gift or corporate sponsorship, all play a crucial role to help fill the gap in The Center’s annual budget and allow us to continue meeting the needs of older adults by providing innovative programs, important services and timely updates to our facilities.

Together, we can continue social involvement and end social isolation for all adults over age 50.

Give online at icseniorcenterfriends. org or, for more information, contact Jessi Simon, Senior Center Development Specialist, at jessi-simon@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5216.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1981 ANNUAL BUDGET: $899,000 (2017) NUMBER OF STAFF: 9 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 25

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INDIAN CREEK NATURE CENTER 5300 OTIS RD SE, CEDAR RAPIDS 319-362-0664 INDIANCREEKNATURECENTER.ORG BIG IDEA: Be a Champion of Nature! Help

Indian Creek Nature Center—the state’s first and largest nonprofit nature center— fulfill its mission by becoming a member, making a donation or becoming an ICNC Sustainer by making your donation monthly! With nearly 500 acres of land under its management and one of the most sustainable buildings in the world, the Nature Center hosts thousands of visitors each year for nature-based programs and activities, including field trips, summer camps and community events. Our mission is to promote a sustainable future by nurturing individuals through environmental education, providing leadership in land protection and restoration, and encouraging responsible interactions with nature. ICNC also offers volunteer opportunities year-round, including teaching children’s programs, grounds maintenance, helping at special events like our Maple Syrup Festival, Concerts at the Creek and more. Everything we do is possible because of your generosity, not tax dollars. We’ve accomplished a lot, but we’re not done and we need your help!

This holiday season, consider gifting a membership or donation to the Nature Center on behalf of a friend or family member. And on Dec. 7, join us for our signature holiday fundraiser event, Nature’s Noel,

26 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Courtesy of Iowa City Bike Library

Courtesy of Indian Creek Nature Center

where you can purchase fresh green décor, artisanal gifts, baked goods and more!

YEAR FOUNDED: 1973 ANNUAL BUDGET: $1,104,651 NUMBER OF STAFF: 21

Courtesy of Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation

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IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION IOWA CITY BIKE LIBRARY 700 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY ICBIKELIBRARY.ORG BIG IDEA: The Iowa City Bike Library is still searching for a forever home and we need your support. Ensure that your community bike shop continues to have an impact for years to come by contributing to our end of year giving campaign.

The Bike Library started in 2004 as a volunteer-run community bike project with a mission of getting more people on bikes. We repair donated bikes and offer them to the public in a checkout system as well as for purchase. But we do so much more! Youth bike initiatives in conjunction with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, bike care and repair clinics, women empowerment rides and workshops, and Pedals for People—a program focused on introducing immigrant populations to bicycles.

Check out our website for more details on how we proudly serve our community.

We’re keeping things funky on social media, too: Instagram: @BikeLibrarian Facebook: @BikeLibrary YEAR FOUNDED: 2004 (15 years!)

ANNUAL BUDGET: $73,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 2

123 S LINN ST, IOWA CITY 319-356-5200 ICPL.ORG BIG IDEA: Giving

to the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) Friends Foundation means more for everyone because its mission is to generate private resources to support the Iowa City Public Library.

The Iowa City Public Library is a center of community life that connects people of all ages with information, engages them with the world of ideas and with each other, and enriches the community by supporting learning, promoting literacy, and encouraging creativity.

Become an ICPL friend by giving a financial contribution at icpl.org. Friends can also support the library by shopping at The Book End on the second floor of the library; donating a handmade item and then buying unique treasures at the Arts & Crafts Bazaar on Dec. 7 at the library; participating at Eat Out to Read at many local restaurants; and joining us in the spring at the annual Looking Forward event.

Since 1983, gifts of money to the ICPL Friends Foundation have helped to make sure enough copies of popular books are added for a lot of people to be able to read them at the same time, purchase a bookmobile, and provide access to laptops, hotspots, and other technology.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1983 ANNUAL BUDGET $304,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 2

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IOWA CITY UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE 123 S LINN ST, IOWA CITY 319-887-6100 IOWACITYOFLITERATURE.ORG/SUPPORT/ CHARTER-MEMBERSHIP BIG IDEA: Our

community, for its size, may be the most literary place on Earth.

We are home to a unique set of influential literary institutions that explore new ways to teach and support writers. At the City of Literature, we strive to create meaningful events intended to encourage the world to discover Iowa as a place that invites citizens—near and far—to share in our many literary resources and opportunities.

We are able to present celebrated, oneof-a-kind programming, promote literacy and reading, and advocate on behalf of our rich literary culture because of the support of people who stand up for literature and our community’s global connections.

Our major programming: Iowa City Book Festival: an annual week of author events, panel discussions and more One Book Two Book Children’s Literature Festival: writing opportunities, author workshops and more for area students MusicIC festival: celebrating literature and chamber music Your support allows us to offer our events at no cost, creating a better place to live for residents, an enticing destination for 28 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Courtesy of The James Gang

Courtesy of Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature

travelers, an appealing location for employers and an inspirational community for artists and writers.

Please visit www.iowacityofliterature. org to learn more about our organization and ways you can support our work.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2010 ANNUAL BUDGET: $247,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 3

THE JAMES GANG

120 N DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY JAMESGANGIC.COM/SUPPORT-US BIG IDEA: The

James Gang is Iowa City’s central nonprofit incubator. Since 2002 we have helped launch such endeavors as The Mission Creek Festival, Public Space One, and The Iowa Youth Writing Project.

Our goal as an incubator is to ensure that creative, community-building and service projects succeed. Our current endeavors span a wide swath of Iowa City’s nonprofit activity. They include The Antelope Lending Library, an award-winning feesfree bookmobile bringing library services to underserved communities; Tech Chicks, an organization devoted to amplifying the presence of women and girls in technology through education and advocacy; PromptPress, a venue for connecting visual artists and writers, with a publishing platform for local teens; The Lena Project: IC Less Plastic, a project to reduce plastic waste in our community through creative ideas and youth education; Drupal Corn Camp, a community centered around promoting and learning Drupal, an

Find out how to give littlevillagemag.com/give

open-source web platform; The Iowa City Zombie March, a yearly community performance, promoting the weird and good in Iowa City since 2006; Floodwater Comedy Festival, a benefit festival that enlists

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Julia DeSpain / Little Village

NUMBER OF STAFF: 8 for the James Gang endeavors, plus hundreds of volunteers

PUBLIC SPACE ONE

225 & 229 N GILBERT ST, IOWA CITY 319-855-1985 PUBLICSPACEONE.COM/SUPPORT BIG IDEA: What happens when you move an

underground art venue to a highly visible location in Iowa City’s thriving Northside neighborhood? Public Space One (PS1) is

Courtesy of Public Space One

comedies brightest stars to bring “love, diversity, and laughs” to Iowa City. Together, The James Gang fosters community-oriented actions, attitudes, and experiences in which creativity and service thrive.

Little Village readers can support The James Gang both through monetary donations and volunteering.

Our fundraising goal is $2,500. This would cover our membership dues for one year. Membership dues cover all the executive tasks that keep us rolling.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2002 ANNUAL BUDGET: Dues for a year are $2,500

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 29

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STRENGTHEN • GROW • EVOLVE 221 E WASHINGTON ST, IOWA CITY STRENGTHENGROWEVOLVE.ORG BIG IDEA: Iowa City is a great city for the

arts. Our rich culture is why people live here, what people remember when they visit, and the charm that attracts new people to call this place home.

Strengthen • Grow • Evolve is a collaborative campaign between The Englert

Courtesy of Table to Table

about to find out. This artist-led, community-driven contemporary art center has provided an innovative and inclusive space for making and presenting art for 17 years—but 2020 will be different.

Our new Northside homes offer increased space for the Iowa City Press Co-op, our community-access educational print and book arts studio; continued monthly exhibitions in a new two-room gallery in a 122-year-old home; a public reading room and archive for the Center for Afrofuturist Studies; and bright, spacious studio space, including a dedicated residency studio. We are also opening a media center on S Dubuque Street at the former PATV site, with community access to production spaces and resources.

In short, 2020 will be a huge year for us, with an array of new locations, offerings and experiences.

Join us in our capital campaign to ensure our success in this new era. Your support, whether financial, in-kind or volunteer, is not only welcomed but celebrated! When we Do-It-Together, we will build a whole new realm of art possibilities for the culture of eastern Iowa.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2002 ANNUAL BUDGET: $115,322 (for 2019) NUMBER OF STAFF: 3 part-time, with one increasing to full-time in 2020

Courtesy of Strengthen • Grow • Evolve

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Theatre and FilmScene that seeks a major reinvestment in modern and historic venues, innovative programming, and new models of collaboration. Working together, we are Building the Greatest Small City for the Arts.

Strengthen: Our excellence is built on diverse and distinguished art and a rewarding audience experience. This campaign will reinvest in The Englert Theatre and FilmScene on The Ped Mall, century-old buildings which require renovation and modernization to keep our artists and patrons happy.

Grow: FilmScene at The Chauncey is a world-class facility that elevates the presentation of film to a new level. Adding this space to our ecosystem, we can launch Refocus Film Festival in 2020 and nurture the inspired work of Mission Creek Festival and Witching Hour.

Evolve: We have an opportunity to improve access and engagement with the arts for all people in our community as this campaign seeks to invest in new human resources and collaborative action dedicated to arts education and engagement to fulfill the promise ahead.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2018 ANNUAL BUDGET $6.5 million NUMBER OF STAFF: 1.5 devoted to the campaign, though many others are working on it

TABLE TO TABLE

840 S CAPITOL ST, IOWA CITY 319-337-3400 TABLE2TABLE.ORG BIG IDEA: We

are Iowa’s original food rescue organization! Our mission is to keep wholesome, edible food from going to waste by collecting it from donors and distributing it to those in need through agencies that serve the hungry, homeless and at-risk populations. The agencies we serve receive fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein multiple times each week from Table to Table food rescue deliveries.

Since we began in April of 1996, Table to Table volunteers have rescued and distributed over 20 million pounds of food to area agencies. Interested in our work?

Get involved by calling 319-337-3400 or emailing volunteer@table2table.org.

Each pound of good food costs us just 16 cents to rescue from the dumpster!

Donate to the cause at table2table.org/ donation.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1996 ANNUAL BUDGET: $330,000 NUMBER OF STAFF: 6

Make a contribution to your

favorite nonprofit at littlevillagemag.com/give For more information about our Give Guide program, contact ads@littlevillagemag.com

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 31

These independent retailers make a point to give back to the community that supports them.

Courtesy of Discerning Eye

DONATE NOW AT LIT TLEV ILL AGEMAG.COM/GI V E

DISCERNING EYE

218 E WASHINGTON ST, IOWA CITY 319-338-6800 SEEWELLLOOKGREAT.COM BIG IDEA: Discerning

Bread Garden Market offers an array of gourmet and everyday goods. Jordan Sellergren / Little Village

BREAD GARDEN MARKET 225 S LINN ST, IOWA CITY

BREADGARDENMARKET.COM BIG IDEA: Bread

Garden Market has been a fixture of downtown Iowa City since opening its doors in 1995. What began as a bakery and cafe on Clinton Street has evolved over the years to become a downtown grocer with a handful of satellite locations, a favored lunch spot and a community hub for students and families alike.

We see the importance of nourishing the community that surrounds us not only through our housemade foods and gourmet groceries, but by giving generously to programs and organizations that directly impact and enrich the lives of underserved populations. Making regular contributions that benefit our public schools and hardworking teachers, or those experiencing

32 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Jordan Sellergren / Little Village

319-354-4246

homelessness or food insecurity, has been a driving force behind our daily business since the early days.

YEAR OPENED: 1995 SHOP HERE FOR: Gourmet goodies and wine, holiday and event catering or daily shopping MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: Customizable gift basket or wine

Eye, a family owned business, is celebrating 14 years in downtown Iowa City. A full-service optical boutique, Discerning Eye offers exams by Dr. Dan Wolfe, a carefully curated frame selection, contact lenses, sunglasses and much more. A talented and knowledgeable staff is available to help find that perfect pair of eyeglasses to reflect your unique personality.

From its inception, Discerning Eye has been committed to giving back to the community that supports it. Beginning in 2006, DE collaborated each December with the CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank, formerly The Johnson County Crisis Center, pledging a percentage of the proceeds of frame sales during their busiest month of the year. Customers comment that they wait until December to buy new glasses for that very reason. Donations from Discerning Eye totaling nearly $50,000 have cemented this partnership.

Discerning Eye is proud to bring frames from independent vendors from all over the world to Iowa City. Many collections are exclusive to Iowa and are one-of-akind designs. Our veteran staff will utilize their expertise to ensure that you see well and look great in your new eyewear from Discerning Eye! YEAR OPENED: 2006 SHOP HERE FOR: Your perfect pair of eyewear MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: The Oyo Box—the

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Joni Schrup, owner of eyewear boutique Discerning Eye. Zak Neumann / Little Village

Courtesy of Home Ec. Workshop

stylish way to store your glasses. Available in mini and maxi sizes; lacquer and wood finishes. The inside is lined with Italian leather. You can display them anywhere.

Your guide to good gift giving

workshops each month. Since 2008, Home Ec. has been an inclusive gathering place for people to learn, shop, craft and collaborate using their skills and supplies for community projects including Days for Girls, Friendship Sewing Co-op and United Action for Youth.

This year we’d like to highlight two new ways we are giving back. On Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30, we’ll be donating a portion of our proceeds to fund materials for The Welcome Blanket Project; we have volunteers working to create blankets for refugees and new immigrants to our country. On Saturday, Dec. 13, part of our proceeds will go to funding personalized baby embroidery kits and instruction for the parent support group in the NICU at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. We chose these projects because we know the power of the humble stitch—it ties us together, brings solace and creates beauty in the world. We’re thankful for our community of crafters and we look forward to seeing you!

YEAR OPENED: 2008 SHOP HERE FOR: Irresistible yarn; colorful, modern and vintage-inspired fabric; new and vintage buttons, thread, knitting and sewing patterns; books and magazines.

MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: Our Lecien Sashiko Samplers top the list of our favorite gifts to give this year. They are relaxing to work on and even a novice crafter will end up with beautiful results.

HOME EC. WORKSHOP

424 E JEFFERSON ST, IOWA CITY 319-337-4775 HOMEECWORKSHOP.COM BIG IDEA: Home Ec. Workshop is a craft

supply boutique and workshop space nestled in Iowa City’s Northside. We’re proud to offer inspiring yarn, fabric, notions and a variety of sewing, knitting and craft

Home Ec. Workshop stocks high-quality materials for sewing, knitting and other hand crafts. Zak Neumann LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 33

DONATE NOW AT LIT TLEV ILL AGEMAG.COM/GI V E Advertisement

Jan Weissmiller, owner of Prairie Lights Books, stays on top of this season’s best new releases. Zak Neumann

Courtesy of Prairie Lights Books

Zusack, just in 2019! Prairie Lights also maintains treasured partnerships with local bastions of arts and culture such as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Englert Theatre, Iowa City Public Library, and FilmScene.

YEAR OPENED: 1978 SHOP HERE FOR: The best new books from a staff of book-lovers MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: This holiday season, Prairie Lights is proud to recommend Iowa City transplant Andre Perry’s debut collection of personal essays, Some of Us Are Very Hungry Now, for the nonfiction-phile on your

Courtesy of Raygun

gift list, and our dedicated, well-read staff is happy to help you find just the right book for all the other booklovers in your life! Please feel free to email or call if you need gifts wrapped and shipped, or if you would like one of our popular gift certificates (which never expire). From all of us at Prairie Lights, we wish you a cheer-y season!

RAYGUN

132 E WASHINGTON ST, IOWA CITY 319-248-1258 1028 3RD ST SE, CEDAR RAPIDS 319-200-4083 RAYGUNSITE.COM BIG IDEA: Since

RAYGUN started in 2005, we’ve made outreach to education one of

PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKS 15 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY 319-337-2681 PRAIRIELIGHTS.COM BIG IDEA: Prairie

Lights Books sprang to life in May 1978 as a small, intimate bookstore, and quickly established a reputation for welcoming a diverse array of local, national, and international writers to its “Live at Prairie Lights” reading series. After 40 years, Prairie Lights remains a pillar of Iowa City’s literary community, drawing acclaimed authors such as Pico Iyer, Amber Tamblyn, Amor Towles, Marianne Williamson, Kevin Young, and Markus

34 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

RAYGUN’s Cedar Rapids location is filled with quippy on-point giftables. Jav Ducker / Little Village

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Shopgirls Liv and Libby restock the racks at downtown Iowa City’s Revival. Zak Neumann / Little Village

our top priorities. Every year we host student art shows, donate money and supplies, and donate time working with students.

Public schools are the bedrock of our communities.

We owe our success to the communities we are a part of, and so we use RAYGUN to give back in a number of ways. Every year, we dedicate our time and 15-30 percent of our net profits to outside organizations. Public education, equality, personal freedom, and a clean environment are issues we care strongly about.

YEAR OPENED: 2005 SHOP HERE FOR: culturally relevant T-shirts, socks, and giftables MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: “America Needs Public Schools” socks

Shop and do good.

strong ties with. We also LOVE to support our local artists; {made} Community, Fiber + Vessel, Cielo Moon Warmers and Hazel & Thyme, to name a few. Anyone shopping at Revival can feel good that their purchases support a more sustainable fashion industry and that your dollars are staying within the community. Thank you all for the support over the last 16 years.

Shop Local, Shop Small!

YEAR OPENED: 2003 SHOP HERE FOR: Vintage clothing, lovely candles, cozy scarves, sustainable fashion brands and, of course, all of our Iowa City gear (maps, stickers, bags, pins and tea towels) MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: Iowa City Map Print, exclusively created for Revival by artist Katie Vernon

REVIVAL

117 E COLLEGE ST, IOWA CITY 319-337-4511 REVIVALIOWACITY.COM BIG IDEA: Revival

is committed to continuing to offer sustainable fashion, accessories and gift choices to our community. We have done this by growing and expanding our resale options and by carrying a curated selection of new items that support sustainability. In addition, Revival is committed to supporting local organizations that empower women. Emma Goldman, UAY and DVIP are organizations that we have

36 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Cassidy Bell, manager at Ten Thousand Villages, surrounded by a bevy of high-quality artisan goods. Zak Neumann

Courtesy of Ten Thousand Villages

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TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES 105 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY

Ryan Baker, owner of World of Bikes, keeps the wheels moving in Iowa City. Zak Neumann / Little Village

TENTHOUSANDVILLAGES.COM/IOWACITY BIG IDEA: Ten Thousand Villages is a global maker-to-market movement. Working with artisans in over 30 developing countries, we do retail differently. Our mission is to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our market through long-term, fair-trading relationships. To break the cycle of generational poverty, we finance and help to develop our artisan partners and their enterprises. What does this mean? We provide interest-free financing and full payment before export for all products that we purchase. This creates a safety net of dependable income and stability while allowing the artisans to make important equipment and raw material purchases. As a nonprofit, we understand the need for financial stability and as a fair trade partner, we have an obligation to pay timely and create long-term relationships. Our vision is that one day all artisans in developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect, and be able to live a life of quality. We can do that with your help. Choose to live life fair.

There is a little bit of everything at our store, but our bestselling items are definitely jewelry. We have a wide assortment of jewelry made out of a number of sustainable and unique materials. This time of year, our ornaments, nativities and garlands are also some of our most shopped items. With products from about 120 artisan groups in over 30 developing

countries, you can bet that there is something for everyone at Ten Thousand Villages.

YEAR OPENED: 2016 SHOP HERE FOR: Fair trade artisan made goods from around the world MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: Bicycle Pizza Cutter, made by our artisan friends in Moradabad, India. This stainless steel pizza cutter is the perfect gift for anyone who loves pizza and cycling! Our fair trade partner Noah’s Ark has helped makers develop innovative designs, incorporate alternative materials and find new markets for their work, keeping alive a metalwork craft passed down through generations. At only $18.99, it’s perfectly gift-able.

WORLD OF BIKES 723 S GILBERT ST, IOWA CITY 319-351-8337 WORLDOFBIKES.NET BIG IDEA: World of Bikes has been serving the Iowa City community since 1974.

We realize that walking into a bike shop can be a little intimidating! We strive to have a friendly, low-pressure environment that ANY cyclist can walk in to. Our service department is the best around, with a staff that has been getting their hands greasy for many years. We can get your bike back to running like new!

Courtesy of World of Bikes

319-519-2104

One of the hottest new bikes styles to hit cycling have been electric assist bikes. With the assistance of an electric motor propelling you up to 28 mph, no hill, headwind or aliment stands a chance! We proudly sell e-assist bikes from Trek Bicycles that feature Bosch Electronics motors. They offer a full line of styles from comfort to mountain to road—literally something for everyone!

World of Bikes believes in community.

Whether it’s spending our Saturday mornings hosting the Farmers Market bike valet, checking out kids’ bikes at bike rodeos or sponsoring your local charity ride, we love giving back to the community that supports us!

YEAR OPENED: 1974 SHOP HERE FOR: All things bike-related MOST GIFTABLE ITEM: Electric Assist Bikes LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 37

BREAD & BUTTER

MidWestOne presents a $50,000 check to

Eat Your Greens and Call Me in the Morning Local food pantries, farmers and health-care providers are teaming up to implement Iowa’s first vegetable prescription program.

BY EMMA MCCLATCHEY

T

here are any number of reasons why a person would choose to eat a bag of chips over a mixedgreens salad. Snack-food cravings aside, chips are cheaper, more readily available, easier to prepare and have a longer shelf-life than fresh veggies—factors that can override one’s best intentions to eat healthy.

“It’s heavily ingrained in society ‘eat your fruits and vegetables,’ but it’s one of those things that’s much easier said than done,” said Joyce Wahba, a third-year medical student at the University of Iowa, and an executive coordinator at the UI’s Mobile Clinic. “That bridge between being said and being done—we’re trying to eliminate as many of those obstacles and barriers as humanly possible.”

The Mobile Clinic is teaming up with the UI’s Upstream Clinic (which provides medical care and resources to high-risk pregnant patients and others), the Coralville Community Food Pantry (CCFP), North

38 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Liberty Community Food Pantry, Johnson County’s local foods coordinator Ilsa DeWald and local farmers to get more “high-quality, nutrient-dense” foods into the hands of low-income Johnson County residents and those with diet-related health issues such as diabetes and heart disease.

This month, with the help of the Mobile Clinic, the two food pantries will enroll approximately 20 people each in the new 12-month Veggie Prescription Pilot Program, which will include health screenings and, essentially, a free CSA subscription, providing the participants with 26 weeks of fresh vegetables and fruits. The organizations will be looking for enrollees with both a medical and financial need for supplementary nutrition.

Johnson County has the highest rate of food insecurity in Iowa, with a reported 28,597 people, including 3,910 children, experiencing regular periods of hunger, according to a study conducted by the Upstream Clinic and the CCFP. “What we’ve realized is people who need these fruits and vegetables the most don’t have access,” Wahba said.

The Veggie Rx Program is designed to disrupt the cycle of food insecurity and healthcare inaccessibility. The first of its kind in the state of Iowa, the program is made possible by a $50,000 grant from MidWestOne Bank, presented on Sept. 24.

John Boller, CCFP’s executive director, said about half of this grant will go toward purchasing food for the program’s enrollees,

fund the Veggie Rx Pilot Program on Sept.

24 at Sundog Farm in Solon. Kate Payne

directly from three local farms—Sundog Farm and Local Harvest CSA in Solon; Echollective Farm and CSA near Mechanicsville; and Wild Woods Farm in Iowa City. Another $10,00012,000 worth of fresh produce will go to the Coralville and North Liberty food pantries, which serve more than 4,000 people total, annually. CCFP also intends to purchase a produce storage cooler.

“We do as much as we can at the pantries to offer this food but it’s never quite enough, so if we’re able to have additional funds to ensure that people are really getting an adequate amount of that product, that means a lot,” Boller said.

The remaining grant money will fund outreach and education campaigns, including cooking classes and demonstrations, which Boller said will make participants “more likely to continue to find these foods and utilize these foods moving forward.”

The UI Mobile Clinic will provide free health screenings for the Veggie Rx enrollees at the start of the program, near the beginning of 2020, as well as at the threemonth, six-month and 12-month marks.

Wahba said they will measure patients’ blood pressure, BMI and cholesterol, as well as run blood sugar (A1c) tests for those with diabetes. The first couple appointments will focus on individualized health and nutrition education, with the food deliveries scheduled to begin around April.

LittleVillageMag.com/Dining

“Being able to track the impact of not only health education but health education with the means of getting it through with these direct deliveries of vegetables—that will kind of be a proof of concept,” Wahba said. “[We can create] a model that other people are able to follow and reduce these diseases, just with food as opposed to medication.”

Home-cooked dishes with vegetables at their center are not only packed with vitamins, minerals and proteins, but they can replace fast-food meals heavy in salt, sugar, carbs and fats, which exacerbate issues such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. There’s no single, magic superfood that can cure what ails you, Wahba said; from kale to squash to apples, the diet you can stick with is the one that’s right for you.

“I think it really comes down to what people like eating,” Wahba said. “If it’s a vegetable a lot of people haven’t heard of or used before, giving them the means to actually use it as opposed to it just sitting on their counters [is important].”

The Veggie Rx program is groundbreaking as a collaboration between five community groups of varied disciplines, Boller said, in addition to its potential to benefit both public health and the local economy.

“From the local, sustainable agriculture side of things, it’s a huge boost in income for some of these farmers who rely really heavily on CSA subscriptions just to continue doing what they do,” he said. “It would also mean a lot to individuals who are struggling just to get the food that they need, getting a really beautiful product that’s locally grown, high-quality, grown organically.”

“And then there’s the bigger picture, too,” Boller continued. “This is creating a lot of energy around this idea, and I think a lot of people are excited to keep it going. A lot of people are excited to contribute to the cooking classes and the educational activities.”

MidWestOne’s $50k grant will carry Veggie Rx through its pilot phase, but the program will need strong community support going forward, Boller said. Donations are encouraged, and may be directed through the CCFP at coralvillefoodpantry. org. The program will also need to recruit drivers to pick up food from the farms and deliver it directly to the homes of Veggie Rx participants, and/or to a central drop-off point. More information about this volunteer opportunity will be announced in January or February, Boller said.

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 39

CULTURE

LittleVillageMag.com

A-List

How Can We Keep From Singing?

Iowa City’s intergenerational choir preps for a fall concert amid exciting growth. BY GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

I

n April of 2018, right near its fifth anniversary, Family Folk Machine (FFM), which had by then already become an institution in the Iowa City community, achieved another milestone: it became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The intergenerational choir’s goals had always been focused on fostering and serving the community—“We seek to build community through singing songs with our neighbors,” their we can begin to offer workshops like these mission statement reads in part—and the new and others to the public on a regular basis,” status was a big step forward in helping them Littlejohn said. “I know a lot of people who do just that. love the idea of the FFM but just can’t make “When we founded the FFM, I was rethe weekly rehearsal commitment work for lieved not to have to figure out filing for their family. I’d love to expand our programnonprofit status right away, as I had no ming so that we could offer some FFM-like experience with nonprofit organizations,” experiences that would not require an ongosaid FFM Executive/Artistic Director Jean ing time commitment.”

Littlejohn in an email. “As the choir grew, we had the opportunity to add more staff and expand our programming, but it was going to be difficult to expand under the umbrella of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center, which had given us a home since our “SINGING TOGETHER IS LIKE founding. At the same time, we wanted to SIGNING A CONTRACT TO take steps to strengthen the organization and make its operating model sustainable, which BE PART OF THE HUMAN was going to require more of a budget. In the FAMILY, TO PARTICIPATE IN fall of 2017 we looked into the options and finally decided to take the plunge and become A COMMON ENTERPRISE, TO an independent nonprofit.”

