Greetings, Cultural Adventurers:
3/24/2026
From Iowa’s cultural epicenter, Mainframe Studios at 900 Keosauqua Way in Des Moines, Iowa comes your Listener-supported Community Voice, the Award-Winning indie radio station, KFMG-LP 98.9 FM (streaming simultaneously at www.kfmg.org), bringing you music, literature & cultural content.
Quote of the Week –
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936), an English Christian apologist writer. Chesterton’s wit, paradoxical style, and defense of tradition made him a dominant figure in early 20th-century literature.
Newsletter content:
I. Iowa Flash Buzz – Iowa/Greater Des Moines cultural news of the week;
II. Guests on this week’s show;
III. Performance Arts (Greater Des Moines/Iowa);
IV. Visual Arts (Greater Des Moines/Iowa);
V. Auditions and other engagement opportunities (Greater Des Moines/Iowa);
VI. Planning ahead;
VII. Author events (Greater Des Moines/Iowa);
I. Iowa Flash Buzz –
Theatre Midwest at Des Moines Playhouse. The Gun Show. Mar 26-28. https://dmplayhouse.com/events/theatremidwest-presents-the-gun-show/
Iowa Stage Theatre Company is hosting its annual gala, Jazz & Jewels: A Night of Broadway Brilliance at Noce on March 28. You can find event details and tickets here: https://www.iowastage.org/copy-of2026-jazz-and-jewels-gala
Des Moines Performing Arts. The Wizard of Oz in concert with The Des Moines Symphony. Mar 28. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/broadway/the-wizard-of-oz-in-concert-with-the-des-moines-symphony
Des Moines Performing Arts – Applause Series. Taiko Project. Mar 30-31. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/applause/taikoproject
CALL FOR ARTISTS. Save the Date for the 16th Annual Art on the Prairie Festival 2026: Sat & Sun, Nov 14-15, 2026! The Artist Application for this juried show is now OPEN with deadline of Apr 1!
AUDITIONS: The EcoTheatre Lab. In Our Backyard: A New Eco-Play Festival! We invite you to sign up and/or spread the word! Mar 29 & 31, 6-9 PM at Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th St, Ames, IA. INFORMATION FOR ACTORS: Auditions are open to all community members, ages 18 and up! 35 roles will be cast, including stage directions readers, with stipends being paid. Actors may be cast in multiple roles. Auditions will consist of cold reads from the festival’s new plays. Performances will be staged readings, scripts in-hand.
Audition sign-ups and information can be found here:
www.ecotheatrelab.com/auditions.
II. This week’s guests on The Culture Buzz –
11:00 AM – The 2026 Poetry Palooza continues its ascension as one of America’s premier poetry events April 16-18, 2026 at Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa. Spoken word poet an event organizer Kelsey Bigelow shares some details about this immersive, FREE to the public, experience.
“From the novice to the veteran poet, Poetry Palooza is your creative immersion with kindred spirits, from poets laureate to national poets to some of Iowa’s best. Workshops, panel discussions, and more – bring your journal, your enthusiasm and your desire to expand your understanding of poetry’s power.” – The Culture Buzz
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https://www.poetryamp.org/poetry-palooza
11:19 AM – Adriane Leigh’s stellar career is filled with over thirty captivating adventures, romances, novellas, and psychological thrillers, which Society Women is her newest. Listen as Adriane shares glimpses into how this irresistible story came to be.
“Adriane Leigh never disappoints.”
— Jay Crownover, New York Times bestselling author
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11:32 AM – In Paradise Cove, Rabbi Dini Dunner edited and annotated George T. Nagel’s Paradise Cove: They Escaped the Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s not every day a Beverly Hills rabbi solves the mystery of a vanished Hasidic leader, only to uncover a story more astonishing than fiction. That’s exactly what happened to Rabbi Pini Dunner, British-born scholar and relentless seeker of forgotten lives in this fascinating book.
A fascinating biographical and cultural mystery finally solved by meticulous historical detective work.” – Jonathan Kellerman New York Times bestselling author of The Museum of Desire
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11:51 AM – Performing at the Temple Theatre in Des Moines April 4, 2026. Susan Werner’s Floridian sass is at its finest as se describes the inspiration for her EP The Birds of Florida.
