Little Village issue 330 - June 2024

Flying Colors

Solidarity is everything this Pride Month, from flag poles to pews to protests

Prize

Juneteenth 2024 arrives as Iowa’s civil rights protections fray

TrekFest 39, starring Deep Space Nine’s

The Flaming Lips recall their Beverly Hills, 90210 cameo

NEW EATS

Cafe Tacuba in Cedar Rapids, Wilson’s Orchard & Farm in Des Moines

Terry Farrell

EDWIN PENHORWOOD

JUNE 20 AND 22, 2024 | 7:30 PM

CSPS | 1103 3 RD ST SE, CEDAR RAPIDS

When four sopranos arrive at the Pearly Gates, they are all eager to join the Heavenly Choir! However, when St. Peter announces there is only one open place in the choir, antics of biblical proportions ensue. Edwin Penhorwood’s playful opera twists stereotypes of sopranos, stock opera plots, and traditional staging tropes into a delightfully frivolous frolic.

ALICIA

Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

24

Divisive Concepts

Juneteenth isn’t new to Iowa, but it’s a lesson we need repeated.

Losing Their Religion

When institutions reject you, your community can become a church.

46 Move

On Up

Delvon Lamarr is ready to organ-ize the audience at xBk.

Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Little Village, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com.

Subscriptions: lv@littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/ littlevillage.

EDITORIAL

Publisher

Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com

Editor-in-Chief

Emma McClatchey emma@littlevillagemag.com

Arts Editor

Chuy Renteria chuy@littlevillagemag.com

News Director

Paul Brennan paul@littlevillagemag.com

Art Director

Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Calendar/Event Listings

Emily Rundell calendar@littlevillagemag.com

Corrections

editor@littlevillagemag.com

June Contributors

Benjamin McElroy, Chad Rhym, Christopher Burns, Dana Telsrow, Darcie Hutzell, Hazel Ng, Joseph Cress, Kembrew McLeod, Kent Williams, Lauren Haldeman, Madison Stano, Malcolm MacDougall, Nick Dolan, Ramona Muse Lambert, Quiara Vasquez, Rob Brezsney, Sam Locke Ward, Sara Elgatian, Tom Tomorrow

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook @LittleVillageMag

Instagram @LittleVillageMag

Twitter @LittleVillage

INDEPENDENT NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS

Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

PRODUCTION

Digital Director

Drew Bulman drewb@littlevillagemag.com

Production Manager

Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com

SALES & ADMINISTRATION

President, Little Village, LLC

Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com

Advertising ads@littlevillagemag.com

Creative Services

Website design, E-commerce, Publication design creative@littlevillagemag.com

CIRCULATION

Distribution Manager Joseph Servey joseph@littlevillagemag.com

Distribution

Andersen Coates, Heber Martinez, Joe Olson, Annie Sarcone, Joseph Servey, Nix Slater-Scott, Sam Standish distro@littlevillagemag.com

OFFICES

Little Village HQ, LV Creative Services 623 S Dubuque St Iowa City, IA 52240 319-855-1474

Little Village—Des Moines 900 Keosauqua Way, Ste 253 Des Moines, IA 50309

Meet this month’s contributors!

Anthony Scanga is a photographer and videographer whose work has taken him across the globe. IG @ ras_visual

Avery Gregurich is a writer living and writing at the edge of the Iowa River in Marengo.

Caleb Grizzle is a communications specialist at the Iowa State University Alumni Association based in Clive.

Candice Smith has been librarianing for over 20 years, and recently vacationed in Aruba.

Diane DeBok is an Iowa native living in Eastern Iowa.

Finnegan Angelos is an essayist and songwriter currently hunkering down in Iowa City. They spend their days walking a hound dog puppy, planning DND campaigns, and volunteering for the LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library.

Jav Ducker is a graphic designer and photographer living in Cedar Rapids. He is curious about all things visual. He’s also usually hangry.

Issue 330 June 2024

of Seeds Dance Project in Des Moines by Jo Allen

Pride, prejudice and threats to progress may define this month, but it’s a great time to learn about LGBTQ history, Juneteenth celebrations, DIY art, lush local farms, old gigs at Gabe’s, odd pop culture moments and more.

Jo Allen (they/them) is an LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC-focused photographer based in Des Moines, IA. Instagram: @jovisuals

John Busbee works as an independent voice for Iowa’s cultural scene, including producing a weekly KFMG radio show, The Culture Buzz, since 2007.

Kembrew McLeod is a founding Little Village columnist and the chair of Communications Studies at the University of Iowa.

Kent Williams lives, works, writes and complains in Iowa City.

Madelyn Orton is a coffee drinker, cyclist, farmer and freelance writer based in Cedar Rapids.

Michael Roeder is a self-declared Music Savant. When he isn’t writing for Little Village he blogs at playbsides.com.

Rob Cline is a writer and critic who would gleefully give the current state of things a negative review.

Sarah Elgatian is a writer, activist and educator living in Iowa. She likes dark coffee, bright colors and long sentences. She dislikes meanness. Culture writers, food reviewers and columnists, email: editor@littlevillagemag.com. Illustrators, photographers and comic artists, email: jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Photo

Top Stories

Catch up on some of Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month,and get the latest news sent to your inbox every afternoon: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe

Monkee Micky Dolenz plans to play the hits ‘exactly as people remember them’ — and then some — at the Surf Ballroom on May 24

By Kembrew McLeod,

May 2024 issue

During the height of the Monkees’ fame in the second half of the ’60s, they gave the Beatles a run for their money. But when Micky Dolenz sets foot on the stage of Clear Lake’s Surf Ballroom, the last living member of the Monkees knows he’s not just standing in for his old band— he’ll be standing on hallowed ground.

‘Baloney,’ ‘a political lynching’ and ‘an egregious act’: Ernst, Grassley and Reynolds join Bird in denouncing Trump’s trial

By Paul Brennan,

May 17

As Donald Trump sat through his fourth week in a Manhattan courtroom, listening to prosecutors present evidence he committed 34 acts of business fraud to help his 2016 presidential campaign, Iowa’s leading Republicans spoke out, echoing his message that people shouldn’t trust the legal system because all the criminal cases against him are without substance and are politically motivated.

Animal Rescue League of Iowa is looking for adopters, foster families and donations as it deals with a surge in puppies

By Paul Brennan, May 15

ARL is asking for help as it shelters “130+ more puppies than we did at this time last year,” according to the 98-year-old nonprofit. The state’s largest nonprofit shelter, ARL has provided all of the City of Des Moines’ shelter services since 2005, and does the same for some of the other smaller cities in Polk County.

Photo Gallery: A rock show at the roller rink with Ramona and the Sometimes, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops

Photos by Anthony Scanga, May 18

Two Des Moines bands inaugurated Skate South’s (10494 County Line Rd, Des Moines) first rock show on Saturday, May 18. Ramona’s and Greg’s flamboyant crews performed from the center of the rink while skaters circled around them, dodging inflatable clouds and disco balls.

Until we see you again in print next month, subscribe to LV newsletters to stay up to date:

AllSpice (25)

Arnott & Kirk (71)

Baker Paper Company (11)

Bur Oak Land Trust (65)

Case Group Realty (47)

Catch Des Moines (39)

Cedar Rapids Community

Concert Association (26)

Cedar Rapids Opera (6)

Coralville Center for the Performing Arts (53)

Coralville Public Library (8)

Des Moines Botanical Garden (11)

Des Moines Performing Arts (48)

Des Moines Playhouse (51)

EcoCare Supply (11)

FilmScene (12)

Goodfellow Printing, Inc. (53)

Grinnell College Museum of Art (37)

Hancher Auditorium (2-5)

Honeybee Hair Parlor and Hive Collective (11)

House of Glass (53)

Independent Cedar Rapids (3637)

- Indigo River & Co.

- Goldfinch Cyclery

THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS

This issue of Little Village is supported by:

- Next Page Books

- Cobble Hill

- The Daisy

Independent Downtown Iowa City (40-41)

- Critical Hit Games

- Hot Spot Tattoo

- Beadology

- Release Body Modifications

- The Green House

- Mailboxes of Iowa City

- Record Collector

- Yotopia

- Harry’s

- Prairie Lights Bookstore & Cafe

- Revival Independent Highland Park / Oak Park Neighborhood (58-59)

- Des Moines Mercantile

- The Slow Down

- The Collective Independent Northside Marketplace (24-25)

- George’s

- Oasis Falafel

- Dodge St. Tire

- Pagliai’s Pizza

- Artifacts

- John’s Grocery

- R.S.V.P.

Indian Creek Nature Center (39)

Iowa Children’s Museum (27)

Iowa City Communications (20, 34)

Iowa City Downtown District (14-15)

- Dublin

- Get Fresh Cafe

- St. Burch Tavern

- Which Wich

- Nodo

- Micky’s Irish Pub

- 223 Baby Co

- Dulcinéa

- The Shop Iowa City

- Deadwood Tavern

- Pullman Bar & Diner

- Catherine’s

Iowa City Office of Equity & Human Rights (52)

Iowa Department of Public Health (12, 28, 29, 55)

Kim Schillig, REALTOR (27)

Linn County Conservation (33)

Martin Construction (45)

Musician’s Pro Shop (47)

New Pioneer Food Co-op (70)

No Escape Iowa (27)

Orchestrate Hospitality (45)

Phoebe Martin, REALTOR (68)

Polk County Conservation (23)

Public Space One (33)

Raygun (57)

Resilient Sustainable Future for Iowa City (21)

Riverside Theatre (47)

Science Center of Iowa (19)

Shakespeare’s Pub & Grill (61)

Splash Seafood Bar & Grill (19)

Summer of the Arts (64)

Summer of the Arts / Kim Schillig (72)

Table to Table (16)

The Club Car (61)

The Englert Theatre (43)

The James (34)

The Wedge Pizzeria (65)

Theatre Cedar Rapids (34)

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (33)

Varsity Cinema (39)

Willow & Stock (11)

World of Bikes (16)

xBk (33)

This June, take pride in knowing your HIV

Pride is about taking care of yourself and each other. Know your status by getting tested—and manage your status with treatment and prevention to stop HIV in Iowa!

Find testing locations, treatment resources, & more at stophiviowa.org

Happy Pride

Interactions

LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

‘This is devastating’: Corridor Community Action Network’s mobile resource pantry destroyed by a fire (May 1)

Seeing something so positive- something that came from community members recognizing a need and coming together to fill that need- be destroyed hurts my heart. I sent my support to Corridor Community Action Network, and I hope you will, too.

Rep. Elinor A. Levin

I hope the owner saves a few pieces for an actual investigation. The FD would still have to enter a cause which would be known or unknown. Meaning if it is unknown it would still require an investigation whether it be official or unofficial. Public or private.

—William C.

I am the owner, as the director of Corridor Community Action Network. We

photographed and saved a couple of items that seemed to us like they might provide some explanation, but the fire department told us they were done investigating, that there was no known cause, and cleared us to clean it up. —Mandi Remington

DOJ will sue Reynolds administration if the state attempts to enforce its new immigration law (May 3)

Her pointed jab of a quote in that article, about how “unlike the fed, I believe in the rule of law” as she’s actively trying to steal federal powers for a state that doesn’t even have a national border, is fucking wild to me. This woman clearly is a full on demagogue and has no place leading a line of ants, let alone a state —N.A.

I’m from cedar rapids and while there’s a lot more blue here, I’m still confused why people around me vote actively for someone that

HAVE AN OPINION?

WILL harm their neighbors that did nothing

While taking the world by storm, Lisa Bluder’s team has given Iowans some precious pride of place (May 2)

I kept saying throughout the season that I wished we could bottle the energy and sense of community this team created and spread it around all the time. It was truly something to behold. —Lindsey D.

The fourth employee-turned-owner of Daydreams Comics plans to keep the shop people-centric (May 8)

One of my favorite humans is doing the most important thing: being a cornerstone in his community. Read comic books! —Zachary I.

Nathan [Parriott], you’re living the dream my dude. Here’s to the future! —Jamie R.

Nathan is great!! The store is an Iowa City institution. If we want these places in IC, we

RAMONA MUSE LAMBERT

LittleVillage READER POLL

A disembodied voice keeps whispering, “If you build it, he will come.” What are you building?

have to spend our money there. —John M.

One of the finest businesses downtown! Lifetime customer here! —Joshua K.

When the Iowa women’s basketball team packed Carver — in 1985 (May 8)

MOMBOY

I was there, what a great game atmosphere!! John O.

Vivian Stringer was one hell of a coach. Chad J.

After a career coaching women’s basketball in the state of Iowa, Lisa Bluder is retiring, handing the Hawks over to Jan Jensen (May 14)

Thank you for all you have done in your career not only at Iowa but at Drake and St.Ambrose as well.You have always exemplified doing things the right wày with class and integrity.Congratulations on your retirement and I have no doubt Coach Jensen will do an outstanding job! —Richard A.H.

When you learn from the BEST you become the BEST also. —Judy C.

LAUREN HALDEMAN

PERSONALS

Tired of looking for a genuine connection only to encounter trolls? Well, what about a troll that’s cute as a button, dressed to the nines and kind to the core? Not one to charge a toll, shelter dog Troll isn’t much of a troll—he’s a black-and-white pittie mix with an adorable overbite. The seven-month-old earned his name trolling for treats, eager to please with a new trick. Ready to cross that bridge into your new life? Let Troll show you the way! Visit the Iowa City Animal Center or go to icanimalcenter.org.

Send your personals for consideration to editor@littlevillagemag.com with subject line “Personals.”

PUBLIC NUISANCE

SARA WILLIAMS

Submit to Missed Connections, LV’s newest community initiative fostering connection between readers. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear in print or online. littlevillagemag.com/missed-connections

Iowa City, May 16

Nodo downtown. I was wearing a blue button up with brown jeans when you came up to my table. You were steaming hot and stacked. I was drooling over you immediately. I could tell at first sight that you were #1. With bacon. A delicious egg sandwich on ciabatta. See you Sunday? ––Hungry Eyes

Iowa City, May 16

I saw you on the corner of S Dubuque St. You were busting cement. I was on foot and you looked up and said hi. You have incredible hair and eyes. We should grab a drink sometime.

Iowa City, May 16

You were the two fuck twats on the corner of Market and Dodge, harassing a couple of ducks. I was the lady who told you to fuck off. You suck.

Des Moines, May 16

You came in to buy coffee on a Friday and talked about your internship with the Boys and Girls club. You had such a calming and easy presence while I pulled your espresso and steamed your milk. You gave me your name, and you asked for my name in such a heartfelt way. I hoped you would come back in, but you never have. Stop back in sometime.

Iowa City, May 17

You: a purple haired freak of ambiguous gender, waving your fist at the gender critical speaker brought in by the campus Republicans. Me, a young, conservative newspaper columnist for the Gazette who thinks trans people shouldn’t exist. And yet you stir in me feelings I fear to name. See you at the next demo maybe? I’ll be the short blond woman with her mouth set in a firm line of disapproval. My eyes might say no, but my heart says yes!

Iowa City, May 24

You: dark hair, dark tee, dark jeans, standing and moving to Italian Doom Metal at Trumpet Blossom (masculine presenting).

Me: dark hair, light tee, dark jeans, studying the musicians’ silent communication… also your rhythm (woman).

Running Joke

BY ELLIE MEDEA-KAPP

Did you know that you’re a running joke?

Yet when he grips my hands till they crack I want to run, it seems that we see you, wherever we go, we always see you, you see, I wasn’t there when you pulled that knife, but whenever I hear your name I want to plunge that knife like you are the deep end. With how many texts mention you, avoiding saying your name, words that accurately describe you, creep, stalker

The fact I still see you makes me sick, the fact that we’re scared of you makes me feel i’m bleeding, Bleeding Bleeding like you should be.

The poem above, “Running Joke” by high school sophomore Ellie Medea-Kapp, was the winner of the 2024 Page Poetry Contest hosted by IC Speaks.

“I think this piece does a wonderful job of conveying anger and relating to a broader issue of systems and individuals letting predatory behaviors slide or normalizing them to cope,” Yassie Buchanan, the contest’s judge, said of the poem. “I think that speaking to a broad audience with a specific experience is overall a sign of great writing, which I see being done here.”

Buchanan is the assistant director of IC Speaks, a program within Iowa City Poetry that hosts weekly spoken-word workshops at City, Liberty, Tate and West High schools. Developed by poet Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey, IC Speaks also holds community events like the High School Open Mic at the Englert Theatre, Porchlight Hangouts at the Porchlight Literary Arts Center (next date: Saturday, June 15 from 2-5 p.m.) and, of course, the annual Page Poetry Contest in spring.

“As a spoken word performer, Ellie is the kind of performer that gets better every time they touch the stage,” Rainey said. “Ellie channels passion from the page and brings it to the stage.”

Little Village caught up with Medea-Kapp over email to gain a little more insight into their award-winning work.

How old are you? When did you start writing poetry, and why? I am 15, I started writing about a year and a half ago. I go to City High School and I’m a sophomore, going on junior. I had started reading more news and I needed a safe outlet for my anger. My mom had been writing for like a decade and I decided to start writing as well.

Do you prefer your poetry on paper or read aloud? I prefer reading my poetry out loud. It’s much easier for me to communicate emotion and anger through speech than writing

The tone and subject of “Running Joke” are quite haunting. To the extent you’re willing to share— what inspired it? What did you draw from? It isn’t really my story to share but it’s just how I feel towards a couple specific people who hurt people I care about, and about the sort of survivor’s guilt I have.

Is this poem similar to your other work? Yes, it’s kind of similar. A little bit darker but the style is similar.

Who is your favorite poet? I’m a big fan of Phil Kaye and Rudy Francisco. (Basic answer but they’re known for a reason.) I love how unique their writing styles are.