THROW YOUR LOT IN WITH That expanded programming took off THE VOICES AROUND YOU.” running almost right away. Last spring, FFM associate director (and legendary Iowa singer/songwriter) Gayla Drake kicked off two new programs: the Family Folk Machine Shop and the Family Folk Machine Shed.

The Shop is a songwriting workshop that In addition to looking forward to new muhas already spawned work—three of the sic, the choir is broadening their repertoire five original songs that will be performed with a deep look into the past. They recently at the FFM’s upcoming concert came from began research for an initiative for their there: “Homeward Bound” by Gayla Drake 2020-21 season, the Old-Time Music Project, and Jerry Partridge, “Little Disasters” by which will explore 19th century music that Aprille Clarke and “Hidden Youth” by Susan might have been sung here in Iowa.

Stamnes. The Shed is a practical skills workAll of this serves to tie together FFM’s shop for both singers and instrumentalists. dedication to expanding definitions of com“I’m hoping that we can chart a path where munity while deepening the community they 40 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

Family Folk Machine: One Family, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Sunday, Nov. 17, 3 p.m., Free Above: Jean Littlejohn directs FFM at the Veterans for Peace concert, February 2019. Gary Clarke

themselves share. Their upcoming concert— their 15th—was programmed on the theme of “One Family,” which explores stories of the different challenges faced at different stages in life and the relationships that can form between generations.

“Most of our concerts, whatever the theme, have an underlying thread about community, and this program is no exception,” Littlejohn said. “Among the songs about the stages of life, we also have songs about the ‘global family’—seeing our interrelatedness as humans—and about facing societal problems as a unified group.”

The choir is at its largest now, in the 201920 season. There are nearly 100 singers, in addition to the band and directors, and the age range spans at least 70 years, from the youngest, a 5-year-old, to the eldest at “75 or so.” There are 23 elementary school kids, around 11 junior high students and four high schoolers. The disparate ages don’t just affect skill level, but the level of understanding of content as well, especially when dealing with topics of community and life stages.

“From a parent perspective, I have appreciated learning songs with my kids that deal with difficult topics,” Littlejohn said. “If you find yourself living in a position of privilege, difficult topics or ugly parts of American history and culture don’t always surface spontaneously for teaching moments with the kids.

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CULTURE Learning songs together that touch on some of these topics has provided me with a path toward discussing them with my own kids.”

Not all ages sing all songs. For example, the littlest singers sit out of the piece “Sweet Mama Angel,” written by FFM board member Jeff Capps about losing his mother. “I don’t want kids to sing words on a topic that’s heavy if they don’t understand what’s being expressed,” Littlejohn said of the song’s poetic language and imagery.

But overall, she believes that it’s important for children not to be restricted, and for music to be a partner in deeper understanding.

“All the kids this fall are singing with the group on a song called ‘Circle of the Sun.’ It’s a catchy song that uses images from nature to talk about the life course: babies are born, children learn to talk, people learn to love, and I hope to die in a circle of the sun.

It’s a gentle way to assure kids that dying is part of the natural course of things,” she said.

“As a parent, I like the idea that kids might internalize that concept before their own life causes them to have to draw on it.”

Of course, more than just children can benefit from lessons being taught through song.

And it’s more than just the narrative lessons that are important: The practice itself can foster wisdom across all ages.

“Within the choir, we are building this feeling of collectivity [of community] week by week and helping singers focus their attention outward, on their singing neighbors,” Littlejohn said. “But there’s also an internal component: learning the value of each individual voice despite imperfections.”

And FFM isn’t content to keep those lessons to themselves.

“We want the audience to join in the songs where they can so they can experience that collectivity,” Littlejohn said. “At the same time, we want to encourage them to know their voice matters, to know that the song is going to be better if they join in.”

“Singing a song together focuses the attention on the things we have in common and helps us believe the best about other people, which primes us to work together productively,” she said. “Singing together is like signing a contract to be part of the human family, to participate in a common enterprise, to throw your lot in with the voices around you. It helps us think collectively.”

Genevieve Trainor believes in the transcendent power of choral singing.

42 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

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EDITORS’ PICKS

CALENDAR EVENTS AROUND THE CRANDIC NOV. 6–DEC. 3, 2019 Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag.com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/ calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.

Wed., Nov. 6 Iowa City Open Coffee, Merge, Iowa City, 8 a.m., Free (Weekly) 1 Million Cups: Being Strategic Workshop & Book Launch, NewBoCo, Cedar Rapids, 8:15 a.m., Free THIS WEEK: SHAKING EARTH DIGITAL

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly) United Way West Wing Trivia, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free IOWA’S FIRST POET LAUREATE READS FROM ‘INCARNATE: THE COLLECTED DEAD MAN POEMS’

Marvin Bell, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free Open Mic Night, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., Free (Weekly) Underground Karaoke with Spencer, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly) IMPROVISATIONAL MUSIC

Riley Leitch, Noah Jenkins, Sivan Cohen Elias and more, Trumpet Blossom, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7 Open Stage, Studio 13, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: ‘JUNGLE TRAP’

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, Film Scene— Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly)

STAFF PICKS

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

NOV. 6– DEC. 3, 2019

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST.

90.9 910

FM

still from ‘Citizen K’

NEWS | STUDIO ONE

AM

‘Sheltered,’ Coe College, Cedar Rapids, through Saturday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., Free$15 It’s no secret to anyone who knows me

that I am a sucker for new work. This month, Coe premieres Sheltered, a new musical, with book and lyrics by Roxanne Rodriguez and music by Sarah C. Butts-Manzo. The story explores the efforts of a group of college students to protect the homeless population sheltering in an abandoned church, who are faced with mid-winter eviction. Although I am obviously not yet familiar with this show, on the surface it ticks multiple boxes for me: aside from being new work, it is inspired by true events, it provides age-appropriate roles for emerging artists and it involves matters of social conscience, such that its success will likely hinge, not entirely on the quality of the work, but on the sensitivity and skill of the director, which makes it far more interesting. There are three performances left: Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 7-9, at 7:30 p.m. each night. Coe students, faculty and staff are free; tickets for other students are $10; adult tickets are $15.

––Genevieve Trainor ‘Citizen K’ with Alex Gibney, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City, Sunday, Nov. 10, 4 p.m., Free ($50 to attend catered reception) Just over a

week after hosting Governors Award-winning filmmaker Charles Burnett, FilmScene will welcome Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, just to make sure local cinephiles are thoroughly starstricken. Many of Gibney’s decorated documentaries have observed the intersections of fame and corruption, from Scientology (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) to Eliot Spitzer (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer) to the Enron and Theranos scandals (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and The Inventor: Out for

Blood in Silicon Valley). His latest doc tackles the mother of all corrupt public figures— Vladmir Putin—through the story of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oligarch and oil tycoon turned Putin dissenter, prisoner and legendary political exile. In partnership with the University of Iowa Lecture Committee, FilmScene is holding a screening of Citizen K on Nov. 10, followed by an in-person dialogue with its director. Freedom may not be free, but this event is. —Emma McClatchey

NEWS

Stream online: IowaPublicRadio.org or the IPR app.

‘Matilda the Musical,’ Theatre Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids, Nov. 15-Dec. 15, $22-51 Back in the olden days of the VHS

tape, your level of appreciation for a movie could be accurately measured by how distorted and damaged the image playing on the TV was when you popped it in the boxy VCR. For me, as I’m sure for many other millenials, Matilda was one of those movies. Played over and over, replaced once, twice, thrice…. The movie was based on Roald Dahl’s adorably magical children’s book, which I came to know a bit late, but still loved. Fast-forward to a few years ago, when I learned that Matilda was being made into a musical. I was obviously, but cautiously, excited. As soon as the soundtrack was released, I gave it a listen, full of hope and hesitation, and boy, was it good!

Catchy, quirky, loud and sweet. Since then, I’ve been patiently awaiting for a traveling tour to come by or a local theater to put it on, and finally, TCR is doing it, and it couldn’t be in better hands! They draw great local talent and their productions keep getting bigger and better every time. If their recent production of Hello, Dolly! is any indication, Matilda is going to be a delight. So, rally your family or maybe your childhood friends and go enjoy this cheerful and heart-warming musical.

––Jav Ducker

1103 3rd St SE

.

(319)364-1580

PIETA BROWN

Sat Nov 9th CSPS Hall

Dynamic art in the heart of Cedar Rapids Tickets & info available at

www.legionarts.org

EDITORS’ PICKS

Thu., Nov. 7

LIVE PERFORMANCE ALONGSIDE ‘A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE’

Tracie Morris: ‘A History of American NewBo Happier Hour, NewBo City Market, 5:30

Violence—Black Cronenberg,’ FilmScene—Ped

p.m., Free (Weekly)

Mall, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

Red Kettle Kickoff, NewBo City Market, Cedar

SIBLING SINGER-SONGWRITERS WITH BLOOD

Rapids, 6 p.m., Free

HARMONIES

The Talbott Brothers w/ Dickie, The Mill, Iowa The Waypoint Party: Dueling through the

City, 8 p.m., $12-15

Decades, Eastbank Venue & Lounge, Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m., $50

HARD ROCK FEEL; SCREAMING PSYCHEDELIC SOUND

Iowa City Meditation Class: How To

Citrus Sunday w/ NonGrata, Yacht Club, Iowa

Transform Your Life, Quaker Friends Meeting

City, 8 p.m., $5

House, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly) DUBSTEP/HARD-TRAP/ELECTRO

Line Dancing and Lessons, Wildwood

Riot Ten w/ Yakz, Cromatik, Gabe’s, Iowa City,

Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., Free

9 p.m., $16-75

(Weekly) MELODY-FORWARD, HARD-HITTING, GENRE

Thursday Night Live Open Mic, Uptown Bill’s,

BENDING ROCK AND ROLL

Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

When Particles Collide w/ Dog Dave and Bain-Marie, Trumpet Blossom, Iowa City, 9 p.m.,

Daddy-O, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar

$7

Rapids, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly) DJ Loomer Thirsty Thursday Dance Party, A Novel Approach to Writing with Ken

Yacht Club, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Bloom, Artisan’s Sanctuary, Marion, 7 p.m., Free READING: ‘THE CURRENT’

Fri., Nov. 8

Tim Johnston, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

NewBo Open Coffee, Roasters Coffeehouse in NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 8 a.m., Free

C R E AT I V E S E R V I C E S

Live Jazz, Clinton Street Social Club, Iowa City, 8

(2nd & 4th Fridays)

p.m., Free (1st & 3rd Thursdays) Mobility Forum with City of Iowa City

We are a full-service design agency working with clients to build effective media strategies.

Karaoke Thursday, Studio 13, Iowa City, 8 p.m.,

Transportation Services, MidWestOne Bank

Free (Weekly)

Downtown, Iowa City, 8:30 a.m. & 3 p.m., Free

• DIGITAL MARKETING • CONTENT MARKETING • VIDEO • PHOTOGRAPHY • GRAPHIC DESIGN • WEB DESIGN

3 1 9. 8 5 5 .1 474 littlevillagecreative.com

Your Opportunity to Engage with Arts and Culture CulturalCorridor.org

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM PIANO DRIVEN POP-PUNK THEATRE QUARTET

Megababes w/ TV Cop, Zaq Baker Quartet, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 5 p.m., Free HARD ROCK HIP-HOP ELECTRONICA POP BLEND

Icon For Hire w/ Amy Guess, 5 AM, & Eugene Levy, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 5 p.m., $15-30 AUTUMN FLORAL ARRANGEMENT WORKSHOP

(ALSO 11/15, 12/6 & 12/13) Make & Take Autumn Floral Workshop, Willow & Stock, Iowa City, 6 p.m., $50 Friday Night Out, Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, 6:30 p.m., $40 (2nd Friday) FAC Dance Party, the Union, Iowa City, 7 p.m.

(Weekly) READING: ‘SUICIDE WOODS’

Benjamin Percy, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN POP DUO

for King & Country, U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $23-203 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH 11/16

Dreamwell Theatre Presents: ‘4.48 Psychosis,’ Wesley Center, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $10-15 FOUNDING MEMBER OF TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA AND RENOWNED ROCK VIOLINIST

Symphony on the Rocks with Mark Wood, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $35-63 SOULFUL, FOOT-STOMPING FOLK

Chad Elliott Band, Famous Mockingbird, Marion, 8 p.m., $10

Life’s Celebrations...

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THE ALL NEW

EDITORS’ PICKS OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH NOV. 16

‘Orlando,’ University of Iowa—Mabie Theatre, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $5-20 ONE OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S HOTTEST YOUNG ACTS

9 201 R TOU

Tucker Beathard w/ Adam Hambrick, First Avenue Club, Iowa CIty, 8 p.m., $20-140 ALSO 11/9

Pat Goodwin, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $13-15 CLASSIC PIANO TUNES

Cole “The Piano Man” Thomas, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free TEXAS COUNTRY SINGER-SONGWRITER

Bart Crow w/ Charles Wesley Godwin, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10-25 Latin Night w/ FUZE, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly)

PARAMOUNT THEATRE Sun. Dec. 8 • 2:30 pm th

ON SALE NOW! $29-$48 (incl. fees). All seating is reserved. Charge by phone at (319) 366-8203, online at ParamountTheatreCR.com, or in person at the Paramount Theatre / Orchestra Iowa Ticket Office.

