Ankeny Event Planner: A Century of Ankeny Grads, Jazz Band Concert, George Gershwin and More

You could find all these events in our events calendar, but we at Ankeny Patch thought we would make it easy for you by putting the highlights of this week all in one, convenient place.

Here's what is going on in Ankeny the week of Jan. 23-28:

• This is the final week at the Ankeny Art Center to check out its members-only exhibition. The exhibition, which ends Friday, features works of art or art owned by art center members. Make sure to check the art center's listing for exhibition hours.

• Are you a student at ? Are you sick of eating ramen? Head to the student lounge in building no. 5 at 11:30 Monday for . Not only can you play for free but if you win, you win groceries.

• will be at Monday at 3:15 p.m. Bring your kids in for some educational fun using LEGOs, the building blocks we played with when we were young.

• The Ankeny City Council will meet in a special planning session tonight at 5 p.m. The council will meet in the council chambers. Check here to see an agenda.

• The will meet at the library Monday night at 7 p.m. Everyone is welome to attend and learn more about tracing and documenting family history and roots.

• On Tuesday, the is holding a . Participants in the class will learn how to do keyword searching, major search engines, web portals, directories and natural language searching. To register, call the library at 965-6460, ext. 5.

• Are you a DMACC student with some health concerns? If so, nurse practitioner Ed Piasecki will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Tuesday in the Campus Health Office to see currently enrolled DMACC students for free to address their health concerns and needs. Appointments are needed for physicals and some fees may apply. Call 515-964-6352 to make an appointment.

• Do the kids need something to do after school Tuesday? Send them to the Ankeny library for a little bit of . This month's session starts at 3:15 p.m. and is open to students in grades three through five.

• A special program called "" will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Kirkendall Public Library. This month's featured composer is George Gershwin, an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. will be held at 12:15 p.m. and the at 7 p.m.

• Want a chance to support a good cause with good food? Head to in Ankeny Wednesday night for the , which will benefit Polk County Relay for Life team Walking for Wayne. For each drink ordered and reported to the Walking for Wayne table, BWW will donate 50 cents to the team. The fundraiser will be held from 6-9 p.m. Want to donate even more? to get a coupon in which the restaurant will donate 10 percent of all food sales to Relay for Life.

• Calling all grads! On Wednesday, the Ankeny Alumni Association and the will hold a 7 p.m. planning meeting at the historical society house to talk about events for 2013's "". If you are an Ankeny graduate and would like to be part of this special event, make sure to attend the meeting!

• On Thursday, take the little ones to Tot Time at the library. Tot Time is a time set aside for kids and moms/caregivers to gather, play and get to know one another.  Tot Time is held in the library meeting room and begins at 10:15 a.m.

• Want to help the Ankeny After-Prom Committee ? Plan to take the family to dinner at Thursday night between 5-8 p.m. because the business will give back a portion of proceeds to AHS After-Prom.

• The Ankeny Young Professionals are holding the group's at 6 p.m. Thursday night at the . This event is free and open to professionals of all ages. There will be a wine tasting, appetizers and a chance to win a free membership to the Ankeny Young Professionals. Coworkers and friends are welcome.

• , located at 1805 S.E. Delaware Ave. in Ankeny, is hosting from 8-10 a.m. Saturday to guide attendees through all of the features and functions of the company’s smartphone and mobile tablet lineup. You do not have to be a US Cellular customer to attend. Check here for info on how to register.

• The Ankeny Writer's Group at 9 a.m. at the . This month's presentation will be "Writing Memoirs" by Joe Millard. Millard is author of "Where Did All the Cowboys Go?"  He writes memoirs to reveal a personal view of history that is not found in history textbooks, and to encourage others to write their family stories. Everyone is welcome to attend.

• On Saturday, head to for the . All Ankeny jazz students will be invited to attend a jazz band clinic during the day and then will perform a concert at 7 p.m. The cost of the concert is $5 for adults and $2.50 for students/senior citizens.