May 16, 2012

I first heard about Host from a Tweet, which is not that shocking in the grand scheme of things. But, I was shocked when I saw it because I hadn’t even heard Flour, the previous concept at the location of Host, had closed. I had heard that Carly Groben had sold Proof, her other restaurant, but for some reason I completely missed the closing of Flour. Anyway,...

May 15, 2012

There are some activities that just scream summertime in Des Moines.  A morning at the Downtown Farmer’s Market.  An afternoon bike ride to El Bait Shop’s patio.  An evening stroll through the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden.  (Sounds like a great day, right?) But for me the summer doesn’t truly begin until I see the first live baseball game of the...

May 14, 2012

When I was about 9, I remember watching a show on TV about living in “disaster zones.” The first city featured was San Francisco. I remember saying “those people are crazy to live there, right on an earthquake fault line.” And then it was the tornado region of the Midwest. Same thing, “what are those people thinking living there?” This was all from...

May 11, 2012

The launch of another Des Moines startup is set to take place next week.  The FreebeeCards crew has definitely been out drawing up attention and creating some noise for their new adventure.  The business will focus on their own way of connecting cosumers with local merchants (stores, restaurants, etc.). Now we get to find out more of what they’re up...

May 10, 2012

A few years ago, when I was working at little harder at promotion than I do right now, a friend was telling me about a woman he heard at Des Moines Social Club’s Open Circus.  He told me that she sat in the back for a while, a little shy even,  and then walked on sage and just crushed it. He said her name was Sharika Soal and that he was completely blown...

May 8, 2012

It’s hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since I moved back to Des Moines from the San Francisco Bay Area. In so many ways it still feels like I just got here. Maybe it’s because of the mild winter and early spring that the time seems to have gone by so quickly. Or maybe it’s the fact that my wife and I are in the raising-a-baby time warp in...

May 7, 2012

So how did a person born on the southwest coast of England end up living in Des Moines, IA? Well that story is a bit long and complicated. Here’s the short version (I promise). My parents immigrated to Canada when I was a little girl. I spent a good number of years growing up in the “Maritimes” (yep, I started school in New found land of all places). We...

May 4, 2012

The artists and directors of Des Moines Social Club get excited for a lot of things as they come up with new events people have never experienced before.   By saying experience, that’s exactly what all those will get when they show up for Sensory Overload.  There’s plenty of details below, however from what I hear those showing up should expect...

May 3, 2012

I spoke of this briefly on my blog, but I wanted to get the word out here as well. Every year, a local act gets to play on the main stage at 80/35, and they get there because of us, the general public.  Each year, a battle of the bands is set up and we get to hear them play and then decide who gets a prestigious spot to play on the same stage as The Avett...

May 2, 2012

It’s the time of year where theatre companies began closing one season and announcing the productions for the next. Across Des Moines each company has spent a great deal of thought and time crafting the best set of shows for their audiences and their actors. But the Iowa Civic Center’s Willis Broadway Series works a little differently. Since the musicals and...

May 2, 2012

I have to admit I was pretty excited when I heard Buzzard Billy’s was coming back to town, although I couldn’t remember their food very well. Actually, my last real memory of the initial Buzzard Billy’s was their cheap can beer night where I drank my last Hamms beer. I don’t know if the Hams beer was just that memorable or if the food was forgettable, I...