A Benefit for Camp Courageous of Iowa Also Appearing In: Anamosa (Nov. 29), Ottumwa (Nov. 30), Davenport (Dec. 1), Des Moines (Dec. 7), Cedar Falls (Dec. 14), Dubuque (Dec. 15)

PianoFavorites.com

MIDWEST AMERICANA/BLUEGRASS FROM MINNEAPOLIS

Pert Near Sandstone w/ Kind Country, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $15-20 SoulShake, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly) Sasha Belle Presents: Friday Night Drag & Dance Party, Studio 13, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., $5 (Weekly)

Sat, Nov. 9 Guest Vendor Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m. (Weekly) Family Storytime, Iowa City Public Library, 10:30 a.m., Free (Weekly) BIKE RIDE/FOOD DRIVE/SCAVENGER HUNT

Cranksgiving 2019, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, 11 a.m., Free 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL CELEBRATION

Fall of the Wall Celebration, Nat’l Czech & Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids, 3:30 p.m., Free

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR

Zak Neumann / Little Village

TOP PICKS: QUAD CITIES

NOV. 6– DEC. 3, 2019

Closet Witch Record Release and Beer Tapping, Wake Brewing, Rock Island, Friday, Nov. 8, 6 p.m., Free Wake Brewing

and Closet Witch have teamed up to release a flexi record and a brand new beer on the same damn night. Come to the release to score a flexi record and a four pack of the Closet Witch Saison, brewed with Hibiscus and Ginger. Members of Closet Witch and others will also be spinning records all night.

—Paige Underwood Tennessee Gothic Screening, RozzTox, Rock Island, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m., Free Adapted from Ray Russell’s

short story, “American Gothic,” Tennessee Gothic is a new horror film shot entirely on Kodak 16mm film that follows a young girl post-attack who seeks shelter at a nearby farm. Despite the darkness throughout, the film has moments of hilarity and debauchery.

Director Jeff Wedding will hold a Q&A after the screening. QC filmmaker Harry Walker played a variety of roles in the filmmaking, including Associate Producer, camera operator, actor, post production supervisor and creating a behind-the-scenes, “making of” documentary. —PU Ami Dang w/ Bill MacKay, Idpyramid, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Saturday, Nov. 16, 9 p.m., $10-15 Sitarist, composer, pro-

ducer and vocalist Ami Dang incorporates North Indian classical music with ambient,

psychedelic sounds to craft mesmerizing compositions. Dang’s music tells you an elaborate story, even when no words are being sung. To make this show event sweeter, Drag City guitar virtuoso Bill MacKay and local experimental-electronic act Idpyramid will be performing. (You can also catch Bill MacKay in Iowa City on Nov. 9 and Ami Dang on Nov. 17, both as part of the Feed Me Weird Things series.) —PU THE FESTIVAL, Renwick Mansion, Davenport, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 7 p.m., $7 Pregame your turkey and mash with this

edition of the monthly mini-fest. Four area artists play sets in four different genres—this month features indie rock, drill rap, folk and R&B—all in a 19th century, Italian-style Villa overlooking the Mississippi River.

Afterparty at the Underground Economy ($5). —Melanie Hanson Back in Black Friday: Electric Shock w/ QC Rock Academy, River Music Experience, Davenport, Friday, Nov. 29, 8 p.m., $8-10 Get overfed relatives out of

your house with tickets to see Electric Shock play the entire Back in Black album. Literally everyone likes AC/DC, and this local group is dedicated to recreating every aspect of a classic concert experience complete with duck-walking Aussie native John Degiorgio and veteran vocalist John Kiss. —MH

Upcoming Events: EVERY MONDAY - PARCHMENT LOUNGE - 6:30 PM free write session hosted by Iowa Writer's House EVERY WEDNESDAY - ANDREW'S BAR EXAM - 7:00 PM

NOV 1 8 PM

NOV 8 8 PM

NOV 9 8 PM

NOV 15

Mike Maas & Carlis Cole Thomas Joe & Vicki Price

8 PM

Steve Grismore

NOV 16

Le Grand Sellegrini

NOV 22

Cole Peterson Trio

8 PM 8 PM

NOV 23 8 PM

NOV 30 8 PM

Blake Shaw Double Guitar Quartet Ross Clowser

MONDAYS ARE HAPPY HOUR EVERY HOUR! SUNDAYS ARE 1/2 OFF ALL PIZZA ALL DAY! (319) 351-5692 • 405 S GILBERT ST, IOWA CITY

EDITORS’ PICKS READING AND DISCUSSION: ‘IN THE

LIVE PRO WRESTLING

HIGH-ENERGY BRASS BAND

FINAL PERFORMANCE!

DREAM HOUSE’

Hawkmania X, Wildwood

BYOBrass, The Mill, Iowa City, 9

‘FEAST.’ By Megan Gogerty,

Carmen Maria Machado in

Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 7

p.m., $7

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, 2 p.m.,

Conversation with Garth

p.m., $10-20

$10-30

Greenwell, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free

FOLK, ALTERNATIVE ROCK, INDIE STAR OF ‘LONG ISLAND MEDIUM’

AND BLUES

SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

Theresa Caputo: The Experience

Miss Christine w/ Hannah Frey

WITH ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING

FAIRY TALE-THEMED FUN

Live!, Paramount Theatre, Cedar

and Eric Paul, Trumpet Blossom,

WRITER/DIRECTOR

Fairy Tale Market, Groundswell

Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $39.75-89.75

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7

‘Citizen K’ with Alex Gibney,

CLOSING PERFORMANCE

LOCAL ROCK SHOW

‘Sheltered,’ Coe College, Cedar

The Unincorporated w/

Rapids, 7:30 p.m., Free-$15

Kickstart the Sun, Scamper.,

COUNTRY MUSIC DUO

the Evan Stock Band, Yacht Club,

LOCASH, First Avenue Club, Iowa

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7-10

City, 7 p.m., $25-140 ANNUAL ROOFTOP SCREENING

Cafe, Cedar Rapids, 5:30 p.m., $8.75-17.50 CHICAGO-BASED GUITARIST/

FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City, 4

COMPOSER/IMPROVISER WITH

p.m., Free (catered reception: $50)

CLASSICAL CELLIST

TOP IOWA SINGER-SONGWRITER

Feed Me Weird Things Presents:

Pieta Brown w/ Alpha

Bill MacKay & Katinka Kleijn,

Consumer, CSPS Hall, Cedar

Old Capital Museum, Iowa City, 6

Rapids, 8 p.m., $16-20

Sun., Nov. 10

BADASS IOWA BLUES

Guest Vendor Market, NewBo

“MUSIC ICON, REALITY TV STAR

Joe & Vicki Price, Sanctuary Pub,

City Market, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m.

FROM JAZZ TO DRONE TO NOISE

AND LIFE-LONG TYPE 1 DIABETIC”

Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

(Weekly)

Bob Bucko, Jr. w/ Human Host,

& Lita Ford, Joe Nichols, U.S.

Elation Dance Party, Studio 13,

Sunday Funday, Iowa City Public

Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, 7

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5 (Weekly)

Library, Iowa City, 2 p.m., Free

p.m., $10

Fargo, FilmScene—Ped Mall, 8 p.m., $15

Mustard In Law, Ruche Mere,

Bret Michaels w/ Night Ranger

(Weekly)

p.m., $36-72

Younger NIGHT MILK

LittleVillageMag.com/Younger

Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $8

Brian Johannesen

HOLSTER YOUR SILVER LittleVillageMag.com/BriJo

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LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR 90’S ALT-ROCK STARS CELEBRATE

Mon., Nov. 11

25 YEARS OF SIX-TIME PLATINUM ALBUM ‘FOUR’

DETROIT ROCK

Blues Traveler, Paramount Theatre,

Kaleido w/ Fried Ice, TBD,

Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $29.50-65

Gabe’s, Iowa City, 5 p.m., $12

WORDSMITHS TAKE THE STAGE

Open Mic, The Mill, Iowa City, 7

WITH LIVE BAND

p.m., Free

The Hook Presents: Poetry in

(Weekly)

Motion, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10

SPRINGFIELD, IL INDIE ROCK

Stick People w/ Bain-Marie and CANADIAN AMERICANA

OHWA, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m.,

SINGER-SONGWRITER

$5 Suggested Donation

Corb Lund w/ Jordan Sellergren Band, Wildwood Smokehouse &

HIGH-OCTANE KEYBOARD

Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $12-$25

WIZARDRY

An Evening With Marco Pub Quiz, The Mill, Iowa City, 9

Benevento, Wildwood Smokehouse

p.m., $1 (Weekly)

& Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $15-20

ELECTRONICA POWER TRIO

Comedy Open Mic with Spencer

Yak Attack w/ Fried Ice, Gabe’s,

& Dan, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $10

p.m., Free (Weekly)

INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED MEXICAN

ACOUSTIC ROCK GUITAR DUO

EDITORS’ PICKS Say Anything Karaoke, Gabe’s,

Burlington Street Bluegrass

Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Band, The Mill, Iowa City, 6 p.m., $5 (2nd & 4th Wednesdays)

Tue., Nov. 12

SOULFUL INDIE FOLK

Frances Luke Accord w/ Pink

M E T T A V O L U T I O N

T O U R

NU-METAL EXTRAVAGANZA

Neighbor, CSPS Hall, Cedar

Powerman 5000 w/ (hed) p.e.,

Rapids, 7 p.m., $16-19

Adema, Blacklist Regulars, Dark Agenda, Wildwood Smokehouse &

NEW JERSEY PROG ROCK

Saloon, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., $25

Thank You Scientist w/ Bent Knee and Tea Club, Gabe’s, Iowa

READING: ‘SOME OF US ARE VERY

City, 7 p.m., $16-18

HUNGRY NOW’

Andre Perry, Next Page Books,

AWARD-WINNING COMPOSER AND

Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., Free

GUITARIST FROM CZECH REPUBLIC

Music @ the Museum: Lukas Blues Jam, Parlor City Pub and

Sommer, Nat’l Czech & Slovak

Eatery, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., Free

Museum, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m.,

(Weekly)

$8-12

CANADIAN HIP-HOP

READING: ‘THE USUAL

Dax w/ CalenRaps, Zef Walker,

UNCERTAINTIES’

Zeek the Rapper, Young Zorro,

Jonathan Blum, Prairie Lights,

Vegas, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m.,

Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

$20 HOGWARTS-THEMED WIZARD

Weekly Old-Timey Jam

PARTY

Sessions, Trumpet Blossom Cafe,

Wizardfest, Wildwood Smokehouse

Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., Free (Weekly)

& Saloon, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $10-35

SCREAM-POP DUO OF KENTUCKY-

APPLTETON, WI AMERICANA

FRIED QUEERDOS

SINGER-SONGWRITER

GRLwood w/ Starry Nights and

Christopher Gold w/ Brian

Cult of Volac, Trumpet Blossom,

Johannesen, Trumpet Blossom,

Iowa City, 8:30 p.m., $7

Iowa City, 8 p.m., $7-$10

Dance Party with DJ Jamaican

Open Stage, Studio 13, Iowa City,

Daddy, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9

10 p.m., Free (Weekly)

p.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: ‘TENNESSEE GOTHIC’

COMING TO THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE

11.23.19 TICKETS ON SALE NOW! GO TO PARAMOUNTTHEATRECR.COM OR VISIT THE VENUE BOX OFFICE.

Comedy & Karaoke, Studio 13,

Late Shift at the Grindhouse,

Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Film Scene, Iowa City, 10 p.m., $4 (Weekly)

Karaoke Tuesdays, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Talk Art, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., Free

Wed., Nov. 13

Thu., Nov. 14

THIS WEEK: TBD

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa

OBERMANN CONVERSATIONS

City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly)

Domestic Stories: Race, Gender, Class & Pay, Iowa City Public Library, 4 p.m., Free

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR

Zak Neumann / Little Village

TOP PICKS: DES MOINES

NOV. 6– DEC. 3, 2019

Dark Family w/ Nowns, Good Morning Midnight, Halen and Annie, The Fremont, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m., Free Dark Family’s music

lives in that area where all the weird psychedelia of the ’60s started to blend into the darker sides of ’70s New Age. We’re talking the occult, crystals, candle-lit rituals, etc. It’s no surprise really: The band is from the Quad Cities and everything seems to get a little strange there along the mighty Mississippi.

They released their debut album, Holiness, in October, just in time for a string of shows starting (appropriately) around Halloween and taking the band on a tour through all the familiar Midwest haunts in early November.

IPR Studio One Underground w/ the Volcano Boys, xBk Live, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., Free (reservations recommended) We

tend to think of supergroups as collaborations between legendary musicians, but more often than not, the best ones are local. Des Moines’ Volcano Boys fits that bill, with each of its members contributing their musical talents to numerous other local heavy-hitters. Fresh off the release of their new album, You Don’t Love Me, the Boys are bringing their new tunes to IPR’s Studio One live sets in its monthly Underground location at xBk Live.

Psalm One w/ Angel Davanport, Show You Suck, Ash Wednesday, Vaudeville Mews, Nov. 9, 10 p.m., $10-12 There’s

something about Chicago hip-hop that’s

never seemed to shed its commitment to the more raw corners of the genre. It’s like the pop-leaning hip-hop of modern airplay never really penetrated the inner circles of Chi-town rap. Psalm One is no exception. Leading the Chicago-based, all-female hip-hop collective Rapperchicks, she never shied away from the raw and the real with her socially aware lyricism and soulful delivery. It’s her first show back in Des Moines since headlining 2017’s one-off Street Heat Music Festival. She’s currently on tour in support of her 2019 album, Flight of the Wig. GDP Music Festival, Multiple Locations, Nov. 23, 2 p.m., Free-$15 After a year on

hiatus, the Gross Domestic Product Music Festival has returned! This year’s GDP is bringing together an eclectic blend of nearly 20 local acts of genres ranging from hip-hop to metal, with plenty of rock and folk-laden offerings in between. It’s an all-day lineup shifting between the Vaudeville Mews stage and balcony, and the 4th Street Theater next door. Then the whole thing wraps up properly with an after-party back on the seasoned dancefloor of the Mews. A festival pass is $15; tickets can be purchased separately for 4th Street ($10), Vaudeville Mews early show ($10) or Vaudeville Mews late show (21+, $5).

