Next Tuesday evening, August 4th at Nollen Plaza, your local Downtown Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Community Alliance are hosting the 26th Annual National Night Out event.

This is an excellent opportunity to get out and meet your neighbors, listen to live music and sample some cuisine and services from downtown businesses. Some of this year’s sponsors include: Sbrocco, Splash Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Fong’s Pizza, Atelier Hairspace, Dos Rios Cantina & Tequila Lounge, and sandwiches courtesy of the Pork Producers.

I plan on attending and would love to meet some of my regular readers, so come join us.

I made my first trip down to the Arts Festival yesterday afternoon around 4pm. My friend Todd joined me at about 5:30, and we had a great time. The musical performances by Collective Soul and Gavin DeGraw were great and the art on display this year was awesome.

I always try and make a purchase each year, and for my purchase this year, I purchased a set of original paintings on wood. by Mark Traughber, made with spray paint on primed wood from stencils that he designed and created. Each piece is 4.25″ wide, 6″ tall, .75″ thick. faced with a protective glossy finish. I can’t wait to decide where to install them at in my place!

Here are a few photos I took yesterday evening, it was hard to take photos as I kept getting distracted by the wonderful art.

One of my favorite summer events is the annual downtown Des Moines Arts Festival. Here are some highlights about this year’s event, for more details check out their website at: http://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org

DATES: June 26 – 28, 2009

TIMES: Friday, June 26 – 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday, June 27 – 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (Fireworks at 10 p.m.)
Sunday, June 28 – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

WHERE: Western Gateway Park, Downtown Des Moines, Iowa

WHAT: Des Moines Arts Festival
– 175+ Premier Professional Visual Artists sponsored by Aviva USA
– 24 Emerging Iowa Artists sponsored by Principal Financial Group®
– 24 Non-profit Organizations sponsored by Prairie Meadows showcasing services and activities
– GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural presented by the Des Moines Art Center
– Non-stop live music on the U.S. Cellular Stage
– Gavin DeGraw and Collective Soul on Friday night proudly presented by
Hy-Vee in celebration of the Hy-Vee Triathlon and sponsored by Budweiser
– New Jazz & Wine Pavilion presented by Meredith Corporation
– Performing Arts Stage featuring dance, music and theatre
– Live Street Theatre
– 30 Interactive Arts Activities
– 376 students from 96 Schools in the Des Moines Art Center’s Nurturing a Student’s Vision Program
sponsored by Hubbell Homes
– Interrobang Film Festival presented by Nationwide
– 24 Eclectic Food Booths sponsored by Hy-Vee
– Sculpture Garden

ADMISSION: FREE

According to reports there is a new festival being put together for the Holiday season. Here’s all the details that we have so far:

Holiday Lights Des Moines is a new annual celebration of the holidays in downtown Des Moines on Friday, Nov. 28 from 4 – 7 p.m. with the lighting at 6:28 p.m. Coming together on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving Day are carolers, horse-drawn carriages, specialty food vendors, family crafts, musicians, costumed characters, live performances, and more. Just past dusk businesses, city parks, street décor, city and county buildings will join together to flip the switch on downtown. At the center of it all will be a 52-foot lighted tree! The city tree along with the entire downtown – buildings, skywalks, parks, lamp posts, and decorations will, with a flip of a switch illuminate the night sky.

We will try and bring you more details as they emerge!

This weekend the Des Moines area Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community will celebrate Pride, marking 30 years of Pride Celebrations in Des Moines. Major events of the celebration include a Pride Weekend Kickoff Party at the Garden Friday evening; a street party in the East Village Saturday evening; and the annual Pride Parade and Festival on Sunday. Full details of this weekend’s events can be found on their website at: CapitalCityPride.org. Des Moines’ annual Pride celebration is generally held the second weekend in June every summer, but this year had to be re-scheduled due to the flooding that was occurring during that time in downtown Des Moines.

A local group of residents, formed together as Capital City Pride-Des Moines organizes the event. Their mission is to “promote acceptance, tolerance, and understanding of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community through education, programming, and visibility.”

Last year more than 8,000 attended the weekend long festivities and organizers are hoping for even a larger crowd with this being the 30th anniversary of the first Gay Pride demonstration in the City of Des Moines. This years theme for Pride 2008 is “Catch the Spirit” and the event is being sponsored by more than 90 Des Moines-area businesses and organizations.

I’m looking forward to attending this year’s celebration. Last year I was out of town during the celebration, but have attended the celebrations here in Des Moines the last few years. I find it’s around this time that people generally ask me “Why do you have to have these Pride celebrations?” I always try to answer first with a phrase that I saw on an Atlanta billboard the very first Pride celebration I ever took part in, back in 1994, it said” We are not ashamed of who we are; and for that we are proud!” I think this phrase says a lot.

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