What role do you think poetry will play in your future? I think, and hope, that poetry will play a pretty big part in my future. I’m on IC Speaks slam team this year and we’re going to DC for Brave New Voices, so that’s a super exciting experience. Emma McClatchey

knowing this information, we can feel that the Iowa Girls basketball team is in good/ great hands. She is already use to Bluders way, and and the girls can feel confident that they have a great coach. —Nancy E.

Brenna Bird makes debut as Trump surrogate, flying to New York for a photo op outside criminal fraud trial (May 14)

This couldn’t be more bizarre. —Judy A. Just hope Iowa taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for Bird’s support of a convicted sexual predator and pseudo-fascist insurrectionist. —Christian J.S.

What a stunning drop in competence and impartiality from former IA AG Tom Miller!

John M.O.

Does she do birthday parties? —Mark J.

She is an officer of the court and knows better. —Jo D.

Monkee Micky Dolenz plans to play the hits ‘exactly as people remember them’ — and then some — at the Surf Ballroom on May 24 (May 15)

I felt I had seen Micky enough times in my life...but at the Surf? I had to go!

Sharon F.

ACCOLADES

University of Iowa-related writers were represented in the finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in fiction with Jayne Anne Phillips (Night Watch) and Yiyun Li (Wednesday’s Child), as well as poetry with Jorie Graham (To 2040) and Robyn Schiff (Information Desk: An Epic).

Hillary Ojeda, formerly a public safety reporter at the Iowa City Press-Citizen, was part of the team at Lookout Santa Cruz awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting on May 6 for their coverage of catastrophic flooding and mudslides in Santa Cruz County, California in January 2023.

The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality, written by Chris Jones and published by the Coralville-based indie Ice Cube Press, has been selected by the Library of Congress Center for the Book as Iowa’s 2024 “Great Reads from Great Places” pick.

SAGE ADVICE SPICY STAFF GOOD THYMES

all spice

CULINARY HERBS, SPICES, OILS & VINEGARS

LOCATED IN DES MOINES’ EAST VILLAGE AND CORALVILLE’S IOWA RIVER LANDING

Travel books to guide your next vacation

It’s June, which means that it’s time for that hallowed tradition of summer vacation. I have many fond memories of piling into my parents’ light blue and fake-wood-paneled station wagon to hit the road. Many times that meant Adventureland (the sky seats! the swimming pool! the bingo parlor!), but we definitely also set out to see some great American sights: Devil’s Tower (I saw the prairie dogs!), Mt. Rushmore (which my mother referred to as “the faces” for the remainder of her life), Badlands National Park (where I discovered that I was afraid of heights) and Grand Teton National Park (I didn’t understand mountains and thought our station wagon would literally fall off if we went too high).

Other summers, we hitched our camper to the wagon and headed to Backbone or Pinicon Ridge state parks, both in Iowa, where each day would end with my then-favorite meal of hamburgers, baked beans, shoestring potato chips, and Wonder Bread cherry pies cooked in sandwich irons over the campfire.

OK, so I wasn’t the most adventurous kid. These days, though, I often peruse the library’s travel books to get inspiration and details on places I might like to visit. Yes, you can get a lot of travel info online, but there’s nothing like being lost in some alley in some city where you’ve got no signal, and pulling a travel guide or a map out of your bag that tells you how in the heck you get back to where you’re supposed to be. Plus, you’ve got to have somewhere to store all those museum tickets, rail passes and receipts for the best dessert ever.

The Iowa City Public Library carries the big travel series for sure—Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Fodor’s, Moon and the like. But we also venture out into the more curated books, which, depending on what your summer plans look like, might be exactly what you need. In the spirit of getting out into the great outdoors, I recommend Lonely Planet’s USA’s National Parks and Where Should We Camp Next? by Stephanie Puglisi. The first title is pretty straight forward, with all the required details and in-the-know info you expect from that publisher. Puglisi’s book takes the camping vibe even farther, looking at campgrounds and “unique outdoor accommodations” that are near national parks, monuments of interest and other scenic environs.

If you’re not settled on where to go, though, grab Andrew Nelson’s brand-new Here Not There: 100 Unexpected Travel Destinations and let your imagination roam free.

Whatever your summer holds for you in terms of vacation and travel, make the 910-919 call number range one of your destinations and grab some books! —Candice Smith

Contact Buzz

Toon’d (Back) In

A popular pop-up art show has returned to The Fremont with some fantastical new themes.

BY JOHn BUSBEE

Agolden age for small indie art shows flourished from 2008 to 2021, when the now-defunct Des Moines Social Club was bursting with activity. It was an epicenter for all arts disciplines, including several small, “found-space” galleries tucked in its massive downtown location. These galleries—Instinct Gallery and Finders Creepers Gallery—were the flashpoints for many pop-up art events.

In 2013, inspired by happenings at the Des Moines Social Club, D. Ryan Allen founded Toon’d In.

“I did this as a way to meet more artists and to have some fun shows,” explained Allen, the mad artist behind the Lord of Infernal Engines Studios. “The plan was to have a core group of artists organize and host a cartoon-themed art show every two to three months.”

Core members of Allen’s group include Brian Jones (collage, found object, mixed media), Stephanie Knight (painter, illustrator, doll maker), KimB Kreatures (doll maker, graphic designer, vampire expert) and Jordan Denato (illustrator, zine maker). They established artist enclaves like the Paintpushers, Art-aholics and the Rebel Art Alliance. The common thread was a passion for making art and sharing it with others.

Allen (who, I must disclose, is a longtime friend of mine) discovered a super power. He was very good at organizing these Toon’d In shows, so he assumed the mantle of producer, too. “I just kept putting on group shows … set to a variety of themes: Fantasy, Jim Henson, Monsters, Monty Python, etc. I even had a great show celebrating Frankenstein’s 200th birthday.”

The Frankenstein bicentennial art tour lasted a year, exhibiting at several Central Iowa libraries. Another show blended visual arts and burlesque performances. Each show was an intoxicating mix of experienced, emerging and experimental artists.

Along the way, Allen bonded with a neighborhood bar with a penchant for supporting the work of indie artists. The Fremont, just north of Iowa’s state capitol, offered a random series of events, mostly small indie bands and art shows. Allen’s Toon’d In events would become a perfect match.

Then the pandemic hit.

“I took a few years off when COVID nuked every thing,” Allen said. “I lost a couple of beloved friends, who were both amazing and inspiring artists. Slowly, I’m making a return to the art business

and curating group shows.”

During his COVID hiatus, Allen reflected on his own path. After attending Iowa State University’s College of Design, he spent several years in a corporate job, working on art on the side. He became a full-time artist in 2011. Allen earned the moniker of Zombie Artist or Zombie Guy after producing a series of zombie coloring books called Shades of Decay, which brought invites to plenty of comic and horror conventions.

“I have been a creative soul since I was kid and always had my face buried in a sketchbook, making art and writing stories,” he said. “I have always loved science fiction, fantasy, cartoons, monsters and comic books … that love comes through in my art.”

Persistence paid off as he rekindled his pre-pandemic partnership with The Fremont. Toon’d In relaunched on April 20 with a pop-up show celebrating the 75th anniversary of Creature from the Black Lagoon. (Trivia fact: that film’s leading lady, Julie Adams, was an Iowa native.)

His next show will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons.

“Everyone that takes part in these shows are passionate and talented artists working in a wide variety of media,” Allen said.

“Art can be a lonely and solitary pursuit. It’s important that artists have local outlets to showcase and sell their hard work and hopefully build an art community. … These pop-up shows are very DIY and can be easy to make happen. One of the things I stress curating these events is that I encourage artists to champion and support one another, to look out for each other.”

Support the businesses that make Iowa unique.

Toon’d In Art Show: 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, The Fremont, Des Moines, Saturday, July 13, 6-10 p.m., Free

D. Ryan Allen poses with a first-edition Dungeons & Dragons

Monster Manual

Infernal Studios

Moment of Truth

Juneteenth is a timely reminder that no nation is free until every person is free.

BY PAUL BREnnAn

“All Quad Citizens Come Celebrate Freedom,” the posters said, inviting people to a two-day celebration of Juneteenth in Davenport in 1989. The street-fest that year on Saturday, June 17 and the history-themed event on Sunday, June 18 made up the first community celebration in Iowa of Juneteenth to grow into an annual event. Thirty-five years later, Quad Citizens are still celebrating the anniversary of the day marking the abolition of slavery in Texas at the end of the Civil War.

This year’s five-hour celebration, with its theme “Still Breaking Chains,” starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 in Davenport’s LeClair Park, and will feature it usual mix of food and vendors representing Black-owned businesses, along with live entertainment and commemorations of the struggles to realize unfulfilled promises of freedom and equality made at the end of slavery. Rhythm on the River Black Music Heritage Festival will kick off in LeClaire Park shortly after the Juneteenth celebration concludes.

“We want to make it festive, but for me as an educator, the history is the most important part of the day,” Ryan Saddler, CEO of Friends of MLK, told Little Village

organizers, United Neighbors Inc. Friends of MLK has partnered with Common Chord, TMBC at the Lincoln Center to bring Rhythm on the River to LeClaire Park.

The Juneteenth celebration in 1989 was far from Davenport’s first community celebration of emancipation. On New Year’s Eve in 1865, just six months after the final shots were fired in the Civil War, the

Juneteenth events in Iowa

The Davenport-based nonprofit has organized the annual Quad Cities Juneteenth celebration since 2017, when it took over from the original Ames

Sunday, June 23 at 3 p.m., Juneteenth Festival, Bandshell at Wagner Park

Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13 at 5 p.m., Taking Care of Me! Seminar, AAMI

Saturday, June 15 at 11 a.m., Juneteenth Festival, NewBo City Market

Sunday, June 16 at 1

p.m., Black Agriculture

& Farmers, AAMI

Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m., Author Talk and Book Signing with Rachelle Chase & Jim Tillman, AAMI

Wednesday, June 19 at 6 p.m., Extended Gallery Hours and Endless Possibilities Guided Tour, AAMI

Davenport

Pulling Focus African American Film Festival

Thursday, June 6 at

1 p.m., TMBC at The Lincoln Center

Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m., The Last Picture House

Friday, June 7 at 1 p.m., TMBC at The Lincoln Center

Friday, June 7 at 6

p.m., Putnam Museum

Saturday, June 8 at 11:10 a.m., Figge Art

Museum Sunday, June 9 at 12:30 p.m., Venue TBA

Sunday, June 9 at 3 p.m., The Last Picture House

Saturday, June 15 at 11 a.m., Quad City Juneteenth Festival: Still Breaking Chains, LeClair Park

Saturday, June 15 at 6 p.m., Rhythm on the River Black Music Heritage Festival, LeClair Park

Des Moines

Thursday, June 13 at

Andrea Elliott and Derrick Williams. Photo by Jim Koenigsaecker, courtesy of Quad-City Times

5 p.m., Community Builders Appreciation Banquet, Drake University Olmsted Center

Saturday, June 15 at 12 p.m., Iowa Juneteenth Observance

Neighbor’s Day Celebration, Western Gateway Park

Friday, June 28 at 8 a.m., Iowa Juneteenth Observance Charity Golf Outing, Bright Grandview Golf

Iowa City

Friday, June 14 at 4 p.m., Juneteenth Celebration, Downtown Iowa City Ped Mall

Sunday, June 16 at 12 p.m., Juneteenth & Father’s Day Family Picnic, Wetherby Park

Wednesday, June 19 at 4 p.m., Kultur Scope Presents: “I Am Sacred” A Juneteenth Art Show & Auction, Iowa City Senior Center

A photo published in the June 16, 1989 edition of the Quad-City Times, showing some of the organizers of the 1989 Juneteenth celebration in front of United Neighbors Inc. From left to right: Ida Johnson, Barbara Robinson, Rosalyn Clark,

city’s Black community threw an “Emancipation Festival.” Annual celebrations of the end of slavery were held regularly in the Quad Cities, typically in January or late summer, for decades afterward. But the 1989 celebration was the one that established Juneteenth as an annual event in the Quad Cities.

“Juneteenth” is a contraction of June 19th, the date in 1865 when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, formally ending slavery in Texas. Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier, which declared slavery abolished in any state that was part of the Confederacy, effective Jan. 1, 1863. Although it was a turning point in the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation had little practical effect in Texas, which was far from the battlelines for most of the war.

The final remnants of the Confederate government collapsed in early April 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia, but an army in Texas under one of Lee’s subordinates fought on until the beginning of June. Following its surrender, General Granger sailed into Galveston on the Texas Gulf Coast, and then the state’s largest city, to assume command. On the day he arrived—June 19, 1865— Granger issued General Order No. 3.

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” the order begins. “This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

That was not the end of slavery in America. There were people in Delaware and Kentucky, two slave states that never joined the Confederacy, who remained enslaved until the

Saturday, June 19 at 3:30 p.m., IC Teens Explore: Juneteenth Through Food and Music Evolution, Iowa City Public Library Teen Center

Rock Island

Wednesday, June 19 at 11 p.m., Narratives QC & Young Lions Roar Juneteenth Open Mic Night Celebration, Theo’s Java Café

Waterloo

Saturday, June 15 at 1 p.m., Juneteenth Celebration: Unity in the Community, Sullivan Park, Waterloo Wednesday, June 19 at 10 a.m., Annual Memorial Service Honoring the 108th USCT, Rock Island National Cemetery

11 FIRST-CLASS LIVE CONCERTS

13th Amendment was ratified on Dec. 6, 1865, abolishing “slavery [and] indentured servitude, except as punishment for crime.” But as historian Annette Gordon-Reed explained in her book On Juneteenth, General Order No. 3 has a special resonance because of its second sentence: “This involves an absolute equality… between former masters and slaves.”

Neither the Emancipation Proclamation nor the 13th Amendment mentions equality.

“Announcing the end of slavery would have been shocking enough,” Gordon-Reed writes. “Stating that the formerly enslaved would now live in Texas on an equal plane of humanity with whites was on a different order of magnitude of shocking.”

Resistance to that idea of equality—unrelenting, often violent, sometimes lethal—was immediate. Black Americans had to fight for almost a century before the idea began to be realized. But celebrating Juneteenth had immediately become a part of Texas culture. Over the years, it grew in popularity, and the celebration expanded beyond the Black community.

In 1980, responding to pressure from Black political leaders in the state and popular demand, Texas made Juneteenth a state holiday. The official recognitions got widespread attention, because there was no national holiday recognizing the achievements of Black Americans at the time. It wouldn’t be until 1983 that Congress sent a bill designating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday to a reluctant Ronald Reagan to sign into law. (Chuck Grassley, in his first term as a senator, voted against it.)

In the decades after Texas made June 19 a state holiday, a handful of other states officially recognized Juneteenth, either a state holiday— with paid time off and office closures—or a day of observance. Starting in 2000, that pace of recognition picked up, and by the time President Joe Biden signed a bill making June 19 a federal holiday in 2021, every state except North Dakota had officially recognized Juneteenth, thanks to the work of activists.

“This is a day of profound weight and profound power, a day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take,” Biden said, when he signed the bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

That bill was passed against the backdrop of the social justice protests that followed the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The protests led to greater awareness of Juneteenth and its significance around the country, and only 14 hard-right Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the bill. It passed the Senate unanimously. (Even

Little Village is a community supported monthly alternative magazine and digital media channel offering an independent perspective on Iowa news, culture and events. The magazine is widely available for free, with a distribution focus on the state’s cultural centers of Iowa City, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Ames, Cedar Falls/ Waterloo and the Quad Cities. Scan here to find which one of LV’s 800 distribution locations is nearest to you >>

By sponsoring a Little Village rack, you can:

show the community that your business supports local media

help increase Little Village’s presence in the area

be honored with a permanent sponsor recognition plaque

get a shout-out to our social media followers and email list

help us brighten up the CRANDIC, one street corner at a time!

Grassley, in his seventh term in the Senate, voted for it.)

Iowa was among the first states to officially recognize Juneteenth, albeit as a day of observance rather than a state holiday. In 2002, an effort led by the Iowa Juneteenth Observance, which has organized an annual celebration in Des Moines since 1990, convinced the Iowa Legislature to pass a bill declaring the third Saturday in June to be “Juneteenth National Freedom Day.” When Gov. Tom Vilsack signed into law, Iowa became the seventh state to recognize Juneteenth. It was a moment that showed how progressive and inclusive Iowa can be. Itt was also a bipartisan moment.

Republicans controlled both chambers of the legislature, and Vilsack is a Democrat. Politics in Iowa were different then. To understand how different, consider some of what the current Republicans in control of the legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds have done in recent years.

In 2022, during a national panic among conservatives about critical race theory, stoked by dishonest reporting by Fox News and other rightwing outlets, Reynolds and Republican leaders pushed through a bill banning K-12 schools and public colleges and universities from teaching “divisive concepts,” such as the existence of systemic racism. This year, they banned all diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public colleges and universities (except for those created to settle lawsuits over discrimination).

And as part of her reorganization of state government to “streamline” state agencies, concentrating more power in the governor’s office, Reynolds signed a bill in May reducing the size of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which exists to enforce the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, and stripping the remaining commissioners of independent authority, making them just “advisors” to the commission director she appoints.

The bill also eliminated the six state commissions focused on the status of minority groups, transferring all their responsibilities to one smaller, more generic human rights commission. Betty Andrews, president of the IowaNebraska NAACP, called these changes “a dangerous blow to civil rights in Iowa.”

“Juneteenth is a moment of truth, a moment of history, and for us a moment of truth-telling through our history,” Ryan Saddler said. “We just want to bring to light the history of the United States, our struggles as a country, but also our triumphs as a country. We want to celebrate all those who have fought for justice.”

“We continue that journey, which is why we chose ‘Still Breaking Chains’ as the theme this year.”