Kids 11 and under are free. With its inaugural year back in 2006, GDP is low-key one of Des Moines’ longest running music festivals. Long may it reign! —Trey Reis

I N I O WA C I T Y

@STAN'S BARBER & STYLISTS IN MARION

@KETTEL HOUSE BAKERY I N WAT E R L O O

@SIDECAR COFFEE +700 other locations

ALSO ONLINE

@LittleVillageMag.com

EDITORS’ PICKS READING AND DISCUSSION: ‘SOME OF US ARE

FUNDRAISER WITH DANCING

READING: ‘AN AFTERLIFE’

VERY HUNGRY NOW’

Eastern Iowa Bond Project Dance Party

Frances Bartkowski, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7

Andre Perry in conversation with Tameka

Fundraiser, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free

p.m., Free

Fri., Nov. 15

ANGELIC HARPS

Cage Conley, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

The Cinematic Orchestra, Englert Theatre, Iowa

WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEUR NETWORKING LUNCH

City, 7 p.m., $15-30

WITH SPEAKER KATY BROWN

OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH 11/16

Coralville, 7:30 p.m., $16-56

November Women’s Entrepreneur Lunch,

1928 SILENT FILM

MERGE, Iowa City, 11:30 a.m., Free

The Passion of Joan of Arc, FilmScene—

Mirrorbox Theatre Presents: ‘Orange Julius,’ CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $15

Orchestra Iowa Masterworks: Passion of Angels, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts,

BRITISH NU JAZZ & ELECTRONIC

Chauncey, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $25-40 LIL PEEP TRIBUTE BAND

Lil Weep & the Crybaby’s w/ Random Tanner

OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH 12/15

THIS WEEK: BOUND

& the Fire Squad, Brothers of Blues, SOLIS,

‘Matilda the Musical,’ Theatre Cedar Rapids,

Women On the Verge, FilmScene—Chauncey,

Critical Money, Pharaoh Lord, Gabe’s, Iowa City,

Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $22-51

Iowa City, 8 p.m., $8.50-11 (Series)

6 p.m., $10

LOCAL BAND DEATH MATCH

CHICAGO INDIE/EMO ROCK

Dance Gala: In Motion, Hancher Auditorium,

Weenie Death Match 2019 Featuring Penny

Pelafina w/ Pollinators and Good Morning

Iowa City, 8 p.m., $5-100

Peach, Tooth Ivy, Basketball Divorce Court,

Midnight, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

ALSO 11/16

Dog Dave, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $8

ALSO 11/16

Auggie Smith, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $13-15

Black Friday

prices all month long!

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LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR LOCAL JAZZ

Sat., Nov. 16

IOWA ROCK AND ROLL

Steve Grismore, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

Superchief w/ Porchburner, Volcano Diving, BRUTAL EGYPTIAN LOVECRAFTIAN DEATH METAL

the GMO’s, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $8

Nile w/ Terrorizer, Wildwood Smokehouse & IOWA INDIE-ROCK

Saloon, Iowa City, 6 p.m., $22-25

IOWA SINGER-SONGWRITER

Halfloves w/ Younger and Purple Frank, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10-12

Le Grand Sellegreni, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

IMMIGRATION STORIES FROM LOCAL IRISH TRADITIONAL BAND COPPERS & BRASS

CHICAGO COMEDIAN DOES SHOW ABOUT

I Lift My Lamp, Coralville Center for the

DELICIOUSLY STANKY, DYNAMICALLY FUNKY,

MONTH-LONG DIABETIC COMA

Performing Arts, Coralville, 7 p.m., $10-15

RECKLESSLY HOPEFUL, GROUNDED IN SOUL

Dave Maher, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $9

Charles Walker Band, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m.,

TWO HARPS AND ORCHESTRA CLASSIC COUNTRY HONKY TONK

Orchestra Iowa Masterworks: Passion of

Mark Chesnutt w/ Boot Jack, First Avenue

Angels, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30

WISCONSIN THREE-PIECE ROCK BAND

Club, Iowa City, 8:15 p.m., $30-200

p.m., $16-56

Left of Reason w/ Zachary Daniels Band and

LOCAL POP-SOUL ALBUM RELEASE PARTY

ACOUSTIC AMERICANA SINGER-SONGWRITER

James Tutson & the Rollback, Big Grove

Seth Walker, Famous Mockingbird, Marion, 8

Brewery, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free

p.m., $10

Sun., Nov. 17

SCREENING AND Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS

BIKE RIDE/FOOD DRIVE/SCAVENGER HUNT

Headroom: Emily Vey Duke and Cooper

Cranksgiving, Goldfinch Cyclery, Cedar Rapids,

Battersby, FilmScene—Ped Mall, Iowa City, 8

10 a.m., Free

OHWA, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5

p.m., Free

Directed by Nina Morrison When Ed and his three adult sons come together to celebrate Christmas, they enjoy cheerful trash-talking, pranks, and takeout Chinese food. Then they confront a problem that even being a happy family can’t solve: when identity matters and privilege is problematic, what is the value of being a straight white man? Theatrical phenom Young Jean Lee’s comic exploration of suburban patriarchy, handled with an anthropologist’s curiosity and a surgeon’s precision.

NOV. 29-DEC. 15 213 N. GILBERT ST. TICKETS: (319) 338-7672 OR WWW.RIVERSIDETHEATRE.ORG Tickets just $10 for students!

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 55

EDITORS’ PICKS

CEDAR RAPIDS NEW BOHEMIA/ CZECH VILLAGE

CRATE DIGGING FROM REGIONAL VINYL VENDORS

Big Grove Vinyl Market, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, 12 p.m.

THIS MONTH: CHRIS BURD

Artifactory Presents: June Art In the Afternoon, The Center, Iowa City, 1 p.m., Free (3rd Sunday) NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

the

DAISY

CLOTHING • GIFTS & DECOR Marion

319-249-1898 1105 8th Ave

New Bo

319-362-3615 208 12th Ave

Tu, Wed, Fri 11-5 Th 11-7 • Sat 11-4 ~ closed sunday & monday ~

www.shopthedaisy.com

Black Earth Gallery Art Consulting

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ FilmScene— Chauncey, Iowa City, 2 p.m., $15-18 FINAL PERFORMANCE

‘The Dixie Swim Club,’ Giving Tree Theater, Marion, 2 p.m., $27 ALL-INCLUSIVE LARGE FOLK CHOIR

Family Folk Machine: One Family, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 3 p.m., Free FALL END-OF-SEMESTER READING

Iowa Youth Writing Project, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free SOUTH TEXAS METALCORE

Scarlett O’Hara w/ Sleepwalker and Somewhere to Call Home, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $10-$12 EAST-MEETS-WEST AMBIENT/TRANCE MUSIC

Feed Me Weird Things Presents: Ami Dang, Trumpet Blossom, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $10

for businesses and personal homes, pop-up shows and public art events blackearthgallery.com @black_earth_gallery blackearthgallery@gmail.com If art isn’t important, then why does it have so much power?

Mon., Nov. 18 MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE-WINNER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST READING: ‘HOMESICK’

Jennifer Croft, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

Tue., Nov. 19 One Day Animation Camp, FilmScene—Ped Mall, Iowa City, 8:30 a.m., $50 READING: ‘MISSING MOTHERS’

Martha Birkett Bordwell, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

IOWA CITY OLD TRAIN DEPOT LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR

TOP PICKS: WATERLOO/CEDAR FALLS

via Gallagher Bluedorn

NOVEMBER 6–DECEMBER 3, 2019

The Magic of Mushrooms Tasting Fair, Natural Grocers, Cedar Falls, Saturday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m., Free Recently, I engaged in a

discussion about my abysmal lack of skills for the forthcoming and inevitable zombie apocalypse. The person I was speaking with had been taking bow hunting courses, and clearly would be welcomed into a post-society society much faster than my sorry ass. Foraging came up as something that I might (if I’m lucky) still have time yet to learn—and my mind went immediately to mushrooms. In my halcyon days, I’d been quite intrigued by them.

The number of species out there is astounding, and their various abilities to kill, delude the senses and provide sustenance are fascinating.

I’m certain that the Natural Grocers in Cedar Falls, Iowa will not have on hand anything that can kill or even cause hallucinations— but that doesn’t mean the event won’t live up to the “magic” of its title. Their staff will be available all day long to talk fungus, and they’ll be serving up everything from sauteed mushrooms to mushroom coffee. There’s no wrong way to eat a mushroom—unless it’s the wrong mushroom!

Minnesota Ballet Presents: ‘The Nutcracker,’ Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Cedar Falls, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 22-24, various times, $1-40.75 This may be the first perfor-

mance in eastern Iowa of the holiday classic that overtakes our stages and infiltrates our hearts each Christmas. Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities—all have to wait until December before a production opens this year.

But the Gallagher Bluedorn is getting the jump on them by bringing in the Minnesota Ballet before Thanksgiving even hits, to the joy of all the die-hards. The Nutcracker is situated in a unique cultural space: Ballet is perhaps one of the most opaque art forms for casual arts patrons to experience, yet this story is so familiar that it bridges a divide between fans and neophytes. It’s often a teaching ballet, giving students opportunities to explore their skills in the smaller roles and share the stage with professionals. For many, seeing The Nutcracker may even be their first time in a theater. And there’s something about the story that directly engages the wonder of the season in a way that transcends the religious trappings of Christmas. Do yourself a favor and let the magic into your life a little early this year. This is part of the Gallagher Bluedorn’s “Buck a Kid” series, where tickets for up to two children per adult are only $1 each.

OPEN 11-2AM DAILY

TRY OUR BREADED TENDERLOIN! SERVING FOOD UNTIL 1AM DAILY

6th Annual Thanksgiving Weekend Bluegrass Festival, Hilton Garden Inn, Cedar Falls, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 29-30, Free-$45 The Bluegrass Music Association

of Iowa (BMAI) has programmed a family-friendly weekend of fun and music. Seven different bands play 15 shows over the course of the weekend, with workshops on Saturday morning. Grammy nominees Special Consensus and the Becky Buller Band anchor Saturday’s performances, and opportunities for jam sessions abound. Weekend passes are $40-45; Friday only is $20 and Saturday only is $25. Youth 13-16 are $5 per day, and kids 12 and under are free.

ADVERTISING • AUTOGRAPHS BACK ISSUES • MERCH

623 S. Dubuque St. / (319) 855-1474

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 57

EDITORS’ PICKS

Wed., Nov. 20 THIS WEEK: TBD

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: TRUMPET BLOSSOM

Hancher’s Culinary Art Experience, Stanley Cafe at Hancher, Iowa City, 5 p.m., $40 AUTHOR OF ‘RAISING WHITE KIDS’

Raising Anti-Racist White Kids: Author Talk w/ Jennifer Harvey, Iowa City Public Library, 6 p.m., Free FOLK-AMERICANA SINGER-SONGWRITERS

On A Winter’s Night Featuring Christine Lavin, John Gorka, Patty Larkin, Cliff Eberhardt, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $36.50-56.50 THIS WEEK: FIRST LOVE

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, Film Scene— Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly) Talk Art, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., Free

Thurs., Nov. 21 INFORMATION ON HOW TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE FROM LOCAL LEADERS

IC Climate Expo, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., Free Novel Conversations, Coralville Public Library, 7 p.m., Free (3rd Thursday) URBAN LATIN DANCERS AND LIVE MUSIC

CONTRA-TIEMPO & Las Cafeteras, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $10-40

58 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM GRAMMY AWARD WINNING FOLK-ROCK DUO

Indigo Girls, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $39.50-75 OPENING NIGHT! (ALSO, 11/22 & 11/23)

Revival Theatre Company Presents: ‘Oklahoma!’ In Concert, Sinclair Auditorium— Coe College, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $25-45 SPECIAL GUEST: ELLY H.

Live Jazz, Clinton Street Social Club, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free (1st & 3rd Thursdays) BLISTERING AMERICANA & BLUES

The Marcus King Band w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $26.50 THIS WEEK: ‘WANDA’

Women on the Verge, FilmScene—Chauncey, 8 p.m., $8.50-11 HIGH ENERGY TRAP AND BASS FUSED WITH SINISTER DUBSTEP SOUND DESIGN

G-Rex w/ Zeke Beats, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m.,

FOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY: THE COLLECTION OF THE GRINNELL COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART

$16-20 IHEARIC

Sneezy Dollars, Everyday People Say What, INVocE, Fever Love, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free NEW ORLEANS PROPULSIVE GUITAR-LED MUSIC

Night Water w/ Rubbur and Scamper, Trumpet Blossom, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7 KANSAS CITY POP/SOUL SINGER-SONGWRITER

Lauren Anderson w/ Matt Panek, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $10

August 23 to December 14, 2019 The Grinnell College Museum of Art collection contains over 5,000 objects from antiquity to the present day. This fall, the Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary with an exhibition of a diverse and ever-growing collection spanning both the centuries and the globe.

Free and open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. grinnell.edu/museum

LOVE

Kim will help you find your way HOME kimschillig@gmail.com 310.795.2133 V/T

LITTLE VILLAGE?

HELP US KEEP IT FREE. Voluntary contributions from readers like you help keep Little VIllage free for everyone to enjoy.

Chip in today: LittleVillageMag.com/Subscribe LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 59

REVIEW Counterfeit Madison hugs an audience member after her performance of I Got Life, And I Got Freedom: Exploring Personal & Social Change Through the Music of Nina Simone at Witching Hour, Saturday, Nov. 2.