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12:00 PM – Food Fight: Misguided Policies, Supply Challenges, and the Impending struggle to Feed a Hungry World is a masterwork by Richard J. Sexton analyzing the global challenges with feeding its populations.
“Sexton presents a realistic and brilliant critical review of our food system and agricultural economy. He traces how the pursuit of important concerns results in regulations that threaten the availability of food. This book is a must-read to understand the economics and policies affecting agriculture and food systems.”
—David Zilberman, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley
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https://www.ucpress.edu/books/food-fight/paper
12:16 PM – Releases this week. Recipe for Joy is an uplifting, poignant story about repairing fractured family ties, connecting generations through food, and coming of age in your middle age as only the gifted Monica Comas can write. Listen as she ties tantalizing elements together in this blue-ribbon winner of a story.
“Writing with a deep understanding of grief, grudges, and the difficult but essential path to forgiveness, Monica Comas has spun a heartwarming tale of healing and self-discovery. Recipe for Joy is an old-fashioned, hopeful hug of a novel, complete with recipes that are sweet to the tooth and nourishing to the soul.”
—Karen Dukess, USA today best-selling author of Welcome to Murder Week and The Last Book Party
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12:30 PM – Debbie Goldman explores how call center employees and their union fought for good, humane jobs in the face of degraded working conditions and lowered wages. Disconnected: Call Center Workers Fight for Good Jobs in the Digital Age is a brilliant and well-researched dive into a facet of today’s world that almost everyone interacts with.
“Disconnected is one of the most insightful accounts of corporate power, work, and unionism that I have read in years. Goldman’s research is meticulous, her judgments astute, and her prose crystal clear. She tells a story not of triumph but of resourcefulness and grit in an era of relentless corporate deregulation and technological change.”
–Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era
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https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p088155
12:45 PM – Love on Tour by Lee Adams is a wonderfully appealing debut novel, delivering a contemporary women’s romance novel about a woman in the country music industry navigating the ins and outs of love, friendship, jealousy, and life on tour. Listen as Lee shares insights into her muse for this excellent story.
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III. Performance Arts
1. Theatre Midwest at Des Moines Playhouse. The Gun Show. Mar 26-28. https://dmplayhouse.com/events/theatremidwest-presents-the-gun-show/
2. Iowa Stage Theatre Company is hosting its annual gala, Jazz & Jewels: A Night of Broadway Brilliance at Noce on March 28. You can find event details and tickets here: https://www.iowastage.org/copy-of2026-jazz-and-jewels-gala
3. Des Moines Performing Arts. The Wizard of Oz in concert with The Des Moines Symphony. Mar 28. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/broadway/the-wizard-of-oz-in-concert-with-the-des-moines-symphony
4. Des Moines Performing Arts – Applause Series. Taiko Project. Mar 30-31. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/applause/taikoproject
5. About Time Theatre Company. White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. Apr 1-4, at The Annex next to xBk Live. https://abouttimetheatre.com/
6. Des Moines Performing Arts, Des Moines Playhouse, Iowa Stage Theatre Company. Broadway Sing Along. Apr 3. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/broadway/broadway-sing-along-with-dmpa-and-the-dm-playhouse
7. CAP Theatre. J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Apr 17-19. https://www.captheatre.org/peter-pan/
8. Des Moines Playhouse. Crazy for You. Apr 17-May 3. https://dmplayhouse.com/events/crazy-for-you/
9. Des Moines Performing Arts – Wellmark Family Series at the Temple Theatre. Doodle Pop. Apr 15-18. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/applause/doodle-pop
10. Des Moines Symphony. Copeland & Gershwin. Apr 18-19. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/dm-symphony/hope-copland-and-gershwin
11. Community Jazz Center. Jazz Appreciation Month Festival. Apr 19, 11 AM – 4 PM at the Turner Jazz Center, Drake University. https://www.cjc-dsm.org/april-jazz-fest.html
12. Des Moines Playhouse. Improv theatre – Runaway Twain. Apr 19. https://dmplayhouse.com/events/runaway-twain-improv-aug25/
13. Des Moines Performing Arts – National Geographic Live Diving the Great Barrier Reef. Apr 22. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/national-geographic-live/diving-the-great-barrier-reef
14. Tallgrass Theatre Company. Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday. Apr 24-May 10. https://tallgrasstheatre.org/tickets/
15. Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre. Clue – High School Edition. Apr 24-May 3. https://www.dmyat.org/
16. Des Moines Playhouse. Adventure Clubhouse – Cinderella. Apr 24. https://dmplayhouse.com/events/cinderella/
17. Des Moines Performing Arts. Suffs. Apr 28-May 3. https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2025-26/broadway/suffs
IV. Visual Arts – Exhibitions
Exhibitions –
· The Avenues. New works of art will soon light up the night along Ingersoll Avenue this winter and spring.
