Dinner at the Wallace Farm combines fine dining with a relaxed and delightful ambiance. Crisp,…read morefresh salads with fresh veggies from the farm and light, tasteful dressings. Entrees were scrumptious and filling. Deserts amazing. View from the dining room of rolling hills takes your breath away. Lovely music from a singer/guitarist. Service excellent and not a bit ostentatious. Dinner for two only $39 and it was similar to an upscale urban venue that would've cost $100 or more. Lovely evening.

DMMC Music University is a festival type conference held once a year in Des Moines! As well as…read morequarterly events around town! It features speakers from around the globe talking all things music... Touring, Press, Booking, On-line Presence, and so much more! They have big name artist come to do presentations, work shops, and key note speeches! There is also films at the Varsity Theater, and concerts around town in many of the music venues! Last year I got the opportunity to Interview Nels Cline of Wilco after he did a workshop with 20 local guitar players! It was amazing! I also go to speak on a panel about touring with an Iowa Rock N Roll Hero Dave Diebler from the band House of Large Sizes! This past year I got to speak on working with a Booking Agent! And booking tours DIY style! It was a blast! I also went and saw Panel's on working with a Publicist, Music in Film, and a Recording workshop at the Sonic Factory! All were very well attended and super interesting! If you are interested in the Music Biz, like music, or social media, or just want to learn how to be a great Do-It-Yourselfer this a fabo event to be a part of!

Hire this band!!! The Des Moines Big Band is one of Iowa's…read morebest-kept secrets. The musicians are first-rate, mostly 30 to 50 somethings who have left professional playing careers to raise families, etc. Their repertoire is huge, and varied. They can do anything from nostalgia (think Glenn Miller) to cutting edge jazz. (Think Joshua Redman, Village Vanguard, etc) The members can put smaller groups together as well, and have played many of the coolest weddings in central Iowa, I'm told. They appear every Monday evening at the Adventureland Inn restaurant in Altoona. Lot's of great jazz guests throughout the year.

I read Bob's autobiography, "Strikeout Story," about 1949 and became a fan. In 1954 I won a trip to…read moreChicago and got to see him pitch. It was a coincidence that Chicago played Cleveland that night and that Feller was on the mound. He was near the end of his career and Cleveland lost, but other than that, it was perfect. A few years ago, on a drive from my home in Texas to visit family in Minnesota, I left I-35 to visit Van Meter and the museum. Glad I did. Feller was one of the greats.

Talk about a beautiful treasure! Very nice museum, clean well organized. When you pull into the…read moreparking lot you see one of the coolest brick..... not sure what to call it but if you look at the picture or visit you'll know what I'm talking about! As you walk up to the building there is a big baseball with Bob's autograph. They then have a home plate on the side walk and then a rubber where the pitcher would pitch from by the entrance. As you walk in there is a sign in book, make sure you check out the names in the brick. When you get in there is photos and memorabilia on the walls, they will play a video for you that is about 20 minutes long. After the video you can roam around and look at the different cases with autograph baseballs, bats, jerseys. They also have some football stuff here too. The big highlight inside to me where the Bob Feller photos and pins from his time in the Navy he gave 4 years of his life to serve in the military during the war. Those 4 years were in the prime of his career! Bob threw 3 no hitters in his career. There is a bat that Babe Ruth held in one of his most famous photos its the last bat he held on the field that is now at the museum. There is also a baseball bat that Ted Williams signed that you can buy for $1500. This is a great place to visit! I will come back to visit again and again! He's not only a great American but he's from Iowa too! If you have plans to be in Iowa make sure to stop here along with the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa They have signings, Billy Williams is coming up so and in a few months Mark Grace! Check out there web site for info!

Really cool new monthly happening at a beautiful victorian mansion on the east side of Des Moines!…read moreOnce a month they will gather musicians, and artist to the space for performances in this rad mansion that also serves as an Air B and B. I didn't catch the whole first show, but there was a photography show by Dan Welk, Performances by local musicians, a special Opera performance, and then an open Mic to follow.. Also there were free pieces of pie, lemonade, and bottles of water! It was kid friendly and fun. I guess look for their facebook for upcoming performances! Oh I forgot to mention it was free too!

This event continues to get better year after year. And there is something for everyone:: live…read moremusic (3 stages!), parade, tons of kid events, food trucks, car show, craft sale, and so much more. Bring your family and friends for a good time.

The 80/35 Festival is a pretty fun music event in Des Moines. It usually lasts about 2 days, with…read moreseveral stages of artists to check out. The only negatives of the festival are that it's usually the first week of July, which means that it's both HOT and also that sometimes it falls on /around July 4th, which I would avoid if I was the planner of this festival. When we have been, we saw some pretty big names like Wilco, Weezer, Jenny Lewis, and Run the Jewels (before RTJ were gigantically popular). Other artists who've played 80/35 over the years are The Shins, MGMT, The Decemberists, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kesha, to give you an idea. So you can definitely depend on there being at least one or two acts at 80/35 that you will be interested in (or maybe you'll find a new favorite). If you're a fan of bigger acts as well as local or smaller artists to check out, 80/35 might be a good fit for you. Just bring lots of water to hydrate and stay cool!

Another 5 star year at the 8035 Music Festival! Beautiful…read moreweather, beautiful location in down town DSM! This year there were 4 FREE stages open to anyone! And the the mainstage's sound was the loudest and proudest I have ever seen! I really dug seeing Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett, and I even dug Kesha - her show ruled! All the stuff I saw on the free stages were really great this year too! This was also the first year I spent a lot of time in the KIDS Zone and it was really fun with jumping blow ups, water guns, hoola hoops, and face painting! So many cool art sculptures, and music to be had! Always the best weekend in DSM of the year!

Winning a raffle for a 1day pass GA+ for 2 ppl and a GA parking pass was well worth the 4hr road…read moretrip adventure! The headliner on the day B and I went was Mumford and Sons. We got to the festival around 6pm. Walked the grounds to get a feel. Found the GA+ section, sat down, relaxed after getting some merch. Went to the restroom and I gotta say. GA+ had good men's bathrooms. Per B "they are like campground bathrooms instead of a port-a potty. And more importantly, they are air-conditioned." Who wouldn't want that in 80 degree weather. We got some mini donuts from Hoppers. Delicious and lighter compared to 'Tom Thumbs donuts(MN state fair anyone?!) I still prefer Tom Thumbs, but also enjoyed these. Found a bubblr station and tried them for the first time for free. The mixed berry was yummy! Then went on to get a THC 'climbing kite' beverage. Another tasty treat. They also let us sit in their chairs for a while. We drank and listened to Jessie Murph. As we headed back to the GA+ area we stopped at a stand and got a strawberry lemonade. It was a refreshing drink. We'd get it again. Maybe try the mango lemonade one as well. The walk back to the car was easy enough. There was one section of the walk right outside the security checkpoint that is gravelly. Kind of wished they'd clean that up a bit. Walking in and walking out, there were plenty of big rocks that if you weren't paying attention, you could easily trip or sprain your ankle. Especially on the walk back, the lights along the path are lacking. We would definitely do this again, if there is an artist we want to see enough. Now back to our hotel for the night before our 4hr adventure ends.

Everyone working the event was awesome! The grounds are huge. I think the food and bathrooms could…read morebe arranged in a way that isn't such a far walk. Everything was really spread out. Great sound and awesome lineup