Zak Neumann / Little Village 60 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

EDITORS’ PICKS

Fri., Nov. 22 NewBo Open Coffee, Roasters Coffeehouse in

OMAHA INDIE ROCK

TOM PETTY TRIBUTE

The Real Zebos w/ TV Cop, Uncle, Dog Dave,

The Insiders: A Tom Petty Tribute Band,

Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $7-10

Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $15-20

NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 8 a.m., Free (2nd & 4th Fridays)

ALSO 11/23 AND 11/24

The Great Stories Series—Show of Gratitude 2019, Giving Tree Theater, Marion, 8 p.m., $16

Sat., Nov. 23

TONY-WINNING FOUR SEASONS MUSICAL

HOUSTON RAP LEGEND

‘Jersey Boys,’ Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids,

Mike Jones w/ TBA, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m.,

8 p.m., $58-83

$25-55

Jarrod Hogan, Moco Game Room & Hot Dog Bar,

ALSO 11/23

HAIR METAL ROCK AND ROLL EXPERIENCE

Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., Free

JF Harris, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids,

Hairball, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, Cedar Rapids,

8 p.m., $13-15

7:30 p.m., $25-27

Radoslav Lorkovic, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, 8

LOCAL JAZZ WITH BIG SOUND

MEXICAN ACOUSTIC ROCK GUITAR DUO

p.m., $15-20

Cole Peterson Trio, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8

Rodrigo y Gabriela w/ David Keenan,

p.m., Free

Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $32-52

Cody Canada & the Departed, First Avenue

JAZZ COMPOSITION WITH DOWN-TEMPO BREAK-

LOCAL JAZZ

Club, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $15-100

BEATS AND HAZY ATMOSPHERICS

Blake Shaw, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m.,

Wave Cage w/ Jack Lion, Trumpet Blossom,

Free

READING: ‘DEEP MIDWEST’

Robert Leonard, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free CHARISMATIC WHISKEY-DRINKING CROWDPLEASER

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED IOWA PIANIST

AMERICAN ROCK/ALT-COUNTRY

Iowa City, 8 p.m., $7

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR LOCAL CLASSIC ROCK BAND

Mon., Nov. 25

The Beaker Brothers, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10-20

SWING/JAZZ FROM HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ ENSEMBLES & SILVER SWING BAND

FUSION/ROCK/JAZZ/REGGAE/FUNK/

Generations of Jazz, Coralville Center for the

EXPERIMENTAL

Performing Arts, Coralville, 7 p.m., Free

Dr. Z’s Experiment, Moco Game Room & Hot Dog Bar, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., Free

Wed., Nov. 27

LOCAL HIGH-ENERGY FOLK-ROCK

Nic Arp Band w/ the Bernemann Brothers,

THIS WEEK: TBD

The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly)

Sun., Nov. 24

Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, The Mill, Iowa City, 6 p.m., $5 (2nd & 4th Wednesdays)

DES MOINES AUTHORS DISCUSS THEIR NEW BOOKS

NEW YORK INDIE-POP ROCK DUO

Wini Moranville & Sharelle Byars Moranville,

Television Skies w/ TBA, Gabe’s, Iowa City,

Prairie Lights, Iowa City, 3 p.m., Free

8p.m., Free

Chamber Singers of Iowa City Present: Music

THIS WEEK: THANKSKILLING

Of The Spheres, Voxman Music Building, Iowa

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, Film Scene—

City, 3 p.m., Free-$16

Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly)

11/14

229 N. Gilbert publicspaceone.com

SAT. NOV. 9 10am-2pm

EATING THE CLOUD

a participatory art happening / pancake breakfast that engages our experiences with the internet and climate

OBERMANN CONVERSATIONS 2019–20 Free & open to all

Domestic Stories: Race, Gender, Class, lass, & Pay Donna Cleveland Independent journalist & Thread the Needle podcast host Fatima Saeed Home healthcare worker &

FRI. DEC. 8 6-8pm opening reception & performance for the group exhibition

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE

Center for Worker Justice board member

Jennifer Sherer Director, University of Iowa Labor Center Catherine Stewart Historian, Cornell College Thurs., Nov. 14, 4-5 pm Iowa City Public Library

COMING UP IN THE PS1 GALLERY...

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Erin Hackathorn in advance at 319-335-4034.

EDITORS’ PICKS

Thurs., Nov 28 ANNUAL THANKSGIVING MORNING PARTY

Cousin Eddie’s Thanksgiving Party & Can Release, Iowa Brewing Company, Cedar Rapids, 7 a.m., Free

Fri., Nov. 29 HIGH-ENERGY CHILDREN’S SHOW (ALSO 11/30)

Trolls LIVE!, U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m., $22-102 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH 12/22

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ Giving Tree Theater, Marion, 7:30 p.m., $20-23 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH 12/15

‘Straight White Men,’ Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $10-30 BELOVED AND HEARTFELT HOLIDAY SHOW

An Irish Christmas in America, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $30-35 ALSO 11/30

John Roy, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $13-15

Sat., Nov. 30 RISING BLUES GUITAR HERO AND POWERFUL LIVE PERFORMER

Samantha Fish w/ Nicholas David, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $20-25

64 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM

EMMY NOMINEE MICHAEL LONDRA BRINGS YOU CHRISTMAS FROM IRELAND

Celtic Yuletide, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $29-45 OLD-SCHOOL HONKY TONK

Katie & the Honky Tonks, Moco Game Room & Hot Dog Bar, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., Free

Sun., Dec. 1 GRAND RAPIDS POST-HARDCORE

If Only, If Only, w/ Bain-Marie, Cowpoke, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $5 EASTER IOWA’S AUTHENTIC TWIST ON CLASSIC ROCK

Interstellar Cave Dweller w/ Leaving Light, Josh Ross and the Want, Near Misses, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $5

Mon., Dec. 2 90’S SWING AND JAZZ BAND PUT ON A HOLIDAY PARTY

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy—Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $25-42

Tues., Dec. 3 ALTERNATIVE ELECTRONIC HIP-HOP DUO

Smoke in Space w/ ADE, London Fog, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5

fresh • local • organic

Come to Groundswell Cafe for healthy, fresh, and locally-sourced food. Your tips and donations provide meals for those who cannot afford to pay.

 Located just off I-380!

201 3rd Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

319-200-2791 • groundswell.hub25.org/cafe Vegan and vegetarian options available!

2790 N DODGE ST., IOWA CITY (319) 569-1722

AWARDED BEST PUB 2015-2016

KITCHEN NOW OPEN UNTIL 1AM THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY

OAD L N OW

D

PP THE A VER ISCO TO D N

ER T S A E A IOW NTS

EVETED BY E CURA LLAG I V E LITTL

66 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

LittleVillageMag.com/App

ADVERTISER INDEX 126 LOUNGE (75) ALMOST FAMOUS POPCORN COMPANY (41) ARNOTT & KIRK (13) ARTIFACTS (80) BAO CHOW (53) BARONCINI RISTORANTE (41) BIOTEST (6) BLUEBIRD DINER (51) THE BROKEN SPOKE (17) CAFE DODICI (46) CEDAR FALLS COMMUNITY MAIN STREET (58) CEDAR RAPIDS NEW BOHEMIA /CZECH VILLAGE (56) - RAYGUN - THE DAISY - PARLOR CITY - BLACK EARTH GALLERY - GOLDFINCH CYCLERY - MAD MODERN CHOMP (73) CITY OF IOWA CITY (7) CROWDED CLOSET (70) THE DANDY LION )(58) DODGE STREET COOFEEHOUSE (49) THE ENGLERT THEATRE (44) FILMSCENE (68) THE GAZETTE (27, 54) GRINNELL COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART (59) GUITAR LESSONS WITH BROOK HOOVER (48) HANCHER AUDITORIUM (2-4) THE HEARST (79) ICCA (7) IOWA BREWING COMPANY (12) IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN (18-19) - THE KONNEXION - THE MILL - THE CONVENIENCE STORE - RECORD COLLECTOR - TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES - DONNELLY’S - YOTOPIA - BEADOLOGY - IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY - WHITE RABBIT - MICKY’S IRISH PUB - BREAD GARDEN MARKET - CRITICAL HIT GAMES - RAYGUN - DEADWOOD IOWA CITY NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE (42) - GEORGE’S - OASIS FALAFEL - BLUEBIRD - ARTIFACTS - GOOSETOWN - HAMBURG INN NO. 2 - R.S.V.P. - PAGLIAI’S PIZZA - HOME EC. WORKSHOP

LittleVillageMag.com/Advertising

- THE HAUNTED BOOKSHOP - JOHN’S GROCERY - DESIGN RANCH - RUSS’ NORTHSIDE SERVICE - EL BANDITOS - DODGE ST. TIRE - WILLOW & STOCK - HIGH GROUND IOWA CITY OLD TRAIN DEPOT (57) - PATV - TRUMPET BLOSSOM CAFE - THE CLUB CAR IOWA CITY SOUTH OF BOWERY (39) - WORLD OF BIKES - GOODFELLOW PRINTING, INC. - MUSICIAN’S PRO SHOP - THE COTTAGE - OLD CAPITOL SCREEN PRINTERS - WHITEDOG IMPORT AUTO SERVICE - THE BROKEN SPOKE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH (47) IOWA PUBLIC RADIO (45) JIM MCDONOUGH (48) JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS (17) JOSEPH’S STEAKHOUSE (62) KCCK JAZZ 88.3 (51) KIM SCHILLIG, REALTOR (59) KRUI 89.7 FM (66) LEGION ARTS (45) LINN COUNTY CONSERVATION (70) MAGGIE’S FARM WOOD-FIRED PIZZA 935) MAILBOXES OF IOWA CITY (64) MARTIN CONSTRUCTION (72) MATTHEW 25 (65) M.C. GINSBERG (67) MICKY’S IRISH PUB (66) MODELA (77) MOLLY’S CUPCAKES (65) NATIONAL CZECH & SLOVAK MUSEUM & LIBRARY (72) NEW PIONEER FOOD CO-OP (64) NODO (73) OASIS FALAFEL (31) OBERMANN CENTER (63) PARAMOUNT THEATRE (52, 74) PUBLIC SPACE ONE (63) POP’S BBQ (64) RAPIDS REPRODUCTIONS (77) REUNION BREWERY (65) RIVERSIDE CASINO & GOLF RESORT (71, 76) RIVERSIDE THEATRE (55) SANCTUARY (49) SCRATCH CUPCAKERY (47) SOSEKI (46) UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY (76) THE WEDGE (71) WILLOW & STOCK (72) WHITEDOG IMPORT AUTO SERVICE (23) UNIVERSITY OF IOWA STANLEY MUSEUM OF ART (9)

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FILMSCENE’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 4-6PM | FILMSCENE AT THE CHAUNCEY

New space, new format, but all the things you love about our annual fundraising celebration—fabulous food, delicious drinks, marvelous auction items, and a hand-picked short film.

CELEBRATE 6!

NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 5 FILMSCENE ON THE PED MALL $6 TICKETS • $6 WINE & BEER $6 SODA & POPCORN COMBOS

Our beloved original cinema turns six years old this Thanksgiving and we’re celebrating with NEW seating in The Screening Room and great deals all week long!

ICFILMSCENE.ORG | ON THE PED MALL | AT THE CHAUNCEY 68 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

DEAR KIKI

D

ear Kiki, I was hoping you might shed some light on a situation I’ve found myself in. Over the past four years I’ve been in a relationship with my bf. The first year was great, but after I moved in with him and his roommates, another couple moved into the house as well. There was a chick who tried to break us up. It soured me on my trust and appreciation for him to stand up for us, since I was being taken advantage of and we were disrespected, but I couldn’t say anything because all the housemates worked at the same workplace and I didn’t.

My bf and I moved into our own place after a year of that, and our relationship continued to decline. I called my mom daily for a breath of normalcy, as I lived in a tiny college town far away from home. Fast forward two years and he and I have moved in with his parents so we could save to move closer to my family—specifically, my mom.

Well, mom passed away about a month ago. I had started talking to a couple of guys I met while gaming, and they gave me support and the attention I needed while I stayed in the hospital and hospice with Mom as she passed. My bf stayed at the hospital a few of those nights and shared the experience.

However, while he wasn’t there, I was receiving four-hour-long phone calls from one of those guys every night and texts from the other guy (Ryan). Ryan invited me to visit him for a sort of vacation and touristy-sightseeing trip to his hometown of Las Vegas (would be my first time) when it was all said and done.

Mom’s illness was terminal. I was the only one present at her death. She had been my best friend. It shook me.

I decided after weeks of being back at my bf’s parents’ house and playing every night for hours with Ryan that I wanted to meet him. Our conversations got serious, sexual, happy, ridiculous—but he never made me feel like I was wasting his time. Granted, I quit my job to stay with my mom and have yet to feel comfortable getting a new job. Ryan is temporarily unemployed as well. Be that as it may, I made the trip.

We fell in love; it was like a dream. He has invited me to stay for two and a half weeks at the end of this month and has already bought my roundtrip boarding passes. Now I don’t know what to do. I still love my bf and he doesn’t know, but it’s killing me that I’ve cheated for the first time in my life. My mom only wanted me to be happy and safe. I had gotten to show her a picture of Ryan before

LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki

she passed, and she said he was cute. That was before he and I even fell as hard as we did for each other. She was upset with my bf for mistreating me in the past. But that was before he stayed in the hospital with me to support me supporting her. I feel like that was a breakthrough for us. But I found someone who treats me well. So far at least. I’m so lost. I wouldn’t have gotten into this had I been able to run it by my mom from the start.

I’ve been an emotional wreck for two months. I can’t even stay with my dad and sister because the absence of my mom haunts me so much. I would usually ask her for her help, but seeing as that’s not an option and my counselor isn’t taking sides, I turn to you.

I know it’s unlikely you’ll even see this, but I could really use some advice. Thank you.

—Replacing One Type of Love with Another

COMMIT TO ACCEPTING THE CHOICES THEY MAKE WITH RESPECT. COMMIT TO LIVING WITH INTEGRITY AND SELFAWARENESS GOING FORWARD. COMMIT TO HONORING YOUR GRIEF AND GROWING FROM IT.

D

ear Replacing, First, let me offer you my deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother. My mom passed away when I was in my early 20s, and on top of the grief, it makes so many little things so much harder. Even now, years later, I think of things at least once a week—sometimes once a day—that I wish I could ask her. I commend you for having the self-awareness to reach out elsewhere for advice. I was not that wise that quickly!

It’s not typically smart to make big life decisions when you’re grieving. But, Replacing, you have backed yourself into a corner, and you may have to. You mention a counselor, a father and a sister—I urge you to let all of them know once you have decided to pursue a course of action with your romances. You will need someone to lean on, someone who knows what’s up—someone who can physically be there to support you.