Thru April 16: “Polychromatic Rabbit” by Heather Vail, of Corydon.
Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design, 2711 Ingersoll, sponsored an honorarium for each selected artwork, as artists deserve to be compensated for their work.
· Des Moines Art Center. Camille Henrot. Thru Mar 29.
· Des Moines Art Center. Bill Owens. “Work and Leisure,” thru Apr 19.
· Frank Hansen solo show – “Live at the Finken’-Engler House.” Immerse yourself with the opportunity to purchase some of Hansen’s Emotionalism Art. Fri Apr 10, 5-8 PM.
1. Des Moines Art Center. 2 Re-connect with old favorites on exhibit from their permanent collection. Explore the constantly changing exhibits, from staff-curated to international, always ready to stimulate the imagination and senses. Always open (except holidays), always free.
https://desmoinesartcenter.org/
2. Brunnier Art Museum. Ames. 2 This is the flagship for the University Museums, a treasure trove of visual arts immersion on the Iowa State University campus, which includes the Christian Petersen Art Museum, The Farm House Museum, the Anderson Sculpture Garden and the Art on Campus Collection. https://www.museums.iastate.edu/visit/brunnier-art-museum
3. The Grinnell College Museum of Art. Grinnell. 2https://www.grinnell.edu/campus-life/arts-culture/museum
4. 2AU. West Des Moines. 1,2
5. Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Des Moines 2 I added this destination for its unique value as a “living gallery,” where the constantly changing floral exhibitions entice and delight.
https://www.dmbotanicalgarden.com/
6. Heritage Art Gallery. 2 Des Moines. http://www.polkcountyheritagegallery.org/
7. Hoyt Sherman Place Art Gallery. 2 Des Moines. https://hoytsherman.org/gallery/
8. IN Tandem Arts & Authors. 1,2 Des Moines. https://www.facebook.com/INTandemArtsAndAuthors/
9. Kavanaugh Art Gallery. West Des Moines. 1,2
10. Kunzler Studios. West Des Moines. 1,2 kunzlerstudios.com
11. Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design. Des Moines.
12. Moberg Gallery. Des Moines. 2
13. Olson-Larsen Galleries. West Des Moines.1,2
14. Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines. 2
http://www.polkcountyheritagegallery.org/
15. Slow Down Coffee Shop. Des Moines. 2
https://www.theslowdowndsm.com/
16. Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure. Des Moines. 2 https://www.facebook.com/ZanzibarsCoffeeAdventure/
1Visit these galleries open during semi-annual Historic Valley Junction Gallery Nights.
2Check website for current exhibitions.
V. Auditions, Volunteer, and other Enhancement Opportunities –
“The Arts is a Contact Sport” (A Culture Buzz creed)
· AUDITIONS: Des Moines Playhouse. Legally Blonde. Apr 20. https://dmplayhouse.com/auditions/legally-blonde/
· CALL FOR ARTISTS. Save the Date for the 16th Annual Art on the Prairie Festival 2026: Sat & Sun, Nov 14-15, 2026! The Artist Application for this juried show is now OPEN with deadline of Apr 1! www.ArtonthePrairie.org
· CALL FOR ARTISTS. Mar 30 – Apr 30. Progress Iowa for the exhibit, called “PrintMaking Change,” celebrates the work they continue to create, and includes work from artists around Iowa. Exhibit on display from Mon., Mar. 30 to Thurs., Apr. 30
11 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday
https://www.mobilize.us/progressiowa/event/919087/
· Additional volunteer opportunities abound – now is a great time to explore how to find other ways to engage with Central Iowa theatre companies. Assistance is always welcome, from costume and set building, to ushering, to back stage crew, find a short-term commitment that will be immensely gratifying.