We honor Juneteenth by acknowledging our history as we continue to strive for racial and health equity.

The well-being of our communities depends on the equitable treatment of all people in our society. Juneteenth is an opportunity for us all to talk, learn and take action to address the disparities caused by racism that continue to harm public health. We’ve made progress, but racism remains a public health crisis.

Together, let us honor and learn from the resilience, strength and determination of those who fought for freedom as we strive for a brighter tomorrow, where all people in all communities experience equity.

Learn more at stophiviowaplan.org

Pride Events in Iowa

Signal Boost

Now in its second year, Project Rainbow of Iowa is working to make Pride Month a little more colorful.

BY PAUL BREnnAn

It’s not surprising Project Rainbow of Iowa is getting the attention of local TV news outlets. After all, what the Des Moines-based nonprofit does is literally eye-catching.

Project Rainbow delivers Progress Pride flags for people to fly in their yards throughout the month of June, as a statement of support for the LGBTQ community during Pride Month, and as a way of raising money for other nonprofits.

“Last year we delivered about 35 flags,” founder Nick Klinkefus told Little Village in late May. “This year, it looks like it’s going to be between 250 and 275 flags.”

The way it works is simple. In March, Project Rainbow began taking orders for flags. Anyone within a 100-mile radius of Polk County could request one, in exchange for a $15 per flag donation. As Pride month begins in June, volunteer drivers deliver the flags, which are mounted on sections of PVC pipe that serve as flagpoles. A piece of rebar is included as a stake to hold up the flagpole after the PVC pipe is slipped over it. The volunteer will set up the flag, if the person who ordered wishes. At the end of the month, volunteers collect the flags, poles and rebar.

“Our core team is about six people, and then about 10 volunteers have expressed interest in helping with flag deliveries and other projects that come along,” Klinkefus explained. “We’re small, but mighty.”

Klinkefus moved to Iowa from his home state of Utah about three years ago. Back in Salt Lake City, he had been a volunteer for the Project Rainbow Utah, which started delivering Pride flags for the month of June in 2018.

“I know from my experience growing up queer, and as gay man in Utah, the impact the

flags can have,” Klinkefus said. “Being able to see more rainbow flags, more signs of support, meant a lot to me as a person in a difficult state, where the politics surrounding LGBTQ issues are complicated at best.”

After moving to Des Moines to work on his Ph.D, Klinkefus said he realized, “here in Iowa, we’re in very similar political situations and circumstances.”

“I knew that this was a way I could possibly make an impact, increase visibility and provide support for our neighbors who otherwise might feel that there’s no place for them in Iowa,” he added.

So Klinkefus reached out to Lucas Horns, the founder of Project Rainbow Utah to ask about starting an Iowa version.

“Lucas was really gracious and willing to let us do it, even providing advice on getting started,” he said.

Last year, Project Rainbow of Iowa selected the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund (ITMAF) as the recipient of the donations it collected. ITMAF was founded in June 2021, “on the belief that every Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse Iowa should have access to gender-affirming care,” the nonprofit explains on its site. The fund “provides small grants to Iowans seeking this care.”

ITMAF will be a recipient again this year, and Project Rainbow will also be donating to Iowa Safe Schools. The Des Moines-based nonprofit works on behalf of students, especially LGBTQ students facing bullying and harrassment. It not only serves as an advocate at the Iowa Legislature—Iowa Safe Schools played a leading role in getting protection for sexual orientation and gender identity added to the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2007—it also works with student groups in schools in all 99 counties to try to ensure a healthy atmosphere for LGBTQ students.

Klinkefus said Project Rainbow of Iowa hopes to keep growing in the years to come, expanding both its reach and its activities.

“We want to show people that there is support for them, and a place for them in this state.”

Ames

Saturday, June 1 at 11 a.m., Pride Bingo on Main St Hosted by Heroic Hair, 209 Main St

Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 1 at 9 p.m., Pride Potluck & Game Nite, Breathing Room Yoga Studio

Saturday, June 8 at 1 p.m., Pride Parade, NewBo/Czech Village

Davenport

Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m., Teen DIY: Read with Pride Rainbow Needlepoint, Davenport Public Library Fairmount Branch

Tuesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m., Read with Pride Book Club, Davenport Public Library

Sunday, June 30 at 1 p.m., Pride Family Picnic, West Lake Park

Des Moines

Sunday, June 2, 6-10 p.m., A Y’allternative Pride Variety Show xBk Live. Des Moines

Friday, June 7–Sunday, June 9., Capital City PrideFest, Historic East Village

Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m., Flamy Grant in Concert, St. Andrew Presbyterian Saturday, June 8 at 11:00 a.m., The Englert Queer Coffee Social, Englert Lounge

Wednesday, June 12 at 5 p.m., Pride Pool Party, City Park

Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m., Diorama: Social and Political Commentary in Miniature, The Englert Theater Gallery

Saturday, June 15 from 12–10 p.m., Pride Festival and Parade, Downtown Iowa City Saturday, June 15 at 10 p.m., Iowa City Pride Show Afties, The Englert Sunday, June 16 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Pride Drag Brunch, Big Grove Brewery & Taproom, Iowa City

Rock Island

Friday, May 31–June 1, Quad Cities Pride Festival, Schwiebert Riverfront Park

Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m., Quad Cities Pride Festival All Star Drag Show, Schwiebert Riverfront Park

Saturday, June 1 at 11 p.m., Pride After Party, The Circa 21 Speakeasy

Waterloo

Wednesday, June 5 at 12 a.m., LGBTQ+ Singles Mixer, Lava Lounge / Beer Hall

‘GAY ART’

Family recipes, vintage porn, psychedelic sketches, love letters—every artifact and art work in this exhibit is a piece of Iowa LGBTQ history.

BY FInnEGAn AnGELOS

My best friend Valentine will sometimes text me a picture of a page from his old journal. We’ve been friends a long time. Last fall he sent me a page, a beautiful letter—he still writes entries like the poets do, formally—in which he gushes about the sanctity of queerness, of our elders, of what a gift it is to have the community we have, the love we have, this way of existing that we share. He ends it with the elegant, cursive sentiment: “What a life. What a life!”

You know a person long enough they become your witness, your person’s notary. Valentine’s journal, almost by accident, has become our personal archive. In it, the evidence of a history we create both together and apart. It is memory. Time. A life, several.

Academically, I always associated archives with dust-covered libraries, old accounting books. I thought of dinosaurs. Dead things. The best of archival work is the very opposite. It is pulsing and vibrant and alive, which is the spirit that surrounds the “Creating with the Archives” exhibit now showing in the Reading Room housed in Public Space One, in partnership with The LGBTQ Iowa Archives and Library (LIAL).

Dr. Elizabeth Rodriguez-Fielder’s graduate lab course took a year to plan. As part of the Humanities for the Public Good program at the University of Iowa, the original idea is to form a partnership with an organization and, through the class, provide them with more hands. What that work looks like varies with each community partnership. For this course, for LIAL, that meant a team of highly skilled and creative students who would work on indexing, archiving and learning other important facets of library science. The culmination of the class was both a collectively made LIAL info-zine that was sent out to organizations across the world along with individual student projects that utilized found materials from the archive.

LIAL is a nonprofit based in Iowa City that aims to create an archive of distinctly Iowan queer materials. The project is somewhat dually pronged into its brick and mortar facility, a cute and quaint in-house library, and a much vaster collection of archived materials hidden somewhat ironically in a church basement downtown. The archives are vast and home to a wide variety: recipe books, letter exchanges, transmasc magazines, even medical texts—all of which were

involved in the creation of this exhibit.

You’ll find the library in a small room on the second floor of the Close House mansion, a Pride flag draped over an otherwise unextraordinary door. The entire space is smaller than my living room and, at least for this month, is filled to the brim with contemporary reimaginings of archival materials from queer Iowa of yore. Upon entering, you face a striking textile piece. A circular canvas map hangs in the far corner, taking it up almost entirely. It is strewn with colorful embroidery illustrating where each class zine has been sent. Red threads connect Iowa City to bookstores in Europe, blue threads meander their way over to America’s West Coast archives, purple threads find queer centers in the Midwest and beyond. In the white space of the ocean there’s a squid, a unicorn, jellyfish. It’s DIY folk-punk fantasy world-building in the making.

Across the room there are clothing drawers hidden between bookshelves, marked with a cartoonish “18+” doodle. Opening the drawers, pushing past the clothes and packer, you find zines. 18+ indeed, as artist Kat Bonny borrows from LIAL’s now-rehomed vintage gay porn to capture instances of gender euphoria. A table in the middle of the room holds a dark sketchbook riddled with stickers—think mushrooms and rainbows and rollerskates. On the cover is a pink note card held in place by neon yellow and pink tape, on it the words “GAY ART.” Artist Celeste Yvonne Howington has placed a bucket of markers directly beside it, encouraging a group creation of art and diary. You cannot walk through the door without wanting to touch everything. The exhibit is explosive, interactive and remarkably present.

When I spoke to Dr. Rodriguez-Fielder, she stressed the importance of creativity as a form of outreach, especially through the “participatory objects and invitations” in the exhibit, which she imagines to “create memory out of the everyday.”

It reminded me of the dichotomy encased in my journal with Valentine, the presentness of it combined with the archive as a history. It’s both. It’s living and dead. It’s with us.

Outreach, Dr. Rodriguez-Fielder notes, is in part a journey of “getting more relational with each other” both through the creation of art and participation in it. “That felt at the core of the queer community archive.” Visually, it flips the idea of outreach completely. “Can we do something like ‘in-reach’?” she questions. “Creating with the Archives” answers in a resounding yes. I sat down at Andrea Schuster’s “LIAL’s Favorite Recipes,” a simple station with a box and a stack of blank recipe cards, the first of which was found in the archived cookbook Queer Earth Food by Clare Lagomarsino. I flipped through the filled-out cards, recognizing handwriting, mildly judging recipes, taking pictures to recreate some myself. It surprised me when I filled out a card, my family’s treasured spanakopita recipe, one of those old Greek secrets I’m prone to keeping. It’s my signature and it’s deeply personal, as all good food is. Some friends have asked me to teach them and I’ve gone as far as to show them somewhat incorrectly. Sue me. So how to explain me writing—with almost elaborate detail—the best way to pick feta (don’t go cheap), the gentle nature of folding the filo (damp cloths and exaggerated gentility), the egg wash (sprinkled with flaky salt)?

There is something sacred about memory and presentness. Knowing that one will eventually always lead to the other. We’re all history sometime—it got to me. Good art makes you share the spanakopita. Good art makes you share everything.

Creating with the Archives, Public Space One, Close House second floor, now through June 20, Free

Adria Carpenter / Little Village

Relapsed Heretic

An interview with theologian Anna Blaedel on the possibility of progress within the United Methodist Church, and the freedom of being out.

BY EMMA MCCLATCHEY

Rev. Anna Blaedel is a chaplain, public theologian, writer and a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Religious Studies program. They earned a Masters in Divinity at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and have been chaplaining students on the UI campus since 2014.

Affiliated with the United Methodist Church (UMC) for 109 years, the UI Wesley Center student ministry declared independence in 2022 amid the UMC’s refusal to overturn anti-LGBTQ doctrine—doctrine that brought formal complaints against the center’s executive director, Blaedel, for being an openly queer clergyperson.

In May, the UMC General Conference finally voted to repeal its longtime bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage, but only after about one-fourth of UMC churches, opposed to calls for progress and acceptance in recent years, chose to disaffiliate.

Meanwhile, the Iowa City student ministry, which has no plans to rejoin UMC, rebrands this month as “sacred collective, a place of belonging for spiritual misfits,” Blaedel shared with Little Village

“The board is queerer, more trans, younger, less white, more radical and less United Methodist than it was when I began,” they said. “Sharing in risk, growing together, and loving each other through have become core practices of our community culture.”

Blaedel is also a co-founder and co-director at enfleshed, an organization offering spiritual nourishment for collective liberation, which publishes a free monthly column by Blaedel at enfleshed.com.

Following last month’s historic UMC vote, and just as Blaedel was preparing to defend their dissertation at Drew University in New Jersey, Little Village caught up with the soon-to-be doctor of Theological and Philosophical Studies to talk about faith, persecution and liberation.

Take me through your faith journey a bit. Did you grow up in a church? I was baptized in a small church in a small town in Louisiana, and grew up going to church every week, usually twice. My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, and through all the changes the United Methodist Church was, for most of my life, my primary spiritual home, faith community and place of religious belonging.

When I was in middle school my family moved to Iowa. I was starting to come out to myself as

queer, and genderqueer (nonbinary trans language wasn’t yet circulating) and though I struggled to find a place in the conservative youth group, I ended up attending an adult Spiritual Formation Sunday School class that was lifesaving and spiritual-healing. The adults in that class mentored me, listened to me and affirmed me. They taught me to pray with poetry, ask big questions, challenge superficial answers, wrestle with faith and belief, and encounter God as Love.

In college—here at the University of Iowa—I found a spiritual home at the Wesley Center. With the support of Paul and Marsha, beloved campus ministers and mentors, I became a peer minister, and started a Queer Coffeehouse for other LGBTQ+ folks wanting to engage the intersection of queerness and spirituality. I wrote prayers and liturgies, and loved leading smallgroup conversation.

When I first discerned a call to ordained ministry and headed off to seminary, I was already an out queer. In college, I also fell in love with the academic study of religion. I sought ordination within the UMC, despite its formal prohibition. I wanted to use my position of relative power and access within the denomination to create change from within, as well as draw from the best of the tradition to do my part in bending the world toward justice, and freedom.

How have your understandings of religion, community and justice evolved over your career? I believe all of us have three core spiritual needs: the need to love and be loved; the need for meaning and direction in life; the need to belong in community.

I’ve become less willing to quietly go along with policies, rules and practices that are unjust, and more willing to speak out, rise up and practice courage. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember, been somewhat of a mystic, and a bit of a heretic.

I have fallen in love with Marguerite Porete, who was part of the beguine movement, a movement of heretics and mystics who were fed up with corruption and hypocrisy in the church, but wildly in love with God and the world. They wrote theology and preached and taught in public spaces. In the late 1200s, Porete wrote a book that was about mystical union with the Divine. Ultimately, she argued that one could experience union with God without the Church, or priests, or sacraments. Bishops and priests weren’t very pleased about her calling into question their

authority. They burned her book, publicly, and told her to stop circulating it, and stop publicly preaching. She refused to be silenced. She was imprisoned, charged as a “relapsed heretic.” In 1310, she was burned at the stake in Paris. She carried her book with her to the stake. Her courage, faith and conviction ran so deep.

In 2017, you talked with Little Village about wanting to help students delight in love and ministry— values rooted in the history of Methodism, but which paradoxically required you to break with church law and garner complaints. What was it like living and working in that paradox? Honestly, it was painful and exhausting and unsustainable. But, as is often the case, it also opened opportunities for transformation and connection.

In June of 2016, I rose during a moment of personal privilege and bore witness surrounded by hundreds of United Methodist clergy and laity across Iowa. I claimed my queerness publicly, and used the language that made my queerness, formally, a chargeable offense: “I am a selfavowed, practicing homosexual,” I said. “Or, in my language, I am out, queer, partnered clergy.”

Within an hour, three clergy colleagues, all cis-het white men, none of whom I was in direct relationship with, had filed a formal complaint. They misspelled my name. A week or so later, on my way out of town to attend a writing residency in the hope of finally turning focused attention to this dissertation, I received formal notice of the complaint by the presiding bishop.

Thus began over three years of a wild and intense chapter of life, as a very private, introverted person under very public charge. Tyler Schwaller, the other out, queer clergyperson ordained through the Iowa Conference, would formally

Courtesy of Anna Blaedel

become my clergy support person, and eventually my clergy legal counsel. I gave interviews, and accepted invitations to teach, preach and speak in public forums, pulpits and classrooms across the country. I preached at the National Cathedral. I wore my clergy collar while serving as the grand marshal of the local Pride parade.

As the years under complaint accumulated, broader solidarities bloomed, faded and shapeshifted. The movement for queer and trans liberation within the UMC fractured into efforts toward institutional assimilation, acceptability and individual gain. I became too alone, isolated in the onslaught. It took a toll on my health. It was traumatic, and I don’t use that term lightly.

Sponsors

As of this writing, I have lost my place of religious and ecclesial belonging, and am crafting a wilder, more feral form of spiritual belonging in the world. The funding for both sacred collective and enfleshed are precarious, too; together, they just barely afford me enough income to get by. Neither has a future guaranteed beyond the next couple of months; I am learning to live as well as possible within this precarity, which, I am learning, means practicing love, magic and healing with every precious breath.

How does the new break in the UMC over LGBTQ acceptance change that paradigm? What does it mean to you to see those discriminatory rules struck down? For me, and for so many of my kin, there’s a lot of deep, holy grief, anger and betrayal along with any sense of celebration.

I don’t have words but want to bear witness to truths, like having to see multiple people who have signed complaints against me celebrating it being “a new day!” People who have inflicted so much harm, for so long, against so many of my kin are suddenly allies, draped in rainbows. People who have declared us divisive, disruptive and too radical—turning away, abandoning, abdicating responsibility—are celebrating the fruits of labor they condemned. What will they do to make it right? I believe in transformative justice.

So many have lost so much to make [the vote] possible. So many who have given the most, and lost the most, were not there. Anything that makes life more livable, right now, for queer and trans people is worth celebrating. For this policy change to be worth its salt for queer and trans people, this is where the work must begin, not end.

What role do you think the church should play in Iowa today? When it comes to institutional violence, what can Iowans do to be on the side of justice? Iowa has a really rich history that’s pretty radical. It’s been devastating to see Iowa move so far right, so fast. But I still believe in the transformative power of being good neighbors.