It is entirely possible to love more than one person at once. There is no value in disparaging or dismissing the things you feel just

because they can’t work out pragmatically.

It’s entirely possible that you do still love your boyfriend and you do love Ryan—but unless all three of you are polyamorous, it is not possible to make that work. The logistics of maintaining multiple romantic relationships are daunting, even when all parties are on board. It’s not something you can do on your own, through backchannels, using deception. That’s exhausting, not to mention unethical.

But you also need to accept that the choice may not be yours to make. Your boyfriend, regardless of the ups and downs of your relationship, is still a complete human being with agency, and he deserves the right to make an informed choice about where you go from here.

Tell him that you cheated, Replacing. And, while you’re at it, be honest with Ryan about the fact that you still have feelings for your boyfriend and about the status of that relationship. It might be ugly, on both counts— but unless you’re in physical danger from one or both of them, you need to rip off the bandage. The way they each react will inform your choices moving forward.

You can’t control their reaction, but you can control who you are in relation to it.

Commit to accepting the choices they make with respect. Commit to living with integrity and self-awareness going forward. Commit to honoring your grief and growing from it.

The more wisdom and grace you can offer yourself, the stronger all of your relationships will be in the future, even if neither of these make the cut.

And, Replacing, I know it’s hard to imagine moving home, with all the reminders of your mom around. But think of it as a chance to maintain the thread of connection to her.

It will hurt, but just being present with her absence may be the grounding in reality that you need to get through this. xoxo, Kiki

KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS! Questions about love and sex in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area can be submitted to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com, or anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki.

Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 69

YOUR VILLAGE

BY PAUL BRENNAN

Why is there a Ten Commandments monument in the park on Mayes Island? —Anonymous, Iowa City, asked in person

Made of granite, the monuments display what’s known as the abbreviated Protestant version of the commandments, based on Bible verses starting at Exodus 20:2. (There’s a slightly different version of the commandments, using verses starting at Deuteronomy 5:4, known as the Catholic version, even though Lutherans also use it.)

Along with the abbreviated text, the monument has non-biblical decorative elements, including a bald eagle clutching an American flag and the “all-seeing eye” of the Freemasons (familiar from the back of the $1 bill).

The program was based on an idea by E. J. Ruegemer, a juvenile court judge in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In 1947, Ruegemer presided over the case of a 16-year-old who stole a car, and then accidentally ran over a priest.

The story behind the Ten Commandments monument in Cedar Rapids’ Plaza Park on Mayes Island probably isn’t what you imagine. Unless you think it involves a teenage car thief and a legendary movie director—then it’s exactly what you imagine.

It was donated to the city of Cedar Rapids by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles (FOE) in 1957, as part of a national campaign the Eagles had started the previous year. Depending on whose numbers you believe, the Eagles are responsible for anywhere from 200 to 4,000 of these monuments scattered around the country.

(The priest survived.) After personally investigating the case, the judge decided to go easy on the teenager.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “Ruegemer sentenced the boy to learn and live by the Ten Commandments.” “‘He asked me what the Ten Commandments were,’ the judge recalled.”

Ruegener was stunned. And worried. Worried about the 16-year-old and about American morality in general. He decided to do something.

Ruegener was a member of FOE, a civic-improvement group founded in Seattle in 1898. He and his fellow St. Cloud Eagles started distributing framed copies of the Ten Commandments to schools and courthouses in Minnesota in 1951. Two years later, distribution went nationwide.

The whole thing might have amounted to nothing more than that, but in 1956, Cecil B. DeMille had a movie to promote.

DeMille had been a major film director for as long as Hollywood had been a synonym for movies.

Literally. His 1914 movie The Squaw Man was the first feature film shot in Hollywood.

By 1956, DeMille was 74 years old. He had fame, riches and a long history of commercially successful movies. What he didn’t have was an Academy Award for Best Director. He’d never even been nominated until 1952.

DeMille had been angry about this for decades.

The movie that finally earned DeMille an Oscar nomination was The Greatest Show on Earth, an epic-style movie about circus life, starring Charlton Heston as a square-jawed circus manager.

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THE MOVIE WAS PLAYING IN CEDAR RAPIDS WHEN THE 1,600-POUND MONUMENT WAS DONATED, BUT CEDAR RAPIDS DIDN’T GET A CELEBRITY. DeMille felt the Oscar was almost within his grasp. He was determined to win it with his next movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as a square-jawed Moses.

It was, by design, a prestige picture. It was, by intention, Oscar-bait. It was also a remake.

DeMille had directed The Ten Commandments in 1923.

Executives at Paramount, the same studio that produced the 1923 version, weren’t happy when DeMille proposed the remake. But The Greatest Show on Earth made a lot of money for Paramount, so the executives reluctantly agreed to a technicolor Moses.

As anyone who’s ever seen it will agree, there’s nothing subtle about The Ten Commandments.

There was also nothing subtle about the promotional campaign for the movie.

At some point in making the movie, DeMille became aware the Eagles were papering America with the Ten Commandments.

Before the movie’s November 1956 premier, DeMille called Ruegener.

DeMille wanted to link the Eagles’ program to the movie.

But he wanted the program to be grander. DeMille wanted the suitable-for-framing commandments replaced with bronze monuments.

“I suggested Minnesota granite,

and we had a deal,” Ruegemer told the Star-Tribune.

The deal was this: The Eagles would do all the work and pay for everything. DeMille and Paramount would provide some Hollywood glamor—they would send Heston, Yul Brenner (Rameses) or Martha Scott (Moses’ mother) to selected cities to give speeches when the monuments were donated or erected, as long as local theaters were playing The Ten Commandments.

The movie was playing in Cedar Rapids when the 1,600-pound monument was donated in April 1957, but Cedar Rapids didn’t get a celebrity.

The monument originally stood at the south end of Plaza Park facing Third Avenue. Over the years, there has been discussion about whether it should be on public property (Iowa City had one on the lawn of the Johnson County Courthouse that was removed in 2001), but it’s still in the park, although it’s been moved to a less prominent place.

As for the rest: the car thief reportedly became a law-abiding citizen, the Eagles kept erecting monuments until 2006 and The Ten Commandments won Best Picture. DeMille, however, wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar.

Have a question about what’s going on in your community? Ask Little Village. Submit your question through the Your Village feature on our homepage, or email us at editor@littlevillagemag.com.

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ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNEY

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Studies suggest that on average each of us has a social network of about 250 people, of whom 120 we regard as a closer group of friendly acquaintances. But most of us have no more than 20 folks we trust, and only two or three of whom we regard as confidants. I suspect that these numbers will be in flux for you during the next 12 months, Scorpio. I bet you’ll make more new friends than usual, and will also expand your inner circle. On the other hand, I expect that some people who are now in your sphere will depart. Net result: stronger alliances and more collaboration.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I blame and thank the Sagittarian part of me when I get brave and brazen enough to follow my strongest emotions where they want to lead me. I also blame and thank the Sagittarian part of me when I strip off my defense mechanisms and invite the world to regard my vulnerabilities as interesting and beautiful. I furthermore blame and thank the Sagittarian side of me on those occasions when I run three miles down the beach at dawn, hoping to thereby jolt loose the secrets I’ve been concealing from myself.

I suspect the coming weeks will be a favorable time to blame and thank the Sagittarian part of you for similar experiences.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Persian polymath Avicenna (980–1037) wrote 450 books on many topics, including medicine, philosophy, astronomy, geography, mathematics, theology and poetry. While young, he tried to study Aristotle’s Metaphysics, but had difficulty grasping it. Forty times he read the text, even committing it to memory. But he made little progress toward fathoming it. Years later, he was browsing at an outdoor market and found a brief, cheap book about the Metaphysics by an author named al-Farabi. He read it quickly, and for the first time understood Aristotle’s great work. He was so delighted, he went out to the streets and gave away gifts to poor people. I foresee a comparable milestone for you, Capricorn: something that has eluded your comprehension will become clear, at least in part due to a lucky accident.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In addition to being a key figure in Renaissance art, 15th-century Italian painter Filippo Lippi had a colorful life. According to legend, he was once held prisoner

by Barbary pirates, but gained his freedom by drawing a riveting portrait of their leader. Inspired by the astrological factors affecting you right now, I’m fantasizing about the possibility of a liberating event arriving in your life. Maybe you’ll call on one of your skills in a dramatic way, thereby enhancing your leeway or generating a breakthrough or unleashing an opportunity.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Stand high long enough and your lightning will come,” writes Piscean novelist William Gibson. He isn’t suggesting that we literally stand on top of a treeless hill in a thunderstorm and invite the lightning to shoot down through us. More realistically, I think he means that we should devotedly cultivate and discipline our highest forms of expression so that when inspiration finds us, we’ll be primed to receive and use its full power. That’s an excellent oracle for you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries psychologist James Hillman said we keep “our images and fantasies at arm’s length because they are so full of love.” They’re also quite flammable, he added. They are always on the verge of catching fire, metaphorically speaking. That’s why many people wrap their love-filled images and fantasies in metaphorical asbestos: to prevent them from igniting a blaze in their psyches. In my astrological opinion, you Aries folks always have a mandate to use less asbestos than all the other signs—even none at all.

That’s even truer than usual right now. Keep your images and fantasies extra close and raw and wild.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet James Merrill was ecstatic when he learned the Greek language. According to his

biographer, he felt he could articulate his needs “with more force and clarity, with greater simplicity and less self-consciousness, than he ever could in his own language.” He concluded, “Freedom to be oneself is all very well; the greater freedom is not to be oneself.” Personally, I think that’s an exaggeration. I believe the freedom to be yourself is very, very important. But for you in the coming weeks, Taurus, the freedom to not be yourself could indeed be quite liberating. What might you do to stretch your capacities beyond what you’ve assumed is true about you? Are you willing to rebel against and transcend your previous self-conceptions?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Musician Brian Eno made a deck of oracular cards called Oblique Strategies. Each card has a suggestion designed to trigger creative thinking about a project or process you’re working on. You Geminis might find it useful to call on Oblique Strategies right now, since you’re navigating your way through a phase of adjustment and rearrangement.

The card I drew for you is “Honor thy error as hidden intention.”

Here’s how I interpret it: An apparent lapse or misstep will actually be the result of your deeper mind guiding you to take a fruitful detour.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): We devote a lot of energy to wishing and hoping about the meaningful joys we’d love to bring into our lives. And yet few of us have been trained in the best strategies for manifesting our wishes and hopes. That’s the bad news. The good news is that now is a favorable time for you to upgrade your skills at getting what you want. With that in mind, I present you with the simple but potent wisdom of author Maya Angelou: “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” To flesh that out, I’ll add: Formulate a precise statement describing your heart’s yearning, and then work hard to make yourself ready for its fulfillment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What are the key parts of your life—the sources and influences that enable you to be your most soulful self? I urge you to nourish them intensely during the next three weeks. Next question: What are the marginally important parts of your life—the activities and proclivities that aren’t essential for your long-term success and happiness? I urge you to corral all the energy you give to those marginally important things, and instead pour it into what’s most important. Now is a crucial time in the evolution of your relationship with your primal fuels, your indispensable resources, your sustaining foundations.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “When she spoke of beauty, he spoke of the fatty tissue supporting the epidermis,” wrote short story author Robert Musil. He was describing a conversation between a man and woman who were on different wavelengths. “When she mentioned love,” Musil continued, “he responded with the statistical curve that indicates the rise and fall in the annual birthrate.” Many of you Virgos have the flexibility to express yourself well on both of those wavelengths.

But in the coming months, I hope you’ll emphasize the beauty and love wavelength rather than the fatty tissue and statistical curve wavelength. It’ll be an excellent strategy for getting the healing you need.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle was asked, “What is your signature perfume?” She said she hadn’t found one. But then she described how she would like to smell: “somewhere between fresh and earthy: cinnamon and honey, a rose garden, saltwater baked in the sun.” The coming days will be an excellent time to indulge in your own fantasies about the special fragrance you’d like to emanate. Moreover, I bet you’ll be energized by pinpointing a host of qualities you would like to serve as cornerstones of your identity: traits that embody and express your uniqueness.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 73

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LOCAL ALBUMS

Brokers Tip Records Des Moines, Iowa

“I

ndependent” used to mean something.

Before it became the preferred way to describe any and all rock microgenres that don’t otherwise fit the classic rock ’n’ roll mold, it was a reference to process. It’s like the term “DIY” before Pinterest came around and co-opted it. To be independent, or indie, meant to be more aligned with the individuals actually creating the music.

That also includes the people behind these small labels, responsible for putting that music onto physical media and spreading it out into the world.

For them, deciding to release something is less of a financial decision and more of a necessity.

A kind of calling.

It’s an awareness that some of the best music is made by the everyday people doing something other than making music in order to afford their living. The kind of bands that can make the old seem new, and the new seem old. Small, localized flashes of brilliance, that, if they don’t get recorded and released by someone, may never get the chance to be documented by the ongoing collective effort to create a more complete picture of the musical history of a city, a scene or a region.

That feeling of necessity is evident in the Brokers Tip Records label, based out of Des Moines.

The label was founded by Bob Nastanovich back in 1994. At the time, he was involved with his

Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

local music scene in Louisville, Kentucky, seeing shows when he could between long tours out on the road with Pavement.

The label’s first release was a run of 500 copies of the Vituperate EP by his band, Pale Horse Riders, which he started with some of the local musicians there in Louisville. After that, it was just a 7” in 1999 for another Louisville band, Speed to Roam, before the label fell silent for nearly 20 years, while Nastanovich was busy with his obligations with Pavement, Silver Jews and tour managing.

After eventually landing in Des Moines, Nastanovich revived Brokers Tip Records in 2017, releasing a 7” for Kansas City-based two-piece Schwervon!, and a five-song EP for Des Moines’ own garage rock duo, Odd Pets. Another Fine Mess was a selection of Odd Pets favorites, hand-picked and arranged by Nastanovich for the release.

No Obedience for this Dog A Benefit for Jeff Nehring PAISLEYBIBLE.BANDCAMP.COM

T

here’s a classic axiom about judging a man by the company he keeps.