Check out these theatre companies to consider a wide range of engagement opportunities.
1. About Time Theatre Company. https://abouttimetheatre.com/shows/
2. Ankeny Community Theatre. https://www.ankenycommunitytheatre.com/audition.html
3. Carousel Theatre of Indianola. https://carouseltheatre.org/?page_id=344
4. Class Act Productions (CAP). http://www.captheatre.org/main/expect/
5. Des Moines Community Playhouse. https://www.dmplayhouse.com/audition-2/
6. Des Moines Performing Arts. https://desmoinesperformingarts.org/
7. Des Moines Young Artists Theatre.
8. Iowa Stage Theatre Company. https://www.iowastage.org/audition
9. Once in a While Productions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6717224708342610/
10. Pyramid Theatre Company. http://pyramidtheatre.org/
11. Tallgrass Theatre Company. https://tallgrasstheatre.org/audition/
12. Theatre Midwest. https://www.theatremidwest.org/
13. Urbandale Community Theatre. https://urbandaletheatre.com/get-involved/
VI. Planning ahead
Today marks the opening of “America 250: Prairie, Plows, and the People’s College“ at Farm House Museum, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary through more than 250 historical objects. The exhibition presents six themes—Early Iowa State, Early Iowa, Immigration, National Imagery, Native Stories, and Innovation and the Victorian Home—through decorative arts, textiles, furniture, and documents that trace Iowa State’s land-grant heritage. Visitors can see George Washington Carver featured in the 1896 Bomb yearbook, a hand-painted Norwegian Rosemaling trunk from 1852, the VEISHA bicycle from the 1890s, and other objects that reveal how Farm House residents and early Iowa State students lived and learned. The exhibition runs through October 2026 and is free and open to the public. Visit museums.iastate.edu for hours and more information.
Worth the trip – Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival 2026
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VII. Between the covers – author/book events worth noting:
1. Beaverdale Books. Melinda Wichmann. How to Live with a Ghost. Wed Mar 25, 6:30 PM.
2. Beaverdale Books. Rachel Yoder. Nightbitch. Thu Mar 26, 6 PM.
3. Beaverdale Books. Barry Markovsky. Everyday Extraordinary: A Scientist Ponders a Lifetime of Magical, Bizaare, and Paranormal Experiences. Fri May 15, 6:30 PM.
4. Marshalltown Public Library. C J Williams. A Monster in Mount Pleasant. Sun Mar 29, 2-3 PM.
5. Beaverdale Books. Terri Leedom Play the Game: A Caregiver’s Journey of Navigating Dementia. Mon Apr 6, 6:30 PM.
6. Beaverdale Books. William Green. This Is the Route of My Forefathers. Wed Apr 8, 6:30 PM.
*Highlighted author names indicate interviews are in The Culture Buzz Archive Library.
Please visit: https://archive.org/details/@the_culture_buzz
Greater Des Moines/Central Iowa Independent Book Stores:
The Culture Buzz encourages you to visit your local independent book store regularly. Check these sites, as their calendars are always filled with enticing activities and news.
1. Beaverdale Books, Des Moines.
http://www.beaverdalebooks.com/
2. Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines Historic East Village.
https://storyhousebookpub.com/
3. The Little Book, Des Moines (Highland Park District).
https://www.thelittlebookdsm.com/
4. Shelf Love DSM, Des Moines (Drake Neighborhood).
5. Nos Books, Des Moines (Drake Neighborhood). https://www.nosbookstore.com/
6. Reading in Public Bookstore + Café, Historic Valley Junction.
7. Indie Authors Book Expo, Valley West Mall. https://iabe515.wordpress.com/
8. Pageturners Bookstore, Indianola.
http://www.pageturnersbookstore.com/
9. Dog-eared Books, Ames.
https://dogearedbooksames.com/
10. Read a Book Nook, Marshalltown.
https://read-a-book-nook.business.site/
11. Book Vault, Oskaloosa.
https://bookvault.indielite.org/
12. Pella Books, Pella.
13. Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City.
https://www.prairielights.com/
Thank you for your cultural adventurism,
John Busbee for The Culture Buzz