The first congregation I pastored, right out of seminary, was in Osage, Iowa. We were in many ways strange to each other. But we did the courageous, faithful work of leaning in, with curiosity and care, to learn from our differences. I think of the beautiful people there when rural, white people are homogenized as hateful. I don’t want to dismiss real violence emerging from rising white supremacy, etc. And I received death threats while pastoring there, had people pound on my door in the middle of the night trying to scare and silence me. But I also had people—far more of them, and more often—leaving me extra tomatoes, and teaching me how to garden, and planting flowers, and offering to have my back in the middle of the night if a threat arose.

Whatever power, privilege or position we have, we can find creative ways to use it for collective good. We need to fight like hell for each other.

Religion and expressions of it are highly visible at Palestine solidarity events. What are your thoughts on the coalition of faiths coming together behind the anti-Zionist cause? AntiZionist Jews are mobilizing in such courageous and powerful witness, refusing to be told their tradition can’t hold them, claiming their place. My spiritual and social community includes so many radical Jews, many queer and trans, who have long been on the front lines of mobilizing for racial and economic justice, as well as for a free Palestine.

It was a Jewish activist and poet, Emma Lazarus, who taught us “none of us are free until all of us are free.” As long as Palestinians are facing genocide, occupation and aparteid, none of us are free. As long as antisemitism (actual antisemitism, not what is being sold to quell dissent) is rampant, none of us are free.

Salvation comes from the word salve, for healing. Showing up in solidarity with and for each other, and laboring together for collective liberation are practices of salvation that free us and heal us.

What do you think is the most important thing people can do to strengthen the community this Pride Month? The rising obsession with enforced obedience to law and order—ecclesial, social or civil/political—scares me so much more than any specific ordination ban, or marriage prohibition. A world in which queer and trans folk have access to what we need for survival and flourishing will remain an utter impossibility as long as policing and militarism reign supreme.

Pride is an invitation, a provocation, to rise up and create holy disruption when urgent change is needed. Yes, I’m talking about Pride, and also the UMC, and also about Palestine.

THEATRE CEDAR RAPIDS PRESENTS

Cafe Tacuba

Cedar Rapids keeps its status as a go-to town for great Mexican dining.

BY MADELYn ORTOn

When the home of the famous crab rangoon pizza, Fong’s Pizza, closed their Cedar Rapids’ doors in November 2022, their absence left a crab rangoon pizza-shaped hole in the New Bohemian district. The building sat empty for a short stint, until Oswaldo Aguirre and Ariel Barrios, owners of Porfirio’s Mexican Restaurant in Anamosa and Tequilero in Vinton, saw their opportunity to fill that hole with tacos, enchiladas and guacamole flights. Cafe Tacuba was born.

Aguirre and Barrios are no strangers to the restaurant industry in Eastern Iowa. Their other ventures, Porfirio’s Mexican Restaurant and Tequilero, receive rave reviews for their vibrant atmospheres, outstanding service, and, most importantly, their food. Cafe Tacuba is no exception, and brings something new to the table: they serve a full breakfast!

Cafe Tacuba’s menu is creative, fresh and the perfect blend of tried-and-true Mexican favorites with new and unique dishes and flavors. Take their chips and guac for example. Their traditional tortilla chips are crispy and fresh, but it’s their homemade guacamole that enhances this basic Mexican restaurant appetizer. With four different flavors of guacamole, Cafe Tacuba is truly keeping things fresh and fun. And, if you can’t choose just one (I suggest the Guacamole De Mango for the perfect hint of sweetness), order the guacamole flight that features all of them!

The large dinner menu includes classics like Tacos al Pastor, Enchiladas Verdes, and Chiles Rellenos, each prepared with a touch that sets

Cafe

1006 3rd St SE, Cedar Rapids 319-249-1773, cafetacubamx.com

them apart from the usual fare. The Tacos al Pastor, for instance, feature marinated pork, served with grilled pineapple, cilantro and onions, delivering the perfect balance of sweet, savory and spicy.

The Enchiladas Verdes are another musttry, with tortillas filled with tender shredded chicken, smothered in a tangy tomatillo sauce, and topped with crema and queso fresco. For those seeking a meal from the sea, the Seafood

Tacuba

Madelyn

Enchiladas, stuffed with a generous portion of crab and shrimp, and topped with perfectly ripe avocado, lettuce and sour cream are sure to be a favorite.

In addition to its expansive lunch and dinner options, Cafe Tacuba also boasts a hearty breakfast menu for all palettes. Aguirre and Barrios have put together a selection of breakfast dishes that highlight the comforting and robust flavors of Mexican morning fare, while also incorporating hearty American breakfast classics loved by all ages. The Chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican breakfast dish, features crispy fried tortillas smothered in your choice of red or green salsa, with two eggs, topped with onion, cilantro, sour cream and a sprinkle of queso fresco. It’s a perfect way to start the day with a burst of flavor and energy.

Speaking of energy, Cafe Tacuba’s coffee and espresso menu is vast and diverse. From favorites like the brown sugar latte and caramel macchiato, to Mexican-inspired espresso beverages like their Mucha Toxica, spiced cocoa, cinnamon, milk and espresso, they can surely get you caffeinated. They’ll even brew coffee the traditional Mexican way, with cinnamon sticks in a clay pot, if you order the Buenos Dias coffee!

Cafe Tacuba’s interior and overall vibe reflects the vibrant and colorful spirit of their food. Leaning into a bright and organic theme, the restaurant is filled with plants, flowers and bold yet comforting colors. The ceiling installations of fake florals add a touch of whimsy to the space, while the red rose wall in the foyer screams elegance and class.

Cafe Tacuba is more than just another Mexican restaurant in the Corridor; it is a true celebration of Mexican culture and cuisine that is innovative and fun. Whether you’re indulging in their signature dishes, enjoying a hearty breakfast or simply soaking in the cozy atmosphere over a cocktail, Cafe Tacuba makes Cedar Rapids forget all about crab rangoon pizza!

INGRID LILLIGREN: TACTILE MEDITATIONS

June 11 – September 8, 2024

on

May 31 – September 8, 2024

For updated information about events visit Grinnell.edu/museum

Left: Ingrid Lilligren, Blue Dream, 2020. Ceramic, wood, ice, unfired clay, sheet metal, 64 x 45 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Right: Unknown artist Acoma/Haa’ku, Water Jar, ca. 1970–1979. Ceramic, 6 1/2 x 8 in.

Gift of Ann Reddan Rustebakke ’49 (2002.60.032).

LV Recommends: Central Iowa

Eatin’ Good in the Agrihood

The Des Moines metro now has its own Wilson’s Orchard & Farm, with plenty of room to grow.

BY CALEB GRIZZLE

Since 1980, Wilson’s Orchard, located just north of Iowa City, has been a popular “you-pick” opportunity for area families, students and couples in the late summer and fall months. After Paul Rasch and Sara Goering took ownership in 2009, the beloved orchard, pumpkin patch and bakery grew into a cidery, restaurant, wedding and reception venue, and a roughly 90-acre farm raising fruits, vegetables and flowers of many varieties yearround.

This most recent stage of growth may just be Wilson’s biggest yet: the debut of a second, 125-acre orchard and farm just south of Des Moines. After breaking ground in November 2022, the new Wilson’s came to fruition this spring, even hosting an inaugural tulip festival in April. The new strawberry patch opened for its first you-picking on June 1.

The Cumming Wilson’s has many of the same features of its IC counterpart, including a restaurant, cider bar, bakery, farm market, event space and polyculture farm. Unlike the original Wilson’s, this one boasts a huge patio that nearly doubles the restaurant’s capacity, as well as roughly 50 acres dedicated to rotational livestock grazing of sheep, pigs and chickens.

The rest of the acreage is planted with fruit trees, berries, pumpkins, flowers and vegetables. Wilson’s chosen crops and farming methods are designed to preserve soil and water quality, reduce erosion, sequester carbon and use integrated pest management to reduce reliance on pesticides.

For the full farm-to-table experience, look no further than a dinner at the Ciderhouse. While still in its infancy as a Des Moines culinary hub, the metro has been abuzz with positive reviews for its wood-fired pizza and great patio views— views that are just a short drive from most anywhere in the Des Moines metro.

“It’s daunting at times,” admitted Lenny Trapane, lead chef at the Ciderhouse. But he’s committed to and excited by Wilson’s owners’ dedication to ethically, sustainably sourced food. “It feels like a family; it’s amazing.”

“It’s a place to celebrate locally sourced food and gather and talk.”

His favorite part of the new restaurant?

“The seasonal menu,” he said. “It keeps things fresh, and it accurately captures the food that is in season. It’s important to learn to eat what is in season and truly appreciate the fresh, local food available.”

He wants to extend the same care to establishing a healthy workplace culture in Cumming.

“I want to treat all of my staff with kindness and make it a place people want to work, all while still holding everyone to a high standard.”

Trapane is shooting for longevity. “One of the best restaurants in Philly, Zahav, has had most of their culinary team there for 10-plus years, and that’s what I hope to create here.”

Wilson’s soon hopes to host ticketed meals and limited-run menus.

“I really want to connect and collaborate with other chefs in the Des Moines area, whether it is from Harbinger or somewhere like that,” Trapane said, referring to Joe and Alex Tripp’s acclaimed vegetable-centric restaurant on

Wilson’s Orchard and Farm 3201 15th Ave., Cumming 515-216-0027, wilsonsorchard.com

Ingersoll Avenue. “It really is a community, and we can work together to grow it.”

The chef hopes his menu can make an impact, especially as the Middlebrook project materializes. Wilson’s was included in the plans for Middlebrook, a 900-acre development project adjacent to the orchard and farm, designed as Iowa’s first “agrihood.” The growing district integrates residential living with community gardens, local businesses, farmland, a 50-acre nature preserve, biking/walking trails and more.

“I really envision this ethos of community farming,” Trepane said, “an agrihood of sorts that can allow others to grow vegetables or goods, and we can then sell them here at Wilson’s.”

Anthony Scanga / Little Village

Every year, events generate $2.8 billion for our region. So, if you’re a member of a group, organization, board, or association, we want to hear from you. Just share the name of the group and we’ll do the legwork to bring your next meeting here.

not Michael Bolton

After 40 years, the Flaming Lips just won’t fan out. Maybe it has something to do with leaning into the absurd and experimental side of music-making.

BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

“Hey man,” Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne asked me with a hippie-punk inflection, “are you a cop?”

Back in 2006, I was interviewing him backstage after a show in St. Louis with co-headliners Sonic Youth, where Coyne was winding down after an explosive performance filled with confetti, balloons and a psychedelic light show. One of the concert’s multimedia elements included a clip from the Flaming Lips’ 1995 appearance on the teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210, where they lip-synced to their unlikely Top 40 radio hit, “She Don’t Use Jelly.”

As Coyne eyed me suspiciously, I assured him that I was just a music writer and university professor who was interested in how copyright law impacts creativity. He was unnerved because I had asked him if his group felt the need to ask permission to use that Fox television clip, which consisted of little more than a five-second soundbite uttered by the show’s bad-girl character, Valerie Malone.

“Please help me welcome the cool, the crazy, the fabulous Flaming Lips!”

Their 90210 cameo was an incongruous sight for those of us who had watched this Oklahoma group develop into a slightly less menacing kid brother version of the Butthole Surfers, a demented Texas band that specialized in bad-trip light shows saturated with footage from autopsy films and other gruesome visual delights. Early Flaming Lips shows also were spectacles—a little less unhinged, but still laced with a potent dose of goofy weirdness.

“I first saw the Flaming Lips at Amelia Earhart’s Deli in Iowa City, maybe 1985,” said live music promoter and musician Doug Roberson. “When I started to book Gabe’s in 1986, I did book them a few times. They had strobe lights and were incredibly loud. I let them crash at my apartment. Wayne Coyne was always a nice guy. Easy to deal with and cool.”

Between 1986 and 1990, the group released four albums on Restless, an independent label that put out records by fellow pranksters the Dead Milkmen and other jewels in the American underground crown (the Feelies, the Cramps, Diamanda Galás, the Pandoras and many

more). The Flaming Lips followed the lead of Midwesterners Hüsker Dü and the Replacements by joining the roster of Warner Brothers, and around that time indie stalwarts Sonic Youth signed to DCG, which inspired Nirvana to do the same.

These were the first ripples in what would become an “alternative rock” tidal wave that reshaped the pop cultural landscape in the early 1990s—prompting major labels to offer lucrative recording contracts to obscure, uncommercial artists like Shonen Knife, Daniel Johnston and Royal Trux. Why?

“One word: Nirvana,” Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo told me, referring to the fact that they made DCG a boatload of filthy lucre. “The re-

’93, everything took off.”

Sonic Youth’s journey through the 1990s offered them, as Ranaldo put it, “a wild, privileged vantage point for four punk flies on the wall.” Not many punks guest star as themselves on The Simpsons, as Sonic Youth did in 1996, just one year after the Flaming Lips’ appearance on 90210

“Whatever was special in the music or culture had kind of been ground up and digested,” Coyne recalled. “By around ’93, you basically got the

I asked Coyne if the band was worried about damaging their credibility by appearing on 90210. He took a breath, closed his eyes and sighed before cracking a smile. “You’d like to think that you would say, ‘No, we’d never do a thing like that, man,’ but when the phone call came, we said, ‘Yeah!’ Because how could you refuse the absurdity of such an offer?

cord companies were throwing money at ‘quirky,’ ‘alternative’ bands of all sorts, like blind men on a dark night.”

“Nirvana’s Nevermind, it helped create a pop-culture version of this underground thing that had been bubbling up since the 1980s,” said Guided By Voices bassist Jim Greer. “The reason you loved it was because it was your own. And then, you know, it was just bizarre—around ’92,

feeling that things had jumped the shark. Our level of fame was such that we got to revel in the silliness of it all.”

Take, for instance, the following silly dialogue from that 90210 episode.

“Hey, is that the Flaming Lips?”

“Well, it’s not Michael Bolton.”

“You know, I’ve never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!”

The Flaming Lips, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, Tuesday, June 25, 8 p.m., $46 general admission

via the artist

The 1990s were a time fraught with anxieties about “selling out” and “going corporate,” so I asked Coyne if the band was worried about damaging their credibility by appearing on the teen drama series. He took a breath, closed his eyes and sighed before cracking a smile.

“You’d like to think that you would say, ‘No, we’d never do a thing like that, man,’ but when the phone call came, we said, ‘Yeah!’ Because how could you refuse the absurdity of such an offer?”

The band kept embracing absurdism and experimentation during their major label tenure, a run that lasted much longer than others who were swept up in the alt rock gold rush (they are still signed to Warners more than three decades later). After the Flaming Lips released Clouds Taste Metallic in 1995, a transitional album that failed to produce another hit, they delivered 1997’s Zaireeka, one of the oddest albums ever released by a corporate conglomerate.

This box set consists of four CDs that each contain 45 minutes of stereo sound, which are designed to be played at the same time on four separate boomboxes, car radios, home stereos or other sound systems. No two listening sessions are quite the same because even split-second differences when pressing play can create subtle and sometimes wildly pronounced changes in the album’s soundscape. The Flaming Lips continued their sonic experiments while touring the 1999 album The Soft Bulletin by handing out wireless headphones to audience members.

“When the crowd entered the venue, you received a cheap pair of headphones,” recalled Roberson, who co-promoted the show. “They were playing through a PA system, but the headphones did make them sound good, so I am guessing you got the sound board feed instead of the ambient ‘live’ sound.”

The Flaming Lips followed the commercial success of “She Don’t Use Jelly” by trying really hard to not have another hit, and by the time they released 2004’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, they had developed into a respected album-oriented band with a formidable live act. Given that it helped establish them as alt-rock elder statesmen, this pivotal album is being celebrated with a 20th anniversary tour—one that will stop in Cedar Rapids at the McGrath Amphitheatre.

“If that cameo on 90210 was the height of silliness,” Coyne told me back in 2006, “then Yoshimi marked the moment when we were taken a little more seriously—or at least as serious as a band like ours will ever get.”

Kembrew McLeod still enjoys the Miley Cyrus/ Flaming Lips collaboration Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, released in 2015.

sponsored by: marcus-fitzpatrick team of blank & mccune

A-List: Eastern Iowa

A Trilling Event

Trekkies and the city of Riverside have had a symbiotic relationship for 39 years. This year, it gets Deep.

BY ROB CLInE

As any Star Trek fan knows, sometimes you hail someone you want to talk to and that person doesn’t respond. Sometimes, that means they are about to launch an attack on your starship; other times, it just means you don’t get the interview you were hoping to set up.

Unfortunately, when I hailed Terry Farrell— Cedar Rapids native and famed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor—to talk about her upcoming appearance at TrekFest in Riverside, Iowa, she didn’t respond. The hope had been to get some details about her childhood in Iowa. There is precious little about such things online. Here’s what you can learn from IMDb:

“Terry Farrell was born on November 19, 1963 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At age 15, she became a foreign exchange student to Mexico, and, from that experience, she decided she would like to live a more adventurous life in the big city. She sent several photos to a modeling agency and then, at age 17, dropped out of high school and became a model in New York.”

For the first six of seven seasons of Deep Space Nine, which aired from 1993 to 1999, Farrell played Jadzia Dax, a member of the Trill species. Some—but by no means all—Trill are joined beings, with a humanoid individual serving as host for a symbiont being. Those symbionts tend to outlive their hosts many times over, and as Deep Space Nine begins, Jadzia is the latest host for Dax—a symbiont with a long and arguably checkered history. Jadzia was killed at the end of season six (there are competing narratives about why this was so) and a new character, Ezri Dax, replaced her aboard the station. Farrell, meanwhile, became a costar on Ted Danson’s sitcom Becker.