Despite my years in this job, I am not IC-scene enough to have met Jeff Nehring (known for Los Marauders, the Rough Housers and the Day Glow Bomber Boys). But I feel like I know him, judging by the amazing array of people who have rallied around him. His support base is a who’s who of Iowa City music, past and present, and the love

IT’S AN AWARENESS THAT SOME OF THE BEST MUSIC IS MADE BY THE EVERYDAY PEOPLE DOING SOMETHING OTHER THAN MAKING MUSIC IN ORDER TO AFFORD THEIR LIVING. This year is shaping up to be the most active year for Brokers Tip to date, starting with an EP for Baltimore’s Post Pink and a 7” for local psych-pop weirdos Crooked Torus on deck. Also planned are releases for Piranha Rama (Richmond, Virginia), Lucy Arnell (Los Angeles, California) and local songstress Annalibera by the end of the year.

With more time on his hands than the past 20 years allowed, Nastanovich plans to make the label more of a focus moving forward. A website is coming soon, but in the meantime, look for Brokers Tip Records at records stores and release shows near you.

—Trey Reis

and respect they have for him is palpable in this benefit compilation and beyond.

When Nehring was diagnosed with stage-four cancer, his community rallied. First, there was an Oct. 4 benefit at Trumpet Blossom Cafe, featuring Shining Realm, Acoustic Guillotine and VanAllen. Now, there’s this album, No Obedience for this Dog, out Oct. 21 on the Bandcamp page for Paisley Bible.

It features 17 tracks, all but two recorded specifically for this—EAT’s “Gorilla Tits” and Holiday Innards’ “Eleanor” can be found on other releases, although Holiday Innards specifically held back its nearly concurrent release by a few weeks so as not to compete for sales.

“It came together in a matter of weeks,” Kylie Buddin (Paisley Bible) said in a chat. “Everyone jumped on board and got their work done quickly ... It speaks to the love we all have for Jeff.”

All proceeds from the $7 record, as well as from the other music on Paisley Bible’s page (all of which Buddin self-released), go to Nehring’s family. Between the releases and the show, they’ve raised around $1,000 so far.

“When I was younger, I was in a band called HOTT with his brother Ed ... Jeff came to watch practice and give us advice,” said Jeff Kyser, drummer for Starry Nights, whose “Remember” kicks off the compilation. “The one thing that really stuck with me was how he told me that I should just keep being myself, and I ... brought energy that he hadn’t seen in a long time. That really helped me to believe in my abilities as a drummer ... As many with tell you, he’s a great teacher, man, motivator and mentor ... Starry Nights releasing a song on a compilation for his benefit is the least we can do.”

The album is a sideways slice of Iowa City’s musical offerings, past and present. Many of the bands are based elsewhere now, but all have deep IC roots linking them to Nehring (Chicago’s Saint Lepus is the only one that didn’t evolve from here). Although stylistically varied, every track is solid, and the whole is compellingly arranged. Standouts for me include Slugabed’s “Hellbilly,” CR Dicks’ “Black Laser” and Genesis Jane’s “Dysphoria Song”—but I’m not blowing smoke when I say it’s all damned good. If you can’t find something to love on here, you’re not listening.

“If this release makes life easier for Jeff and his family in any way I am just grateful to have been part of it,” said Buddin. “Jeff is one of the kindest and most ferocious supporters anyone could ever have. I am just trying to do for him what he would do for any of his friends.”

—Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 75

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PUBLISHER PROFILES

Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

Ice Cube Press icecubepress.com

PromptPress promptpress.org

S

P

teve Semken founded Ice Cube Press in 1991, when he was living in Lawrence, Kansas.

“I’d been working a series of jobs I hadn’t anticipated, like most of us need to do,” Semken said in an email, “and it was during a break at work that I wandered into the nearby Indie bookstore, picked up a copy of a Wendell Berry book and, for whatever reason, my creative juices started to flow once again. I started writing, looking into what it might mean to publish, and began a small magazine, Sycamore Roots, which then led to publishing books.”

Over the nearly three decades since, the press has grown dramatically. And the way publishers interact with the world has changed, too.

“It’s hard to believe but when I started the press I didn’t even have an email address,” Semken said. “Now I’m trying to figure out what the next phase of social media will bring.”

There are more than 80 titles in the online store—the most recent is a collection of essays from Zachary Michael Jack called Country Views. Like many of the releases from Ice Cube Press, it touches on environmental themes.

“Sometimes when I do book festivals and have the chance to talk about the books to people I am amazed at how much I have to share,” Semken said. “They are parts of better understanding the Midwest, but also items unto themselves. I can hear the author talking, and feel proud knowing what has been brought to the world.”

A deep connection to the Midwest is one of the driving forces in Ice Cube Press’s mission. It took Semken a while to pin down just where his new press would fit into the publishing landscape, but he eventually landed on “figuring out how to give a voice to, and honoring, the literary arts as a way to better understand how we can best live in the Midwest.” He’s been highlighting books with that theme ever since.

There’s a quote from poet and essayist Jim Harrison that Semken points to as something he leaned on in the early days of Ice Cube that remains a driving force in his editorial philosophy: “It only gradually occurred to me that it’s not people’s problems that interest me, but their solutions to their problems.” To that end, he is continually seeking out new authors to represent and finding new ways to engage with the community. Semken has helped kick off two imprints of Ice Cube Press so far: Tall Corn Books and Maintenance Ends.

“People crave stories, and people want to write. The main thing to remember is to be a good member of the literary community,” Semken advises readers and writers alike. “That is: Do for other’s books what you’d like them to do for you. Go on over to your local indie bookstore and buy a locally published book about a topic of local interest and in doing so, expand your world.”

—Genevieve Trainor

romptPress ignores traditional boundaries with a quiet defiance. It began in 2014 with founding editor Jennifer Colville; her brother, Christopher Colville (photography editor); and Susan Goslee (poetry editor), creating an outlet for artists who wished to play at the boundaries. Jennifer did the bulk of the work until Kalmia Strong (book arts editor) expanded the possibilities into physical publications. Since then, the staff has grown to include Nina Lohman (nonfiction), Elizabeth Munger (visual arts) and Ethan S. Evans (intern).

The staff blends diverse expertise in exhibition, education and publication to provide a platform for dynamic creativity. The current prompt, curated by Center for Afrofuturist Studies founder Anaïs Duplan, features drawings from Brandon Drew Holmes with an invitation for written or hybrid responses from writers of color.

By emphasizing process over product, PromptPress provides a platform for professional and amateur artists to learn from each other in beautiful ways. Uninterested in siloed genres (fiction vs. nonfiction vs. poetry vs. sculpture vs. drawing), or stilted responses, PromptPress re-imagines art as something fluid, dynamic, unfolding. Its playful take on creativity shows the importance of art as emerging within a community that recognizes and values individual contributions to the artistic spark centered in the prompt.

The PromptPress website is a fluctuating hub of curated, crafted and empowering translations that open art-making and art-questioning as play and gift. The “product” of the press, an art book, pauses the conversations around the initial prompt. It allows those who purchase the limited-edition artifact (each different; designed by book artists) to join in the conversation on their terms. Like a photograph—or sculpture, or book—each printing pauses at a moment, then opens itself once more when it is witnessed. Art is exposed as that which is always in process: a becoming, rather than a thing that has been done.

PromptPress also works in the community by supporting Iowa Cityarea artists and authors both at the professional (workshop-trained) and emerging (including pre-teen and high school) levels. One way it does this is by co-sponsoring, with Iowa City Poetry, the monthly Free Generative Writing Workshop. This open group is a live version of the prompt, featuring a guest who guides a workshop that is free and open to the public. PromptPress also co-sponsors with the Iowa Youth Writing Project the Image + Word summer camp, inviting young creators to join into an expansive way of thinking creatively that remains faithful to Jennifer Colville’s initial vision.

Its willingness to portray the slow unfolding of art, an ongoing echo of inspiration that emerges and evolves from/as differing artistic perspectives, makes PromptPress a cutting-edge exemplar of what being an artist is becoming. The heart of Prompt involves inspiring and inviting all to become artists by curating and collecting conversations as art.

—Daniel Boscaljon LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 77

LittleVillageMag.com/Survey

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What issues are you most passionate about?

Affordability and access Economic and labor justice Environmental sustainability Racial justice Gender equity Quality health care Quality education

Yes / No Which events do you regularly enjoy: Live music Art/exhibition Theater/performance Literature Cinema Food & drink Educational/lecture Community/political Fashion Family Sports & recreation

78 Nov. 5–Dec. 3, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV274

How many times a month on average do you... __Eat at a full-service restaurant? __Order take-out or food delivery? __Visit a bar or nightclub? __Consume locally made beer or cider? __Attend a live concert or theater production? __Go to the movies? __Visit a fitness establishment (gym, yoga, etc.)?

How often do you visit downtown Iowa City for pleasure (not work)?

Less than once/week 1-3x/week 3-5x/week 5+ x/week How often do you visit downtown Cedar Rapids for pleasure (not work)?

Less than once/week 1-3x/week 3-5x/week 5+ x/week How do you usually access LV online?

I go directly to LittleVillageMag.com Via Facebook Via Twitter Via LV’s Daily Digest newsletters I only read it in print What is your highest level of education?

Some high school High school diploma Some college Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Ph.D.

If you could, would you like to receive LV by mail?

Yes / No Has a Little Village advertisement influenced your buying decisions in the last six months?

Yes / No Given the choice, would you rather do business with a Little Village advertiser?

Yes / No What is your zip code?

How many years have you lived in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area?

Do you own or rent your home?

What is your current employment status?

Unemployed Employed part-time Employed full-time Self-employed How many children do you have?

What year were you born?

What is your gender identity?

What is one thing LV should do more of in 2019?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

OFF-TRACK

BY AIMEE LUCIDO

LittleVillageMag.com

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig.

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20. Took cover 21. Fertility clinic concerns: Abbr.

22. Major Chinese export 23. Reader company 25. ___ it up (laugh) 27. One who would not use the hashtag #NoRegrets 29. Ingredient in many a Bath & Body Works product 30. Place to use many a Bath & Body Works product 33. Van Sant who directed Milk 35. Nudge Ms. J. Blige to release a new album?

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ACROSS 1. Uneasy feeling 6. Weaseled, in a different corner of the animal metaphor kingdom 12. Ave. crossers 15. Aired a show, as on Nick at Nite 16. One who can’t help but order her lattes Grande (I’ll show myself out) 17. Dernier ___ 18. Additions that make a mixed drink fruity as well as alcoholic?

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37. Mouse alternative 40. Marilyn, subject of many conspiracy theories 41. Wedding hair option 42. Sabrina who played Sondra Huxtable 45. Kelly Clarkson hit that turns 15 this year, and which influenced the changes to this puzzle’s other thematic songs 50. Like rib eye, compared to sirloin 51. They can be steel-cut 53. Carey with a famous range

56. Section of the road that might be protected by planters 59. Baseball team comprised of doofuses?

62. Shade tree 63. “Me? Shucks, I don’t know ...”

64. Buddy 65. Soylent, Cyberdyne or Buy N Large: Abbr.

67. Not in the closet 69. Collect in bulk, as Pokémon cards 71. Sheets that shield fields

FROM ADVERTISING TO ART: 19TH CENTURY TRADE CARDS AND THE UNFETTERED AMERICAN IMAGINATION 19 NOV 2019–05 JAN 2020 thehearst.org 304 west seerley boulevard cedar falls, iowa 50613 319.273.8641

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73. Little resistance 77. Impossible to get tickets to, perhaps 78. “Watch out, goddess of heavenly heat and light!”?

81. Tribute piece 82. Brand represented by Jennifer Aniston 83. Project MK___ 84. Stark whose son became king of the Six Kingdoms 85. Extreme dislike 86. Copenhageners, e.g.

Beatbox”) 38. Trusts, with “in” 39. Mazar of *Entourage* 43. British network, casually, with “the” 44. Like Lois Duncan stories 46. Misery actor James 47. Moral system 48. Bread dipped in tikka masala 49. Sicilian erupter 52. Participate in Project Runway, in a way 53. Wrestling executive Vince or Linda 54. Served with a sweet scoop 55. Repositioned, as tires, to ensure even wear 57. Fashion icon Karlie 58. Bird that can grow taller than some NBA point guards 60. “Wait!”

61. Thing cleaned by clapping 66. Given (to) 68. Car company with a notably unhinged owner 70. Persian for “king” 72. Trudge along 74. Memo starter, briefly 75. Mojave-like 76. Periods 79. Actress Green in the 2019 version of Dumbo 80. BCP alternative

DOWN 1. The A in STEAM 2. Older, moister eft 3. Crossword pattern 4. Fresh 5. Acme bestseller, presumably 6. “I see it, I like it, I ___ it, I got it” 7. Request to a server 8. Hamilton refrain 9. Composer Gustav 10. Byrne collaborator 11. Pie chart ingredients?

12. One with multiple degrees, perhaps 13. Bridge that connects Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx 14. Response to a dumb comment 19. Say “Netflix and chill?” to, say 24. Helluva moron 26. Word before LV273 ANSWERS many a complaint 28. ___ candle P A S S P D F S A P E D K E S H A H E A P NOA A (multiply explosive N A P O L E O N R A K URD firework) E CCO I T O P A R T B 30. Tommy’s dad on W E A P O N O F C H O S H O L E N H O GW I L D Rugrats S A R A E A T I T I S 31. Dad P RO F A DM I S S I ON 32. Car brand with B AMA M I T HUNG a four-ring logo A C A D I A N S K I N E D C L OA K I NGD E V 34. French toast?

S P I E S C AW C AME 36. ___ E. Fresh HO L D A BO L I S H I C E (rapper known E R L E C A RD R A R E R E T ON T E N S S T Y E as the “Human

OPENING RECEPTION November 22, 2019 from 5:00–6:30 p.m.

GALLERY TALK Dr. Lenore Metrick-Chen, Art and Cultural Historian, at 6:00 p.m.

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