Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Free admission to area gardens for Fifth Annual National Public Gardens Day held annually on the Friday before Mother's Day.
Reiman Gardens is one of five in central Iowa that will participate in National Public Gardens Day Friday. Iowa Arboretum in Madrid, Des Moines Botanical Center and Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden in Des Moines, and the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center are also participating. Patrons will be admitted free and be able to participate in free educational programs at all participating gardens. The only catch is that people need to download a free voucher from Better Homes & Gardens at BHG.com. Anyone who visits any of the five gardens, will receive a garden passport that can be completed and turned in for prizes. People can have their passport stamped at the gardens between Mother's and Father's days. Those who manage to visit all five …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Committee is searching for people interested in performing.
From a Press Release Ankeny's summer celebration, SummerFest, announced this week that it will add a community stage to its July festivities. Now they just need some people to perform on it. They SummerFest Events Committee is looking for a variety of performers including singers and dancers. The Ankeny SummerFest Events Committee members said the stage's addition will meet goals of diversifying SummerFest events. “Hosting a Community Stage goes hand in hand with that goal and we are excited to provide this opportunity to the talented performers of our community,” said Todd Wehr, Co-Chair of the SummerFest Events Committee. The Community Stage will host performers from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 at the Prairie …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo today? Tell us in the comments.
Iowa blogger Tom Gilsenan recently discussed why Cinco de Mayo, which is today, might be “a good time to celebrate the Latino influence in our state.” Glisenan wrote that the Latino influence in Iowa towns has been present for more than 100 years and in others like Marshalltown and Postville that influence is relatively new. During the last two decades, Latino immigration to Iowa has shown a tremendous increase. This time, individuals and families have moving to Iowa to work in the meat and poultry processing plants in rural communities. Packing plants have moved out of the big cities of the Midwest and into small towns such as Columbus Junction and West Liberty. It is a new "meat geography," say the authors of a Federal Reserve Bank …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The Ankeny Art Center hopes to raise the funds necessary to double the size of its pottery studio.
The Ankeny Art Center will hold the first of many fundraisers tonight to expand its pottery studio. “An Ankeny Evening with the Arts” begins at 6:30 p.m. May 3 at Prairie Ridge Church, 825 NW Street. The event includes a concert that starts at 7:30 p.m. Freewill donations will be accepted. The Center's staff said they need about $35,000 to remodel a room in the basement and to purchase necessary equipment. They hope to double the current studio's size. The center will accept cash donations and donations of building materials, plumbing services and equipment. Learn more about how to help at www.ankenyartcenter.com. SEE MORE ON PATCH Ankeny Newsletter. Ankeny Patch Facebook page. Twitter: @AnkenyPatch
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Giving Tree Band, Parlours, Rogue Valley and Freedy Johnston part of summer concert series.
From a Press Release: Ankeny Unplugged, the annual music series at the Wagner Park Bandshell, has announced its summer lineup. Giving Tree, Parlours, Rogue Valley and Freedy Johnston will headline the first four Saturdays in June. See full line up below: June 1: The Giving Tree Band with Andy Fleming (of Brother Trucker), Har-di-Har, and The High Crest June 8: Parlours with Dustin Smith and the Sunday Silos; H.D. Harmsen and the Electrophones; and Blue-Eyed Son June 15: Rogue Valley with Seedlings, MaryBeth Doran, and Mary McAdams June 22: Freedy Johnston with Annalibera, Savannah Smith, and Dylan Boyle Performances are Saturdays from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Ankeny Band Shell in Wagner Park. Live performances are accompanied by an art and …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
How did Visual Adrenaline perform at its last show choir championship?
Visual Adrenaline, Ankeny's varsity show choir, finished third in the FAME National Show Choir Championship held in Chicago recently. The choir also won Best Male Sound and Second Runner-Up, two honors the choir had never won before. The choir competed with choirs from 14 other states. See the rest of the release from the Ankeny School District below: "Words cannot express how proud we are of our students and staff who participate in show choir," said Dr. Jeff Hawkins, Ankeny High School principal. "From the singers, to the band, to the support crew, teachers and parents, this has been a monumental team effort, and one that will live in our memories for a long, long time. On behalf of Ankeny High School, congratulations, and thank you to…
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Ankeny Art Center hopes to raise the funds necessary to double the size of its pottery studio.
The pottery studio in the basement of the Ankeny Art Center has five wheels, two long tables and not enough elbow room. The center for both children and adults is unable to serve the growing number of people interested in the art form, said Barb Naske, the center's director. There's often a waiting list for pottery classes and some students and art club members have to use the facilities at odd hours to complete work. But Naske hopes to change that by doubling the size of the studio with the community's help. The Center recently launched a $35,000 fundraising campaign to move the studio into a larger room, buy five potting wheels, a second kiln and a pug mill. Hundreds of students make use of the center and studio during summer camps and …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Movie reviews and movie times for theaters across Ankeny and Des Moines. Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend. Movies to choose from include "Oblivion", "42", "Scary Movie 5" and more.
Movie information aggregated from MovieFone.com The Big Wedding "There’s not a bad performance in this movie. De Niro, Keaton and Sarandon are particularly good, what a surprise. But it feels as if all the guests at “The Big Wedding” are wearing ID tags telling us their one Plot Point." Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times. "There is nothing about the movie that isn’t utterly predictable. You meet a character, and it’s immediately obvious what’s going to happen to him (or her). And then it happens. Maybe it’s meant to make you feel good about your deductive reasoning skills or something. But mostly it just makes you want to see something else." Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic. Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film …
Friday, April 19, 2013
Movie reviews and movie times for theaters across Ankeny and Des Moines. Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend. Movies to choose from include "Scary Movie 5", "Jurassic Park 3D" and more.
Movie information aggregated from MovieFone.com Oblivion "The good news: Here's a lavish, serious science-fiction picture, one that on occasion transcends big-budget hit-making convention to glance against grandeur...Which brings us to Tom Cruise, the not-necessarily-good news. However engaging its end-times mysteries, Oblivion is still a Tom Cruise movie." Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice. Full Review "A moderately clever dystopian mindbender with a gratifying human pulse, despite some questionable narrative developments along the way." Justin Chang, Variety. Full Review Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do. - - - - - 42 "One of the all-time great sports movies — primarily because it…
Friday, April 12, 2013
Movie reviews and movie times for theaters across Ankeny and Des Moines. Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend. Movies to choose from include "The Host", "The Croods" and more.
Movie information aggregated from MovieFone.com 42 "One of the all-time great sports movies — primarily because it's one of the all-time great sports stories." Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times. "42 is competent, occasionally rousing and historically respectful — but it rarely rises above standard, old-fashioned biography fare. It’s a mostly unexceptional film about an exceptional man." Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times. Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do. - - - - - Scary Movie 5 No reviews are available yet for this film. Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do. - - - - - Evil Dead "A gore-for-broke affair that strips the flesh …
Pete Vielhaber
6:10 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2013
Oblivion- I just saw this movie today at Springwood 9 and thought it was a decent Sci-Fi combo love story. It's visually stunning, paced about right, has a twisty plot and of course Tom Cruise plays his standard hero role. Over-hyped but worth seeing. 42- I caught this movie last week and it's a must see! This movie is historically priceless and an unforgettable story about a very exceptional man… more ›