While TrekFest is an annual celebration of the future birth of James T. Kirk (in 2233), the captain of the USS Enterprise portrayed by William Shatner in the original Star Trek TV series that premiered on Sept. 8, 1966 (Trekkies now celebrate Sept. 8 as “Star Trek Day.”), Farrell is one of a number of significant Trek actors who have real life connections to Iowa.

They include (in order of appearance in Star Trek series and movies) Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in the original series and attended Grinnell College before transferring to UCLA; Stephen Collins, who played Commander Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture

and was born in Des Moines; Farrell; and Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager (and more recently in Star Trek: Prodigy) and who was born and raised in Dubuque.

Travis Riggan, president of the Riverside Area Community Club and TrekFest chairman (visit the TrekFest website at trekfest.org, and you will find the name of the festival rendered in a vari-

“Due to the claim to fame of being the birthplace, we have, on average, 20 people stop each day and get pictures of our attractions. These people come from all over the world and visit, and some may even say our small town of Riverside may be the mecca of where Trek starts.” ––Travis Riggan

ety of ways—two words, one word with a capital F, one word with a lowercase f) provided details about the annual festival with Little Village via email.

“We have trademarked and been recognized by Paramount Pictures and the Star Trek Universe as the Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk,” Riggan said. “Riverside’s town celebration brings in an additional thousand people into our community to celebrate the uniqueness of

TrekFest featuring Terry Farrell Thursday, June 27–Saturday, June 29, Riverside

our festival. So [other places] have a summer fest or something basic, but Riverside, we step that up a notch with ours being out of this world!”

The “Future Birthplace” designation has an impact on the community year-round, not just during the festival.

“Daily, due to the claim to fame of being the birthplace, we have, on average, 20 people stop each day and get pictures of our attractions,” Riggan said. “These people come from all over the world and visit, and some may even say our small town of Riverside may be the mecca of where Trek starts. It is a grassroots festival that every Trekkie or sci-fi buff needs to check out!”

Riggan has been involved in the festival for a long time, and said he’s looking forward to Farrell’s appearance.

“Some of my memories of our festival include having Chekov [Koenig], Sulu [George Takei], and Uhura [Nichelle Nichols] all in attendance several years ago. That year, our festival was packed throughout the town and the TrekFest events. This will be the first time Jadzia Dax [Farrell], a local Iowan, will be in attendance. She was one of the fan favorites on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and continues embracing the Trek community and fans. This year is also exciting for some of the local musicians we will be having in attendance.”

This year’s TrekFest is scheduled for June 2729 in Riverside—here’s hoping I can hail down Farrell then. You can find the full schedule and list of guests and performers at trekfest.org.

A-List: Central Iowa

The Organ Grinder

Groove is in the heart, and Delvon Lamarr has both in spades.

BY AVERY GREGURICH

It only makes sense that at his home in northern Indiana, Delvon Lamarr’s garage is packed full of Hammond B-3 organs.

“I had seven, but I just sold one, so now I got six,” Lamarr told me. “I always regret when I get rid of things. I’ve had all kinds of synthesizers and stuff, and then I got rid of them and like, instantly regretted it. So now I don’t get rid of anything.”

Delvon Lamarr is an organist whose instrumental music combines elements of ’70s soul, grooveheavy R&B, and fusion-era jazz funk. Over the last decade, with his ever-evolving trio, he has released several Billboard-charting studio albums and played anywhere and everywhere he could carry his touring 1971 Hammond B-3 organ.

The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio plays at xBk in Des Moines on June 10. Little Village caught up with Lamarr last month before he embarked on a European tour.

A Seattle native, he grew up in a house full of music.

“My brother was a rapper,” Lamarr said. “He had a little studio where he was making beats

when he was like 15, so we always had records and were listening to hip hop and stuff like that. My mom was into old soul and R&B, listening to Mahalia Jackson and B.B. King, so I got a very diverse musical background.”

He started learning the trumpet and drums at a young age, and eventually began picking up gigs playing either instrument wherever he could in the Seattle area. One night when Lamarr was working as a drummer in a trio with organist Joe Doria and guitarist Dan Heck, another drummer sat in with the group.

“I just asked Joe if I could play the organ. I literally sat down at the organ and played like I’ve been playing it my whole life. I was kicking bass pedals and everything just right out the gate,” Lamarr recalled.

He took what he knew about brass and percussion, combined it together, and worked out how to play the organ without any formal instruction.

“I got separation from playing drums, and I kind of got the melodic side from playing horns. So it’s kind of the best of both worlds,” he said.

In 2015, Lamarr started his namesake trio with fellow Seattle stalwarts guitarist Jimmy James and drummer David McGraw. They self-released their debut album Close But No Cigar the following year.

Then, in 2017, they filmed a performance for Seattle’s famed nonprofit radio station KEXP that altered everything Lamarr. The video, which has the innocuous title “Warm-up Set (Live on KEXP),” now has over 13 million views. It is still among the top 10 most viewed videos of KEXP’s

“I just asked Joe if I could play the organ. I literally sat down at the organ and played like I’ve been playing it my whole life. I was kicking bass pedals and everything just right out the gate.”

unmatched performances.

Lamarr said the irony is that it almost wasn’t filmed at all.

“The warm-up was never actually supposed to be recorded. What happened was our setup was really fast, so we had like 20 minutes to kill,” he explained. “They were like, ‘Why don’t you guys play some music and we’ll dial in some sounds?’ So we just started playing and I called three tunes that we weren’t going to do on the main performance. So we did that, and when the time came, we just started our actual set that we were supposed to do.”

The performance starts with a quiet, dead room clearly not ready for music. Before they start, Lamarr asks how everyone is doing—to little

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio xBk Live, Monday, June 10 at 7 p.m., $25-50

response. He remarks, “Is that it? Damn.” But by the end of the set, a crowd of people have gathered at the windows, watching Lamarr and company wax and groove, a trio totally in time and absolutely smoking.

“My wife had been working tirelessly, tirelessly. And when that video came out, man, it just kind of thrust us forward,” Lamarr said.

He went on to sign with famed soul label Colemine Records, who re-released Close But No Cigar. The record went to number one on the U.S. Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In the years since, Lamarr’s released two more full-length studio albums, two live shows and eight 45 RPM singles through Colemine.

For the last few years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio has been rotating drummers and guitarists regularly, evolving the music and pushing his creative notions further. “It actually helps me write music, because you listen to different styles. Not everybody plays the same, so I like writing music that caters to the style of the person I’m playing with. I got a lot of new music that we’re going to be putting out.”

For this current run of dates through Europe and the Midwest, Lamarr will be featuring some newer members of the extended “DLO3 Family.”

“I found them all on TikTok,” Lamarr admitted. They include Atlanta-based drummer Sam Groveman and guitarists Josh Perdue and Bryce Calvin.

The last gig he recalls playing in Iowa was at Gabe’s in Iowa City, and he mostly remembers it for the precarious load in/out. “You have to go up through the alley on this super rusty long staircase and, honestly, I did not know if that thing was going to hold us and the organ at the same time. I remember that we pulled up in the alley and I was looking at those stairs, and I was like, ‘I don’t know…’” he said, laughing. “We got it up there and got it back down, but man, it was kind of nerve-wracking.”

With a garage full of Hammond organs, one would assume that Delvon Lamarr’s house is constantly filled with music. But that’s just not the case.

“I don’t hardly ever play music at my house. I should probably practice more but I don’t, to be honest, man. I play so much on the road that when I get home, man, I’m a video gamer.” (When we spoke, he was considering purchasing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to play while traveling on tour.)

There’s something special somewhere in that sentiment, something about performance and mutual discovery for both performer and audience, live and in-person. Rest assured that Delvon Lamarr and company will explain it much better on stage at xBk, and they’ll do it without words and only with their instruments. Oh, and a whole hell of a lot of feeling, too.

EDITORS’ PICKS: JuNE 2024

Planning an event? Add it to littlevillagemag.com/calendar! Please include event name, date, time, venue name/address, admission price (or range) and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). Contact calendar@littlevillagemag.com with any questions.

Des Moines

MUSIC

Saturday, June 1, 4–9 p.m., Rusty’s Punk Rock Weiner Roast, Lefty’s Live Music, Des Moines

Tuesday, June 4, 6:30 p.m., T-Pain, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee

Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m., Jasper Winery, Des Moines

Thursday, June 6 at 7 p.m., Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Wooly’s, Des Moines

Saturday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m., Bailey Zimmmerman, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee

Monday, June 10 at 8 p.m., BARONESS, Wooly’s, Des Moines

Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m., Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines

Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series, Des Moines

Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m., Emily Nenni, xBk Live, Des Moines

Saturday, June 15 at 8 p.m., ALICE UNCHAINED: THE ULTIMATE ALICE IN CHAINS TRIBUTE BAND, Wooly’s, Des Moines

Wednesday, June 19 at 7 p.m., Laney Jones and The Spirits, xBk Live, Des Moines

Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series, Jasper Winery, Des Moines Thursday, June 20 at 7 p.m., Summertime Sadness: A Lana Del Ray Tribute Show, Des Moines

Sunday, June 23 at 7 p.m., Music Under the Stars: Piano Men, Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines

via the artist

Thursday, June 27 at 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series –

Jasper Winery, Des Moines

Sunday, June 30 at 7 p.m., Music Under the Stars: U.S. Coast Guard Band, Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines

Sunday, June 30 at 7 p.m., Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers w/ The Bird Hunters, xBk Live, Des Moines

LITERATURE

Wednesday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m., Book Launch!, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

Monday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

Tuesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m., Meet the Author, Central Library, Des Moines

Friday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m., Meet the Writers, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

Monday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m., Meet the Poets, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

DSM Community Exhibition Opening Celebration: “In Loving Memory” by artist b. Robert Moore, Friday June 21, 5–7 p.m., Free

Des Moines-based artist b. Robert Moore celebrates his debut museum exhibition. Pulling from autobiographical relationships and imagery, “In Loving Memory” is a reflection of Black identity via Moore’s canvas. The celebration hosts multiple events with the artist through the exhibition’s run, including a lecture accompanied by a Contemporary Ballet produced by SEEDS and a conversation with MacArthur Fellowship recipient Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m., Poetry Open Mic Night, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines Saturday, June 22 at 2:30 p.m., Meet the Author, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m., Meet the Author, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines

Monday, June 24– Friday, June 28 at 10 a.m., 5-Day Youth Writers Workshop by Ames Writers Collective, Ames Public Library

PERFORMANCE

Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m., (((WAVES))) A Contemporary Ballet Produced by SEEDS, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines

FILM

Monday, June 10 at 7 p.m., Mommie Dearest with Post Screening Discussion with Author A. Ashley Hoff, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines

Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m., The Last American Gay Bar: A Sneak Preview with Special Guests, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines

Tuesday, June 18 at 7 p.m., Chasing Chasing Amy with Post Show Q&A with Director Sav Rodgers, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines

Friday, June 21 at 10 p.m., The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Live Shadow Cast, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines

COMMUNITY

Saturday, June 1, 1–4 p.m., Iowa Craft Brew Festival 2024, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines

Sunday, June 2, 6-10 p.m., A Y’all-ternative Pride Variety Show xBk Live. Des Moines Tuesday, June 4, 6–7:30 p.m., Monthly Music Bingo, Exile Brewing Company, Des Moines Friday, June 7 at 5 p.m., Exhibition Opening Celebration: “Hurricane Season”, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines

DSM Community PrideFest Weekend

2024 Capitol City Pride Pet Parade,

Friday, June 8 at 9:30 a.m., Free

It’s always hard to highlight just one event during PrideFest Weekend but leave it to our furry friends to make it a bit easier. Kicking off the second day of PrideFest is the seventh annual Capital City Pride Pet Parade. Come for the four legged pageantry stay for the plethora of events. Happening right after the parade are performances by Girls Rock! Des Moines and Munk Rivers.

Friday, June 14 at 5:30 p.m., Iowa

Environmental Council’s 3rd Annual Green Gala,, Des Moines

Friday, June 21 at 5 p.m., Exhibition Opening Celebration: “Iowa Artists 2024: b. Robert Moore,” Des Moines Art Center

Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m., Cajun Fest Boil & Brew 2024, Cowles Commons, Des Moines

Friday, June 28–Sunday, June 30 at 11 a.m., Des Moines Arts Festival 2024, Western Gateway Park, Des Moines

Iowa City

MUSIC

Saturday, June 1 at 6 p.m., Boot Jack Band, Bobbers Grill, North Liberty

Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m., Moonroof w/ Soup Riot, Dirty Blonde, The Strangers, Gabe’s

Sunday, June 2 at 12 p.m., Luke Thomas at Foundry, Foundry Food + Tap 3266 Crosspark Road Suite 101, Coralville

Sunday, June 2 at 8 p.m., Delta Sleep w/ Macseal & Spilly Cave, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m., Flamy Grant

Concert, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 8 p.m., Feed Me Weird Things: Gwenifer Raymond (Wales), Iowa City

Thursday, June 6 at 8 p.m., 95COROLLA w/ Early Girl & The Slow Retreat, Gabe’s Iowa City 330 E Washington St, Iowa City

Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m., BODYBOX The Summer School Class Of 24 Tour, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 4 p.m., Belgum Groove, Belgum Grove Preserve, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m., Toni Romiti, Gabe’s, Iowa City

DSM Community (((WAVES)))

A Contemporary Ballet

Produced by SEEDS, Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m., $5–10

The Swan Prjct dance company makes their way to Hoyt Sherman Place for their third annual arts showcase. The performance and dance company are made possible by SEEDS, a Des Moines-based nonprofit that looks to center Black and brown dancers in the predominately white world of ballet. The night promises art of many kinds, as participants are invited to celebrate while taking in an art installation following the performance.

Sunday, June 9 at 12 p.m., The Drive-Ins at Foundry Food + Tap, Foundry Food + Tap, Coralville

Monday, June 9 at 6 p.m., Abstract, Dylan Owen & Jake Luke w/ Bowdizz & SoulTru, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Friday, June 14 form 8–10 p.m., Fivefold w/ Hang Your Hate, Gabe’s Iowa City 330 E Washington St, Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 7–10 p.m., Drake Milligan, Wildwood, Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 8–11 p.m., Jarret Purdy and Alyx Rush, Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 8–11 p.m., Dirty Blonde, Fishbait, The Crust, Worst Impressions, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 19 at 9 p.m., The Black Angel Blues Jam, The Black Angel, Iowa City

Thursday, June 20 from 8–11 p.m., Cosmic Charlie, Wildwood, Iowa City

Thursday, June 20 from 6–10 p.m., Montana of 300, Gabe’s Iowa City, Iowa City

Thursday, June 20 from 8:30–11:30 p.m., Anita Velveeta / Fend / Early Girl, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City

Friday, June 21 at 9 p.m., Dan Bern, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City

Saturday, June 22 from 6–10 p.m., Beers With Bands 5 Year Anniversary Show, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Sunday, June 23 at 8 p.m., Jaguar Stevens w/ Motherwind, Dirty Blonde & Fishbait, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 25 at 8 p.m., PACKS, Gabe’s, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 26 at 8 p.m., Open Mic Jam Nite, Alley Cat, Iowa City

via PrideFest

Friday, June 28 at 8 p.m., Your Last Breath, Ataraxis, Safe Space, Heir Of Sorrow, Chasing Supernovas, Gabe’s Iowa City, Iowa City

Friday, June 28 at 9 p.m., Wendy Eisenberg & Caroline Davis / Jacqui Alpine, Trumpet Blossom Cafe 310 E. Prentiss St., Iowa City

LITERATURE

Monday, June 3 at 7 p.m., Jan Hochstetler: Always More to Learn, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m., Chloe Angyal in Conversation with Katie Runde: Pointe of Pride, Sidekick Coffee & Books, Iowa City

Monday, June 3 at 7 p.m., Shawn Cohen in Conversation with Erin Jordan: College Girl, Missing, Sidekick Coffee & Books, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m, Mercury Stardust!!!!! Safe and Sound Book Talk and signing, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Thursday, June 6 at 7 p.m., Carvell Wallace in Conversation with Darius Stewart: Another Word for Love, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 10:30 a.m., Read the Rainbow Kickoff Event with Raquel MacKay, Sidekick Coffee & Books, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 12 at 7 p.m., Kiley Reid in Conversation with Mathilde Merouani, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m., Kristin

Lansing–Stoeffler: The Shadows Could Not Reach Her, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m., Kathy Taylor: The Birthing House, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m., Nina Lohman: The Body Alone, Prairie Lights, Iowa City

PERFORMANCE

Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 pm. Come From Away, Hancher, Iowa City

Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m., Come From Away, Hancher, Iowa City

Thursday, June 27 7:30 p.m., Dreamwell Theatre presents: Artemisia by Lauren Gunderson, The James Theater, Iowa City

Sunday, June 30 at 2 p.m., Dreamwell Theatre presents: Artemisia by Lauren Gunderson, The James Theater, Iowa City

FILM

Sunday, June 2 at 8:30 p.m., Rooftop: ROAD HOUSE, FilmScene—Ped Mall, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 8:45 p.m., Filmscene in the Park: LEGALLY BLONDE, FilmScene (at the Chauncey), Iowa City

Wednesday, June 12 at 10 p.m., Frankenhooker, FilmScene at The Chauncey, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 19 at 10 p.m., BLACKOUT, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City Thursday, June 20 from 7–11 p.m., Chocolate Babies, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City

Wednesday, Jun 26 at 10 p.m., SHAFT, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City Thursday, June 27 at 7 p.m., KAJILLIONAIRE, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City

Saturday, June 29 at 8:45 p.m., Beauty and the Beast, FilmScene—The Chauncey, Iowa City

Iowa City Music Gwenifer Raymond at Trumpet Blossom

Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m., $10-15

Coming through via Feed Me Weird Things, Welsh musician Gwenifer Raymond makes a stop in Iowa City while touring North America. Raymond’s dark and moody guitar stylings will bring her take on “Welsh Primitive” to Trumpet Blossom’s intimate setting.

COMMUNITY

Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 a.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, June 8 from 11-2 p.m., The Market Series, The Green House, Iowa City Sunday, June 2 at 1 p.m., Paint and Sip at Field Day, Field Day Brewing Co 925 Liberty Way, North Liberty

Monday, June 3 at 6 p.m., Intro to Zouk, Public Space One––Close House, Iowa City

Monday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m, Monday Night Gravel, World of Bikes, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 5:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park, Iowa City

Iowa City Performance Iowa City Performance

Dreamwell Theatre presents: Artemisia by Lauren Gunderson at the James Thursday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m., $12-22

Dreamwell Theatre presents a new work by award-winning playwright Lauren Gunderson. Artemisia Gentileschi’s artistic legacy went from relative obscurity to re-examined and celebrated as some of the best Italian Baroque paintings of the 17th century, by man or woman. Artemisia explores the life behind the work that went unnoticed by the art world for hundreds of years.

Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m., Trivia & Musical Bingo, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m., Musical Bingo, Vue Rooftop 328 S. Clinton St. Suite A, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m., Tango Lesson & Practica, Public Space One––Close House, Iowa City

Iowa City Community Resisting Colonization, Rematriating the Land, and the World Around Us, and Much

More Thursday, June 13, 12-1 p.m., Free

Hosted by the City of Iowa City Office of Equity & Human Rights, the latest in The Lens Series of conversations includes Sikowis Nobiss, executive director of the Great Plains Action Society. Sikowis is Plains Cree/ Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan working with her organization to, “resist colonization and re-Indigenize the land and world around us.” via the City of Iowa City

Thursday, June 6 from 5-8 p.m., Wright House Summer Workshops: UN School of Design , Wright House of Fashion, Iowa City

Thursday, June 6 at 5:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park, Iowa City

Friday, June 7 at 5 p.m., Gallery Walk: Janet Stephan, Iowa City Senior Center, Iowa City

Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m., Trivia followed by Karaoke, Tailgators 450 1st Ave, Coralville

Saturday, June 8 from 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 10 a.m., Wild Medicine Walk, Harvest Preserve, Iowa City

Saturday, June 8 at 10 a.m., Great Iowa River Race, Sturgis Ferry Park, Iowa City

Sunday, June 9 at 9 a.m., Yoga With A Vue, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

Sunday, June 9 at 11 a.m., Zumba at Hyatt Regency Coralville, Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center, Coralville

Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m., Intro to Zouk, Public Space One - Close House, Iowa City

Monday, June 10 from 6–8 p.m., Monday Night Trivia at Coach’s Corner, Coach’s Corner 749 Mormon Trek Blvd, Iowa City

Monday, June 10 from 6–10 p.m., Family Bowling Night, Spare Me 407 E Washington St, Iowa City

Monday, June 10 from 6:30–8:30 p.m., Monday Night Gravel, World of Bikes 723 S. Gilbert St, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park, Iowa City

Smith / Little Village

Friday, June 14 from 4–10 p.m., Iowa City

Juneteenth Celebration, Ped Mall Iowa City Friday, June 14 from 7–11 p.m., 3rd Annual DVIP 80’s Dance Party Fundraiser, The James Theater 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City Friday, June 14 from 7:30–10:30 p.m., Ballroom and Latin Social Dancing at Old Brick, Iowa City

Friday, June 14 at 10 p.m.–Saturday, June 15 at 1 a.m., Salsa Night, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 12–10 p.m., Pride Festival and Parade, Downtown Iowa City

Saturday, June 15 from 1–3 p.m., Alice in Wonderland Cocktails & Cupcakes, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

Sunday, June 16 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Pride Drag Brunch, Big Grove Brewery & Taproom, Iowa City

Wednesdays, June 12-31 from 2-3:30 p.m., Future Minds: Empowering Youth through AI Education, Wright House of Fashion, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 12 at 5 p.m., Picnic and Pool Party, City Park, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m., Tik Tok Paint Each Other Challenge!, Brush & Barrel, Coralville

Wednesday, June 13–Friday, June 15, North Liberty Garage Sale Weekend, North Liberty

Wednesday, June 13 from 5:30–7:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park 600 E. College St., Iowa City

City Community

2024 Iowa

Festival Parade Saturday, June 15, 12–10 p.m., Free

The attire requested for the IC Pride Festival Parade asks for the queerest, proudest and most fabulous thing you own. Which are apropos adjectives to describe the parade itself. What more can we say? Established one year after Stonewall, come celebrate one of the oldest and longest running Pride events in the nation.

EDITORS’ PICKS: MAY 2024

Sunday, June 16 from 2–3:30 p.m., Basics of Landscape Painting, Harvest Preserve, Iowa City

Sunday, June 16 from 2–4 p.m., Games in the Grove, Plum Grove Historic Home, Iowa City

Sunday, Jun 16 from 8:45–11 p.m., Point Break, FilmScene—Ped Mall, Iowa City

Thursdays, June 17-28 from 9–11 a.m., Fashion Technology, Wright House of Fashion, Iowa City

Monday, June 17 from 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Father’s Day at Watermill Kitchen + Bar, Watermill Kitchen + Bar, Coralville

Monday, June 17 from 6–7 p.m., Intro to Zouk, Public Space One - Close House, Iowa City

Monday, June 17 from 6–8 p.m., Monday Night Trivia at Coach’s Corner, Coach’s Corner, Iowa City

Monday, June 17 from 6:30–8:30 p.m., Monday Night Gravel, World of Bikes, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 18 from 5:30–7:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park, Iowa City

Tuesday, June 18 from 7–9 p.m., Trivia & Musical Bingo, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

Thursday, June 20 from 5:30–7:30 p.m., College Green Group Ride, College Green Park, Iowa City

Friday, June 21 from 7:30–11 p.m., Trivia followed by Karaoke, Tailgators, Coralville

Saturday, Jun 22 from 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City

Saturday, June 22 from 4–11 p.m., 2024 Downtown Iowa City Block Party, Downtown Iowa City 210 S Dubuque St, Iowa City

Monday, June 24 at 9:30 p.m., ICM2Go, Coralville, Coralville

Monday, June 24 at 6 p.m., Intro to Zouk, Public Space One - Close House, Iowa City

Monday, June 24 at 6 p.m., Monday Night Trivia at Coach’s Corner, Iowa City

Monday, June 24 at 6 p.m., Monday Night Gravel, World of Bikes, Iowa City

Wednesday, June 26 at 6 p.m., Olive Oil and Vinegar: An Intro Tasting Experience, Prairie Kitchen Store, Iowa City

Saturday, June 29 at 7 a.m., Big Rove Ride, Big Grove Brewery & Taproom, Iowa City

Saturday, June 29 from 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City

Monday, July 1 at 9:30 a.m., ICM2Go, Coralville Central Park, Coralville

Monday, July 1 at 6 p.m., Monday Night Trivia, Coach’s Corner, Iowa City

Tuesday, July 2 at 7 p.m., Trivia & Musical Bingo, Vue Rooftop, Iowa City

CR/CF/Waterloo

MUSIC

Saturday, June 1 at 2 p.m., Jazz Trio Concert, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls

Monday, June 3, 5:30–7:30 p.m., Michael Franti & Spearhead, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 6 at 6:30 p.m., Outdoor Concert with Carter Guse, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls

Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m., Jack Stack and the Cat Eyes, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 8, 6–10 p.m., Full Circle Rocks The Outdoor Stage, Cedar River Landing, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 7 at 6:30 p.m., Dueling Pianos, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids

Sunday, June 9, 7–11 p.m., Stillhouse Junkies, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 14 at 8 p.m., Ashley McBride, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 21, Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m., Music at the Big House: In the Round, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids

Sunday, June 23 at 7 p.m., Beatles vs Stones–Musical Showdown , Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids

Tuesday, June 25 at 8 p.m., The Flaming Lips, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids Community

Juneteenth Commemoration

African American Museum of Iowa, Thursday, June 13, 5-8

p.m., Free The AAMI is back open after a two-year renovation with a bevy of events for Juneteenth, including the Taking Care of Her Seminar in which BIPOC women share their insights and experiences on well-being. Others range from an Author Talk with Rachelle Chase & Jim Tilman to a lecture on Black Agriculture & Farmers.

Friday, June 28–Sunday, June 30, Sturgis Falls Celebration, Gateway Park Stage, Cedar Falls

Saturday, June 29 at 4 p.m., Cedar Falls

Rock & Roll Revue, The Historic Oster Regent, Cedar Falls

LITERATURE

Thursday, June 6–Saturday, June 8, Cedar Falls Christian Writers Conference, Riverview Conference Center, Cedar Falls Tuesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m., Virtual Author Visit with Diane Wilson: The Seed Keeper, Cedar Falls Public Library, Cedar Falls

Saturday, June 22 at 2 p.m., Cultureall: Open Book Discussions with Gabby Guerra and Stefanie Kaylor, Waterloo Public Library, Waterloo Tuesday, June 25 at 10 a.m., Author Seedbed Workshop Series: Digging Deeper; Research Strategies for Memoir Writing, Waterloo Public Library, Waterloo

PERFORMANCE

Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m., Hello Summer, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 7, 5–8:30 p.m., Ballet Des Moines’ Summer STEM Tour, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13, 7–9 p.m., Nate Bargatze: The Be Funny Tour, Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 14–Sunday, June 23., RENT, The Historic Oster Regent, Cedar Falls

Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m., Too Many Sopranos, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m., Too Many Sopranos, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 28 at 8 p.m., Living Improverty, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 19–Sunday, June 23, Julius Caeser, Cedar Valley Arboretum, Waterloo

FILM

Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m., Kitchener

Waterloo Film Festival: The Shorts, Princess Cinema, Waterloo

Sunday, June 2 at 6 p.m., Kitchener

Waterloo Film Festival: The Other Side, Princess Cinema, Waterloo

Wednesday, June 5 at 1 p.m., Summer Movies, Marion Public Library, Marion

Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m., Moonlit Movie Series, Lowe Park Arts & Environment Center, Marion

Friday, June 14 at 9 p.m., Mini Pines Movie Night, Mini Pines Miniature Golf Course, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m., Movies at the Riverbank, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 26 at 1 p.m., Summer Movies, Marion Public Library, Marion

COMMUNITY

Saturday, June 1, 9:30–4 p.m., Free First Saturday for Students, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 1, 10–11 a.m., Come In, Cool Off, and Color, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 1, 10–5 p.m., Iowa Women’s Festival, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m., Dance Club Cardio, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 5, 12:15–1:15 p.m., Art Bites: Tiny Wonders: Small-Scale Works from the Collection, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 6, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Tiny Art Workshop for Adults, Downtown Library, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 6–Saturday, June 8, My Waterloo Days, Lincoln Park, Waterloo

Friday, June 7, 1–2 p.m., Coffee and Kolach, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 7 at 5:30 p.m., Gallery

Opening: Seeing is Believing, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 7, 6–8 p.m., Rock the Block 2024, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 8, 9:30–11:30 a.m., Embroidery Basics Series: Learn how to Make a Tea Towel, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 8, 10–11 a.m., Conscious Cash: Family Financial Literacy, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Sunday, June 9, 5–8 p.m., The Groove Garden Open Jam, The Ideal Theatre & Bar, Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids Performance Ballet Des Moines Friday, June 7

5–8:30 p.m., Free

Ballet Des Moines stops at the Brucemore mansion for their statewide summer STEM Tour. The company will perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Artistic Director Tom Mattingly’s new work Love Letters. Come early for family friendly events before the performance and stay into the night hours for a stargazing and constellation activity.

Monday, June 10 at 4 p.m., Tiny Art Workshop, Marion Public Library, Cedar Rapids

Tuesday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m., Tiny Art Workshop for Kids, Downtown Library, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 12 at 1:30 p.m., Tiny Art Workshop for Teens, Downtown Library, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m., Graphically Novel Mysteries present Prohibition Murder, CSPS, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m., Guided Meditation, Grant Wood Studio, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13–Friday, June 14 at 7:45 a.m., EntreFEST 2024, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13, 5–8 p.m., Tiki Tour, Czech Village New Bohemia, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 13, 6–7 p.m., Praise the A’s, African Art and Activism in America with Emmett Phillips, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls

Friday, June 14, 6–8 p.m., Rock the Block 2024, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 14, 6–9 p.m., A Night Out at Brucemore Cocktail Party, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 15, 9:30–11:30 a.m., Embroidery Basics Series: Create a Cross Stitch Sampler, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 15, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Juneteenth Commemoration, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 15, 10–11 a.m., Conscious Cash: Family Financial Literacy, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 15, 6–8 p.m., Taking Care of Me!, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Participants come from all over to attend the Midwest Writing Center’s David R. Collins Writing Conference. Join guest faculty Chad Simpson, Darius Stewart, Sara Lupita Olivares and Rebecca McKanna for three-day workshops to hone your writing skills. Other events include a Community Conversation keynote event, a public reading, and a concluding luncheon.

Saturday, June 16, 1–3 p.m., Black Agriculture & Farming Series, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 17, 8–9:30 a.m., Beginner’s Czech Language & Culture I, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 17, 1–3 p.m., Czech’em Out Book Club, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m., Dance Club Cardio, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m., Art at Brucemore: Friday Night Out, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids

Tuesday, June 18, 6–7:30 p.m., Rachelle Chase & Jim Tillman Author Talk and Book Signing, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, June 19, 1–4 p.m., Needlepoint Guild Demonstrations, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 20 at 4 p.m., Art Lovers Book Club: Winslow Homer: American Passage, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, June 20 at 4:30 p.m., Tiny Art Workshop for All Ages, Downtown Library, Cedar Rapids

EDITORS’ PICKS: MAY 2024

Friday, June 21, 6–8 p.m., Rock the Block 2024, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

Saturday, June 22, 10–12 p.m., Mini Golf with a History Lesson, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 24–Friday, June 28 at 9 a.m., Color Magic:CRMA Summer Camp 2024, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 24–Friday, June 28 at 10 a.m., Make Your Own Kroj, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Monday, June 24–Friday, June 28, Performing Arts Camp for 6-11 Year Olds, The Historic Oster Regent, Cedar Falls

Thursday, June 27, 1–3 p.m., Embroiderers’ Guild Demonstrations, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids

Friday, June 28, 6–8 p.m., Rock the Block 2024, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids

QUAD CITIES

MUSIC

Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m., Spirit Possession w/Obsidian Hammer, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m., Chrash Record Release Show, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Sunday, June 2 at 6 p.m., Crooked Teeth w/ Unturned, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Monday, June 3, 7–11 p.m., Spiter & Desolus, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m., The High Curbs w/Cough N Flop & Blist Her, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m., Cody Canada & The Departed w/Duke Oursler, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m., Pit Lord w/ Bloodletter/Frontal Assault/The Gavel, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 7, 5–8 p.m., Summer Kickoff Block Party, Common Chord, Davenport

Saturday, June 8, 6–8 p.m., The Big 9 Concert Series: Logan Springer & The Wonderfully Wild, Quinlan Court, Davenport

Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m., Cicada Soundsystem w/J Rose, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Monday, June 10–Thursday, June 14, 12–5 p.m., Kidstock Music Camp, Common Chord, Davenport

Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m., Free Throw w/Slow Joy, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Tuesday, June 11 at 6 p.m., Volk w/Dig Deep, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 14, 5–8 p.m., Tony Hoeppner & Friends, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Friday, June 14 at 5:30

p.m., Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Riverloop Amphitheatre, Waterloo

Friday, June 14, 8–9:30 p.m., Lee Brice, Rhythm City Casino Resort, Davenport

Friday, June 14 at 8 p.m., Dustin Carlson, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Saturday, June 15, 6–9:30 p.m., Rhythm on the River, Leclaire Park, Davenport

Tuesday, June 18, 5–7 p.m., Corey Kendrick & BHC Jazz, Zeke’s Island Cafe, Davenport

Wednesday, June 19 at 6

p.m., Billy Allen + The Pollies, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m., Vandoliers w/Eli Howard & The Greater Good, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 21 at 5 p.m., Hans Williams, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m., Rob Leines, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, June 21, 5–7 p.m., Class of ‘82, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m., The Christmas Bride + Nonnie Parry + Cough N’ Flop, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Saturday, June 22 at 7 p.m., Gasoline Lollipops, Racoon Motel, Davenport

Saturday, June 22 at 8 p.m., Amateur Selectors X Yamaguchi Radio Present: Jazz Kissa, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Wednesday, June 26 at 10 p.m., The Rosies, Racoon Motel, Davenport

QC Community

Quad Cities Chalk Arts Fest,

Rock Island, Saturday, June 22, Sunday, June 23, 10-7 p.m., Free

The Quad Cities Chalk Arts Fest returns for its eighth year. Watch chalk artists create through the weekend while also partaking in everything else the festival has to offer. Food trucks, a full line up of live music and children’s activities are just some of the things on the schedule for this summer fest.

Thursday, June 27, 7–8:30 p.m., The Big 9 Concert Series: BYOBrass, Ruby’s, Davenport Friday, June 28, 5–7 p.m., Blues Rock–It, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Saturday, June 29, 8–11 p.m., The Scarlet Goodbye w/ Chrash & Tambourine, Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport

LITERATURE

Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m., Roaring Rhetoric Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Friday, June 28 at 6 p.m., David R. Collins Writers’ Conference Faculty Reading & Participant Open Mic, Rozz Tox, Rock Island

Friday, June 28 at 8 p.m., The Poet’s Corner: Featuring Rewind, Skylight Luxury Lounge, Rock Island

PERFORMANCE

Wednesday, June 5 at 5 p.m., Ballet Des Moines, RiverLoop Expo Plaza, Waterloo Friday, June 14–Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m., Bad Seed, Playcrafters Barn Theatre, Moline

Sunday, June 16 at 3 p.m., Bad Seed, Playcrafters Barn Theatre, Moline

Friday, June 21–Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m., Bad Seed, Playcrafters Barn Theatre, Moline Sunday, June 23 at 3 p.m., Bad Seed, Playcrafters Barn Theatre, Moline

Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m., The (Open [Mike) Interruption]: Invitational 4, Rozz Tox, Davenport

FILM

Thursday, June 6, 6–8 p.m., Free Film at the Figge: “Jimmy in Saigon”, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m., Cinema on the Cedar, Riverloop Amphitheatre, Waterloo Sunday, June 16, 4–6 p.m., Free Film at the Figge: “Ammonite”, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Friday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m., Cinema on the Cedar, Riverloop Amphitheatre, Waterloo Sunday, June 23, 4–6 p.m., Free Film at the Figge: “The Way He Looks”, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Sunday, June 30, 4–6 p.m., Free Film at the Figge: “Out in the Dark”, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

COMMUNITY

Thursday, June 6, 10–8 p.m., Free Senior Day, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Thursday, June 6, 5–8 p.m., Clock, Inc. LGBT+ Community Center Art Auction, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Thursday, June 13, 6:30–8 p.m., Southern Photography Exhibition Celebration, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Saturday, June 22, 5:30–10 p.m., Art at Heart Gala, Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Thursday, June 27, 6–8 p.m., David R. Collins Conference

Community Conversation , Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Thursday, June 27–Saturday, June 29 7, 8-5 p.m., David R. Collins Writers’ Conference, Augustana College, Rock Island

Dear Kiki,

Is there a social “statute of limitations” on when you can use an old relationship for comedy fodder? I happened to hear that an ex of mine used some details from our relationship for an open mic and I felt a little hurt, but the friend who told me said that it shouldn’t matter since the relationship was only a year and it was a year and a half ago that we broke up. Is my friend right? Am I right to be hurt? Should I reach out?

––Comedy Fodder,

Dear Comedy Fodder,

What a lousy situation! Never date a comedian, amirite readers? Except. It’s never that easy, is it? (Some of them are just so darned charming!)

You ask, “Am I right to be hurt?” Fodder, I have to address that first because YES. I want to make absolutely clear that this is a question that must always be answered yes, no matter the situation. Because your heart is yours alone, and there is not a single person in this world with the wisdom, knowledge or perspective to tell you that something you are feeling is “wrong.” It’s how you feel. End of.

What you do about those feelings is another story entirely. And, to be quite honest, Fodder, unless you want to be the subject of a follow-up series of jokes, it’s probably not in your best interest to reach out. If you and your ex are still close, you can let them know casually that the choice hit you wrong. But if you don’t really talk, don’t make this the reason you do. Your ex is not entitled to your pain. Chalk it up to one more reason to be glad you’re ex, not current, and move on to someone whose definitions of kindness and compassion are more aligned with your own.

xoxo, Kiki

Dear Kiki,

I love the idea of adventurous sex with strangers or near-strangers. Anonymous hookup type stuff. On the other hand, I’m afraid I’ll end up with a nasty STD. How do I find a balance and stay safe while exploring the wild side?

––Romp on the Wild Side

Dear Wild Side,

Anonymity is a blast! But whether you’ve known your lover for a heartbeat or a lifetime, there is never a wrong time to ask for their status.

I mean, of course, their STI status.

Anyone who is sexually active outside the confines of a long-term monogamous or polyfidelitous relationship should be tested regularly

for communicable diseases. The CDC recommends getting tested once every 3-6 months for most common STIs. Even the monogamists should be tested yearly.

It’s estimated that one in every five people in the U.S. will have an STI at some point in their life. Most are easily treatable, but only if you stay knowledgeable about yourself and your partners. No good can come of prudishly avoiding stigma on this! Like consent, Wild Side, sharing test results should be a standard, nonnegotiable part of sexytime foreplay. Anonymity is sexy. A refusal to have candid discussions about safety is not.

BECAUSE

YOUR HEART IS YOURS ALOnE, AnD THERE IS nOT A SInGLE PERSOn In THIS WORLD WITH THE WISDOM, KnOWLEDGE OR PERSPECTIVE TO TELL YOU THAT SOMETHInG YOU ARE FEELInG IS “WROnG.” IT’S HOW YOU FEEL.

If you’re uncomfortable asking, or if you’re uncomfortable getting tested yourself and offering your results to any potential partners, then you might want to reconsider this particular play style. You have a responsibility to each and every person you get wild with, and they have a responsibility to you. Yes, even if you don’t know each other’s names.

You can always ask a long-term partner or friend to engage in a little roleplay to spice things up and mimic the “strangers meeting at a bar” scenario. If both parties are all-in on the charade, it can be fun. And you may find that you’re more comfortable asking and answering those questions with people you know well.

Because, Wild Side, you have to have the conversation. You just do. Even if you don’t exchange names or phone numbers, you need to exchange recent test results.

xoxo, Kiki

Crouse Cafe

Des Moines Metro

Opera

Feed & Foster

Funaro’s Deli

Groggy Dog

Indianola Public Library

Mojo’s Bar

Pageturners Bookstore

Savor the Rise

The Corner Sundry

The Local Vine

Uncommon Grounds

Coffee

West Hill Brewing Company

IOWA CITY

AJA Estate Services

Artifacts

Aspen Leaf

Basta

Beadology

Billion & Billion Auto

Billion Hyundai

Bluebird Diner

Bread Garden Market

Burger Haul

Buzz Salon

Carousel Motors

Cielo

Clarion Hotel

Highlander Center

Coffee Emporium

Colonial Lanes

Cortado

Critical Hit Games

Crowded Closet

Dandy Lion

Daydreams Comics

Daydrink Coffee

Deadwood

Deery Ford

Deery Chrysler Dodge

Jeep and Ram

Deluxe Bakery

Discerning Eye

Dodge Street Tire

Donnelly’s

Dream City

Dublin Underground

Dulcinea

Eastdale Plaza

El Senor Cactus

Emma Goldman Clinic

Estella’s Taco Joint

Falbo Bros. Pizza

FilmScene (2x)

Gabe’s

Geoff’s Bikes

George’s Buffet

Grizzly’s

Haba Salon

Hairport

Hands Jewlers

Harry’s

Haunted Bookshop

Heim

Herteen & Stocker

Heyn’s Iowa City

Hills Bank

Hilltop Tavern

Hive Collective

Honeybee Hair Parlor

Hot House Studio

Hotel Vetro Lobby

India Cafe

Iowa City Downtown District

Iowa City Bike Library

Iowa City Public

Library

Iowa City Senior Center

Iowa Hawk Shop Tech

Department

Jakob Piano Studio

James Theater

Java House (x2)

Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack

Joe’s Place

John’s Grocery

Joystick

Kirkwood Liquor

Korean Market

La Regia

Laundromania

Lepic Kroeger Realty

Little Village (Outdoor Rack)

Maggie’s Farm WoodFired Pizza

Marco’s Grilled Cheese

McDonald Optical

Mesa 503

Mesa Pizza

Micky’s

Midtown Family

Restaurant

Midwest One Bank

Molly’s Cupcakes

Muddy Feet Yoga

Musician’s Pro Shop

New Pioneer Food Co-Op

NEX Apartments

Nodo (x2)

Oaknoll Retirement Community

Oasis Falafel

Old Capitol Mall

Old Capitol Screen Printers

Om Gifts

Pedestrian Mall (Outdoor Rack)

Pop’s Old & New BBQ

Prairie Lights

Bookstore & Cafe

Press Coffee

Public Space One

R.S.V.P.

Ragstock

Rapids Reproductions

RAYGUN

Record Collector

Revival

River City Dental

Romantix

Sam’s Pizza

Sanctuary Pub

Shakespeare’s Pub

Short’s

Soseki

Stan’s Barber & Stylists

Stella Studio 13

Stuff, Etc

Systems Unlimited

T-Spoons

Thai Spice (x2)

The Airliner

The Club Car

The Englert Theatre

The Graduate

The Green House

The Konnexion

The Shop

The Vine

The Wedge Pizzeria

Tru Coffee

Trumpet Blossom Cafe

UI QuickCare (x3)

Univ of Iowa Campus

Wellness & Recreation Center

VFW

Whitedog Auto

Wig & Pen East

Wild Culture

Kombucha

Wildwood Saloon

Willow & Stock

World of Bikes

Yotopia

Zen Salon & Spa

JOHNSTON

Johnston Library

Sovereign Tattoo

Stoney Creek Hotels

KALONA

Best of Iowa

Kalona Brewing Company

Kalona Chocolates

Kalona Coffee House

Tequila Grill

Tuscan Moon

KNOXVILLE

Atlantic & Pacific Pub

Casa Grande Mexican

Deng’s Garden

Dingus Lounge

Fast Freddy’s Pizza

Grand Theater

Hometown Market

Meats & Deli

Knoxville Barber

Knoxville Public Library

Manny’s Diner

Mrs. D’s Family Restaurant

Nearwood Winery

One Eleven Pub

Peace Tree Brewing

Revive Hair Studio

The Rib Shack

Wackos

MARION

Alter Ego Comics

Belleza Salon & Spa

Frydae

Giving Tree Theater

Kettel House Bakery

Marion Public Library

NaRa Thai Cuisine

Short’s

Uptown Snug

MOLINE (IL)

Analog Arcade Bar II

Co-Op Records

East Moline Coffee Company

Milltown Coffee

Rust Belt

MOUNT VERNON

Bijou theater

Fuel

Lincoln Wine Bar

The Local, Glen Mayr Winery

NORTH LIBERTY

Bluebird Diner

Capanna Coffee

Johncy’s Liquor Store

Laundromania

North Liberty Library

Smokin Joe’s Tobacco & Liquor

Suga Peach

Sugar bottom bikes

UI QuickCare

Wig and Pen

PELLA

Butcher’s Brewhuis & Deli

Cellar Peanut Pub

In’t Veld Meat Market

Iris Coffee Company

Main Street Markt

Pella Books

Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau

Smokey Row Coffee

The Brew Coffee

The Queue

The Wijn House

Vander Ploeg Bakery

Windmill Cafe

PLEASANT HILL

Breadeaux Pizza

Copper Creek 9

Eye Care of Iowa

Great Escape

La Feria Mexican

Over the Top

Pleasant Hill Diner

Pleasant Hill Public Library

Rolling Smoke BBQ

RIVERSIDE

La Chiva Loka

ROCK ISLAND

Bayside Bistro

Ragged Records

Rozz-Tox

SLATER

Slater Public Library

Town & Country Markets

URBANDALE

Bike World

Campbell’s Nutrition

Friedrichs Coffee

Hotel Renovo

Living History Farms

Microtel Inn

Palmer’s Deli & Market

Revel Hotel by Hilton

Rieman Music

Tasty Tacos

Ted’s Coney Island

Urbandale Public Library

WASHINGTON

Cafe Dodici

Coffee Corner

Frontier Family

Restaurant

Lewbowski’s Rock n’

Bowl

Panda Palace

Taste of China

The Hair Bar

The Wooden Spoon

Bakery Outlet

Washington Public Library

WATERLOO

Jameson’s Pubic House

Lava Lounge

Newton’s Paradise Cafe

Rocket’s Bakery

Rodney’s Kitchen

SingleSpeed Brewing Co.

Waterloo Bicycle Works

Waterloo Center for the Arts

Waterloo Community Playhouse

Waterloo Public Library

WAUKEE

Central Standard

Coffeesmith

Fresh Mediterranean Express

Home Sweet Cone

Ivy Lane Salon & Spa

Kinship Brewing Co.

Kue’d Smokehouse

Kyle’s Bikes

Palms Theatres

Saints Pub

WEST DES MOINES

Atomic Garage

BeerStyles

Bike World

Budu/Bu

Christopher’s Fine Jewelry

Coffee Cats

Early Bird Brunch

Eggs & Jam

Element West Hotel

Eye Care of Iowa

Friedrichs Coffee

Hilton Garden Inn

Hurts Donuts

Hyatt Place West

Jay’s CD & Hobby

Kavanaugh Gallery

Keg Stand

La Barista

Roslin’s on Fifth

Sheraton Hotel

The Distillery @ the Foundry

The Hall @ the Foundry

The Rewind by Hilton

Townplace Suites by Marriot

Val Air Ballroom

Val Lanes Recreation Center

Valley Junction Foundation

Wellman’s Pub

West Des Moines Public Library

Zombie Burger

About LV

In print for 23 years this July, Little Village is among the longest-running free alternative publications in the midwest.

We distribute an average of 20,000 free copies each month, all over Iowa.

About LV readers

Going places & doing things

Nearly all LV readers picked up the magazine while visiting a brick-and-mortar food, retail, performance or other cultural destination.

Cash in hand LV readers span income brackets, with a median personal income of $55k, and 48% earning $60k+.

Giving a darn 73% of LV readers are homeowners, and on average have more than one child in their household. 98% voted in 2020, and 96% in 2022.

Contact us!

To advertise, subscribe, or give feedback, please call 319-855-1474.

Little Village is available free at about 800 locations in over 30 urban and rural communities across Central Iowa, Eastern Iowa and the Quad Cities. To request distribution or let us know that a rack is empty or in need of service, please email distro@LittleVIllageMag.com or call 319-855-1474.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): All of us periodically enjoy phases I call “Freedom from Cosmic Compulsion.” During these times, the Fates have a reduced power to shape our destinies. Our willpower has more spaciousness to work with. Our intentions get less resistance from karmic pressures that at other times might narrow our options. As I meditated on you, dear Gemini, I realized you are now in a phase of Freedom from Cosmic Compulsion. I also saw that you will have more of these phases than anyone else during the next 11 months. It might be time for you to get a “LIBERATION” tattoo or an equivalent new accessory.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Bold predictions: 1. Whatever treasure you have lost or are losing will ultimately be reborn in a beautiful form. 2. Any purposeful surrender you make will hone your understanding of exactly what your soul needs next to thrive. 3. A helpful influence may fade away, but its disappearance will clear the path for new helpful influences that serve your future in ways you can’t imagine yet. 4. Wandering around without a precise sense of where you’re going will arouse a robust new understanding of what home means to you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Denmark’s King Canute IV (1042–1086) wasn’t bashful about asserting his power. He claimed ownership of all the land. He insisted on the right to inherit the possessions of all foreigners and people without families. Goods from shipwrecks were automatically his property. But once, his efforts to extend his authority failed. He had his servants move his throne to a beach as the tide came in. Seated and facing the North Sea, he commanded, “Halt your advance!” The surf did not obey. “You must surrender to my superior will!” he exclaimed, but the waters did not recede. Soon, his throne was engulfed by water. Humbled, Canute departed. I bring this up not to discourage you, Leo. I believe you can and should expand your influence and clout in the coming weeks. Just be sure you know when to stop.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Irène Joliot-Curie craved more attention than she got from her mother, Marie Curie. Mom was zealously devoted to her career as a chemist and physicist, which is one reason why she won Nobel Prizes in both fields. But she didn’t spend sufficient time with her daughter. Fortunately, Irène’s grandfather Eugène became his granddaughter’s best friend and teacher. With his encouragement, she grew into a formidable scientist and eventually won a Nobel Prize in chemistry herself. Even if you’re not a kid, Virgo, I suspect there may be a mentor and guide akin to Eugène in your future. Go looking! To expedite the process, define what activity or skill you want help in developing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I have a fantasy that sometime in the coming months, you will slip away to a sanctuary in a pastoral paradise. There you will enjoy long hikes and immerse yourself in healing music and savor books you’ve been wanting to read. Maybe you will write your memoirs or compose deep messages to dear old friends. Here’s the title of what I hope will be a future chapter of your life story: “A Thrillingly Relaxing Getaway.” Have you been envisioning an adventure like this, Libra? Or is your imagination more inclined to yearn for a trip to an exciting city where you will exult in high culture? I like that alternative, too. Maybe you will consider doing both.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An Instagrammer named sketchesbyboze advises us, “Re-enchant your life by making the mundane exciting. You are not ‘going to the drugstore.’ You are visiting the apothecary to buy potions. You are not ‘running an errand.’ You are undertaking an unpredictable adventure. You are not ‘feeding the birds.’ You are making an alliance with the crow queen.” I endorse this counsel for your use, Scorpio. You now have the right and duty to infuse your daily rhythm with magic and fantasy. To attract life’s best blessings, you should be epic and majestic. Treat your life as a mythic quest.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I invite you to invite new muses into your life in the coming months. Give them auditions. Interview them. Figure out which are most likely to boost your creativity, stimulate your imagination, and rouse your inspiration in every area of your life, not just your art form. Tell them you’re ready to deal with unpredictable departures from the routine as long as these alternate paths lead to rich teachings. And what form might these muses take? Could be actual humans. Could be animals or spirits. Might be ancestral voices, exciting teachings, or pilgrimages to sacred sanctuaries. Expand your concept of what a muse might be so you can get as much muselike input as possible.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Japanese have a word for a problem that plagues other countries as well as theirs: karoshi, or death from working too hard and too much. No matter how high-minded our motivations might be, no matter how interesting our jobs are, most of us cannot safely devote long hours to intense labor week after week, month after month. It’s too stressful on the mind and body. I will ask you to monitor yourself for such proclivities in the coming months. You can accomplish wonders as long as you work diligently but don’t overwork. (PS: You won’t literally expire if you relentlessly push yourself with nonstop hard exertion, but you will risk compromising your mental health. So don’t do it!)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Typically, human fertility is strongest when the temperature is 64 degrees Fahrenheit. But I suspect you will be an exception to the rule in the coming months. Whether it’s 10 below or 90 in the shade, your fertility will be extra robust—literally as well as psychologically and spiritually. If you are a heterosexual who would rather make great art or business than new babies, be very attentive to your birth control measures. No matter what your gender or sexual preference is, I advise you to formulate very clear intentions about how you want to direct all that lush fecundity. Identify which creative outlets are most likely to serve your long-term health and happiness.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Here’s a key assignment in the coming months: Enjoy fantasizing about your dream home. Imagine the comfortable sanctuary that would inspire you to feel utterly at home in your body, your life, and the world. Even if you can’t afford to buy this ultimate haven, you will benefit from visualizing it. As you do, your subconscious mind will suggest ways you can enhance your security and stability. You may also attract influences and resources that will eventually help you live in your dream home.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Welcome to the future of your education, Aries! Here are actions you can take to ensure you are exposed to all the lush lessons you need and deserve in the coming months. 1. Identify three subjects you would be excited to learn more about. 2. Shed dogmas and fixed theories that interfere with your receptivity to new information. 3. Vow to be alert for new guides or mentors. 4. Formulate a three-year plan to get the training and teachings you need most. 5. Be avidly curious.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet Emily Dickinson was skillful at invoking and managing deep feelings. One scholar described her emotions as being profoundly erotic, outlandish, sensuous, flagrant and nuanced. Another scholar said she needed and sought regular doses of ecstasy. Yet even she, maestro of passions, got overwhelmed. In one poem, she wondered “Why Floods be served to us in Bowls?” I suspect you may be having a similar experience, Taurus. It’s fun, though sometimes a bit too much. The good news is that metaphorically speaking, you will soon be in possession of a voluminous new bowl that can accommodate the floods.

501(c)3 charitable contributions to Little Village support the public service mission of this magazine in three key ways:

1. ARTS JOURNALISM

Little Village artist profiles, performance previews and thousands of free online event listings each year are helping Iowa culture put its best foot forward every day. While event attendance is, of course, essential to the continued sustainable operation of our state’s most beloved venues, it is also among the most important drivers of the state’s overall economy. When it comes to nurturing quality of life and making Iowa’s communities better places to live, supporting arts and culture is a great place to start. For Iowans looking to do just that, picking up a free monthly copy of Little Village is often the first step.

2. LOCAL & STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTING

With compelling storytelling, engaging layouts, and reporting that looks beyond the 24-hour news cycle, Little Village aims to provide necessary context, fresh perspective and reliable facts to readers who stand ready to advocate for their communities and add their voice to the state’s most important conversations.

3. FREE ACCESS FOR ALL

Charitable donations to Little Village support the printing, distribution and racking costs associated with keeping this free publication readily available at over 800 locations, connecting over 30 towns and cities. Your support also helps cover the hosting and development costs of our website, providing 50,000 unique monthly visitors with fresh daily coverage and 24-hour access to an archive stretching back to 2001—always free, with no paywalls.

OUR COVERAGE FOCUS

Quality of life—Healthcare, education, affordability and accessibility.

Equity & justice—Environmental, racial, gender, labor and economic.

Events—Expansive listings, arts and culture previews, criticism and commentary.

HOW TO GIVE

To donate online, visit LittleVIllageMag.com/donate

To donate by check, mail check to: Alternative Newsweekly Foundation c/o Kevin Goldberg 253 Tennessee Ave NE Washington, DC 20002

If your donation is under $500, please include a note if you would like a mailed or emailed receipt.

To inlcude LV in your estate plans, ask your personal advisor to email us at lv@littlevillagemag.com.

Little Village is an approved partner project of the Alternative newsweekly Foundation (AnF), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting news outlets that provide coverage on a local level and strive to achieve exceptional journalism. Visit altnewsfoundation.org for more information on ANF and its mission. Email lv@littlevillagemag.com with any questions about this partnership and how our charitable programs work.

Joel Sires slides into my DMs, “You gotta check this band out. Run Dog from CF. Unreal. So fully realized.” High praise from someone I consider to be one of Eastern Iowa’s great songwriters.

I wasted no time checking out the quartet, who released their debut four-song EP The Big Room in February. They’ve garnered their fair share of chatter following some impressive showcases at The Octopus in Cedar Falls.

Playing this EP the first time, I’m reminded of the experience I had in October 2009 standing in a barn in Green Island, Iowa, where a then-unknown Dawes, on the first Daytrotter Barnstormer Tour, played a mindblowing set to a tiny crowd—every one of whom looked at each other with incredulous eyes.

While Run Dog is considered a new band, it’s made up of old friends who grew up cutting their musical teeth in Waverly, Iowa. It features Addison Payne on guitars, keys and lead vocals; Sam Ackman on guitars, keys and harmonies; Matthew Bancroft Smithe on bass and mandolin and Derek Raatz on drums and percussion. After time apart, they found themselves living close enough to play together again.

“The Big Room EP developed somewhat out of the necessity to have something to work on and to make a selection of recordings we could show to people,” Payne said in an email, “but I’d like to think it does more than that. I’m always fond of music that allows you to hear the artists in the process of discovery…We avoided our unreleased back-catalog of songs for

this project in favor of what was freshest, and I feel it catches us at a time of musical growth.”

The temptation to peg this album was hard to resist. Payne’s voice is a thin and soulful tenor recalling Gary Louris of the Jayhawks or John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, and the instrumentation doesn’t fall far from either of those two bands—leaning towards a more acoustic sound with some organ and electric guitars to color the affair. The throughline of the songwriting leans towards a first-person account centering on the messiness of the human condition.

The EP kicks off with “Mistake,” which sets the tone and mood for the album with delicious, timeless mandolin-picking by Bancroft, who also wrote the song. The chanting chorus “It’s not a mistake I feel this way” hangs in the air and in your head long after the song is over.

The second track, “Hour And A Half” is my favorite and the one I most identify with. It perfectly captures the feelings around a relationship that could be more, and getting the courage to run to that possibility.

The motor’s running on the street out front

Do you believe me when I tell you what I want?

We can waste another weekend playing guessing games Or I can shine the headlights through the autumn rain

The EP wraps with “I See It Done” and “The Big Room” which are both wistful, impressionistic and nostalgic portraits of adolescence.

It is said that music can trigger the limbic system in the brain, which processes emotions and memory. The goosebumps that people often describe is thought to be a result of the dopamine released while hearing a particularly moving piece of music. For me, The Big Room lights up my limbic system. I’m glad to be here to see the beginnings of another great band with wide WTF eyes.

—Mike Roeder

ILLITERATI

Plain Angels

ANTHONYWORDEN.BANDCAMP.COM

Anthony Worden makes music that an archivist of 20th century music would make. His early albums were heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground. Since then, he’s branched out. On Plain Angels, he writes songs as winsome and pleasing to the ear as Badfinger and Matthew Sweet. The album title itself seems to reference Gram Parsons’ album Grievous Angel, or maybe Lucinda Williams’ song “Drunken Angel.”

“Modern Love”) that breaks down into a bombastic chorus, before returning to the bouncing beat. The fast-slow-fast arrangement and spoken word on the chorus is unusual, but it works. Sometimes the best songs are the weirdest structurally. Burt Bacharach delighted in confounding the rules of pop songs, and “Heart Of Life” has some of his vibe.

“John Cazale” is named for the actor, who is known for The Godfather movies and The Deer Hunter. If you weren’t sensing a ’70s/’80s vibe by now, this seals it. The doo-wop waltz of “Teenage Prayer” casts back to earlier decades, but the two-vocal-line bridge—Worden repeating “Tell Me Why” over a lower vocal line— is more modern. The final section builds up to a grand Beach Boysesque choral finish.

WORDEn IS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO CREATInG nEW MUSIC THAT WILL MAKE LISTEnERS FEEL HOW THE MUSIC OF EARLIER DECADES MAKES HIM FEEL.

“Down But Not Yet Out” is a catchy number that recalls the louche pop songs of the Kinks, with a relaxed raggedy guitar-driven arrangement not unlike the Small Faces. The doubled guitar and keyboard line to the end sounds like a nod to Bruce Springsteen’s ’80s sound.

“$20” is a great song about digging through trash for soda cans. A gloriously lazy guitar solo loiters behind the beat. The song’s lynchpin is the vocal fry he puts on the word “trash,” trailing off into a croak. “Death Of A Wife” features a lovely string arrangement.

“Heart Of Live” is anchored in a sparse piano line, with a beat borrowed from the Clash’s “Hitsville UK.” (or maybe David Bowie’s

Extrapolating from all the clues on Plain Angels, Worden is deeply committed to creating new music that will make listeners feel how the music of earlier decades makes him feel. All great pop music is an imitation game, as the parameters to its appeal constrains the form. But Anthony Worden finds his own originality in transmuting his inspirations into something new.

Brian Eno said of the first Velvet Underground album, “I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!” Anthony Worden’s Illiterati would fit in that category, but Plain Angels finds him branching out musically from there. What makes Plain Angels work is the real emotion of songs like “Heart of Life” and “Teenage Prayer.” Pop music is always a cheap trick (if not actually Cheap Trick) but there’s magic to be found in creating something new with pop’s meager toolbox. On Plain Angels Worden does just that.

––Kent Williams

AnTHOnY WORDEn AnD THE

JAMES J. DInSMORE AnD

STEPHEn J. DInSMORE

Iowa’s Changing Wildlife: Three Decades of Gain and Loss

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS

In Iowa’s Changing Wildlife: Three Decades of Gain and Loss by James J. Dinsmore and Stephen J. Dinsmore, the authors survey 60 species of birds and mammals, providing brief histories of their existence in Iowa, a look at their population fluctuations over time and summaries of their current status, making this book a valuable resource for wildlife enthusiasts and lovers of Iowa’s natural world.

One success story is the recurrence of the bald eagle, whose existence was threatened by the use of DDT after World War II. Buildup of DDT in the birds’ food sources caused egg shell thinning which reduced their reproduction. By 1950, eagles in Iowa had been wiped out. But populations began to recover when DDT was banned. Thanks to substantial populations in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the birds expanded their territory into Iowa, and by 2015 they had reestablished themselves in every Iowa county.

Wild turkeys have also rebounded thanks to a little help. By the late 1800s, they were scarce in Iowa. After a few unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce them, releases in southern Iowa in the mid- to late 1960s were successful. Birds from the newly established populations enabled releases in additional locations, thus establishing wild turkeys in all suitable habitats.

Populations of the red fox seem to remain stable despite some challenges they face. They are prey for coyotes; for several years they have

suffered from mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites; and their preferred grassland and pasture habitats are disappearing. Some species manage to adapt to life near humans, and the red fox appears to be one— the authors cite reports of them living and raising young in urban areas.

It is possible that species with which we may be unfamiliar could quietly disappear from our midst without us realizing. Those who have never heard the cheerful twonote call of the bobwhite quail across a farm field won’t know what they were missing when it’s gone, as row crops continue to encroach on the grassy areas where these charming little birds nest.

BY AMY LEE LILLARD A Grotesque Animal UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS

ITHOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE CHEERFUL TWO-NOTE CALL OF THE BOBWHITE QUAIL ACROSS A FARM FIELD WON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE MISSING WHEN IT’S GONE, AS ROW CROPS CONTINUE TO ENCROACH ON THE GRASSY AREAS WHERE THESE CHARMING LITTLE BIRDS NEST.

This book can bring us up to date on species for which we have a particular fondness, as well as those we haven’t encountered. We can also learn some natural history of our state and what needs to be done to preserve the wildlife around us.

The final chapters outline organizations dedicated to wildlife, future challenges and relevant legislation such as: 1) the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP) established in 1989 to be funded at $20 million per year and 2) the establishment in 2010 of the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund (with 63 percent of Iowans voting in favor) to be funded by a fraction of any sales tax increase. We are reminded that the former has been consistently underfunded and the latter has never been funded at all. These are two programs already in place that, with proper funding, could significantly support wildlife initiatives. ––Diane DeBok

n her new hybrid memoir, Amy Lee Lillard starts out slowly, advising the reader that A Grotesque Animal (University of Iowa Press 2024) is about a middle-aged woman coming into her own following her latein-life autism diagnosis. That is the premise, it’s true, but it is not a fair synopsis of this book.

The early sections focus on the daily facts (not yet recognized as traumas) of living with undiagnosed autism—masking, for example, is given its own (sort of) chapter at the beginning, set up like dictionary entries, each one a new version of what it means to hide and why we do it. (“Masking” is the term used to

There are sections that use lyrics to bring the topic back home, as the lens through which Lillard views her own life. Sometimes the chapters are self-contained braided essays, other times they’re in second person. My favorite section describes a series of paintings which illustrate the queer body and its implications. At one point she tells a story, states that the story is fiction, and gives the reader footnotes to assist with reading through her words to the true story that inspired the one she presents.

Lillard uses every literary tool she has to shape a narrative from multiple modes, perspectives and forms. And in her work, she presents a coming-of-age tale relatable to those of us who always tried to fit somewhere and so could never find ourselves, who were always trying to get to that quiet place. In her willingness to display her own wounds, she opened a door for others like her.

“…[T]he disabled were Lebensunwertes Leben—life unworthy of life,” she writes, reflecting on the first victims of the Nazis and how disabled people—her would-be ancestors—have been treated in the U.S. until very recently. “Of all the words you’ve found over the years to capture a feeling and a way of being—queer, bisexual, child-free, weird—autistic feels the most revolutionary.”

Lillard’s story is about unmasking, yes, unlearning all the things she was taught before she was diagnosed autistic, but it’s also a story of not fitting in with one’s own family, of being poor and vulnerable, of

LILLARD PRESEnTS A COMInG-OF-AGE TALE RELATABLE TO THOSE OF US WHO ALWAYS TRIED TO FIT SOMEWHERE AnD SO COULD nEVER FInD OURSELVES, WHO WERE ALWAYS TRYInG TO GET TO THAT QUIET PLACE.

describe how neurodivergent people cope in an allistic world by disguising or hiding the symptoms of their difference.) The introduction sets us up to expect complicated narration, but this is where the storytelling begins to take shape.

abuse, and queerness, and art, and all the ways we try to bend ourselves to make life easier. Most importantly, it can be a guide on how to unbend, forgive ourselves and come into our own.

—Sarah Elgatian

ACROSS

1. Took down, in an intimidatingly godly way

6. Sported, as cargo pants or a scrunchie

10. Country on a namesake gulf

14. Test for an ambitious H.S. senior

15. Caught (in)

16. Second line city, for short

17. Call a Twiggy-loving ratite?

19. Yanks (at)

20. Against: Prefix

21. Actress who Costanza is obsessed with meeting, on a classic Seinfeld

episode

22. Vile

23. Like a fastidious fan of Lima’s land?

28. “... as is now apparent”

31. Matar accompaniment served by my Nani

32. ___ Royale

33. Right now, in a text

34. Aperture setting

38. Tofu source

40. Lead-in to (and opposite of) poly

42. Org. concerned with workplace injuries

44. Shaker stuff

45. Lament of a Brit who regrets Brexit?

50. Wedded (to)

51. “Taking care of that now!”

52. Laura of Jurassic Park

54. One whose work has many facets

57. ___ rock (term retroactively applied to bands like the Doobie Brothers)

60. Around 2000 kcal/day, for adult women

61. Jimmy Eat World genre

62. Null and ___

64. Gets ready for a bodybuilding competition, in a way

66. “Connoisseur of rabbit residences, how could you

betray me?”

71. The Goo Goo Dolls song you know if you know only one Goo Goo Dolls song

72. Chem lab equipment

73. Some corp. degrees

77. Disembarked

78. *NSYNC’s first single ... and a homophone of what I said when I was coming up with four of this puzzle’s answers

81. Bob Hoskins’s role in Hook

82. Some pops

83. Words on a dogtag, maybe 84. Arch-support-free

sneaker brand

85. Holler

86. Inherently

DOWN

1. ___ Doctors (band with the song that’s actually called “Two Princes” and not “Just Go Ahead Now”)

2. Substantive stuff

3. Light yellow flowers often found near cattle (because it grows in their dung)

4. Letter after sigma

5. Post-party recyclables

6. Extend the breadth of

7. Frozen food brand named after two states

8. Band whose last Top 10 hit in the U.S. was 1991’s “Shiny Happy People”

9. School address ending 10. Ready to pour

11. Group that JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake joined in the ’90s

12. Country with Berber as an official language

13. Illmatic rapper

14. Poet Limón

15. NYC museum a few blocks north of Radio City Music Hall

18. Family member not represented on The Nanny

22. “HECK yes”

24. Stadium figure in stripes

25. Counterpart of “thx”

26. Bird bunk

27. Coffee dispenser

28. Clarissa’s neighbor on Clarissa Explains

It All

29. Texter’s “or ...”

30. “Things will work themselves out”

35. Vous, less formally

36. Home to the Munchmuseet

37. Apt rhyme for “baloney”

39. Tapped for

cash?

41. Boo-boo

43. Activewear brand with a bird-like name

46. Digs (into)

47. Venue for a satyrical play?

48. And so on: Abbr.

49. Language in some of the Punjab

53. Afternoon recharger

54. Sukkot celebrant

55. “Slide into my AOL inbox!” (said no one ever)

56. Poke fun at

58. Quintessential comfort food on a cold day

59. Bird that shares its name with a body part

63. Clea who played Natasha Lyonne’s love interest in 1999’s But I’m a Cheerleader

65. ___ support

67. Four weddings and a funeral, e.g.

68. “... and that’s ___!”

69. Avocados have healthy ones

70. Ron of Tarzan

74. Asset of a good rapper

75. Apex

76. “Under the Red ___” (1990 Bob Dylan album)

77. Pose, as a query to Jeeves

78. Like some stares

79. “Alas, ___ is me!”

80. Fair ___ (doctrine Negativland cited when sued for their U2 EP)