music (afro-beat/jam/funk) You must be 21 + to enter the Vaudeville Mews after 9pm!

Micah Craven, Vice President of Dardis Communications, will discuss the power of clearly organizing one's thoughts, how to communicate with impact & how to present effectively at a dynamic level. Registration and information at www.cbpa.drake.edu/cps/events.

Showcase of the Hot New Acts in Country Music for 2009.

The All-Canada Show attracts over 300 of the finest lodges Canada has to offer…and our show is the largest gathering of Canadian lodges to appear in every one of our nine great Midwest markets. Free for children 12 and under

One of the most popular special events in Ankeny is the Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance for 1st - 5th graders. This event provides fathers, grandfathers, or father-figures an opportunity to take their daughters/granddaughters out for an evening of fun & dancing.
There will also be door prizes, refreshments & a dessert buffet. The evening's festivities will take place at the Northview Main Gymnasium.

Cost is $30 per couple & $10 for each additional daughter. Aaron Bone photography will be on hand for optional picture packages.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required! (Deadline January 23)

Don't miss a minute of the action as the Iowa Chops take the ice at Wells Fargo Arena. The Iowa Chops, AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, bring a new look and attitude to hockey in Des Moines. Iowa Chops Hockey…It's Swine Time!

Escape the long, cold, dreary Iowa winter at the Tropical Wine Festival! The festival will be held at the Botanical Center on Friday, February 6, from 6-9pm. The Tropical Wine Festival is being sponsored by the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail & its 15-member wineries. Be sure to wear your favorite tropical shirt & linger to win prizes/giveaways throughout the evening! Sample the best of Iowa-crafted wines from Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wineries. Wines will be available for purchase on site. Hors d'oeuvres will be served & all guests will receive a commemorative Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wine glass. For those wishing to extend the evening into their own private getaway, the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail has named the Renaissance Savery Hotel at 401 Locust downtown as their preferred event partner (a special event room rate has been arranged & guests wishing to take advantage of this opportunity should contact the hotel at (515) 244-2151 & ask for the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail event room rate). The Renaissance Savery will make complementary twice-hourly shuttle trips between the hotel & the Botanical Center. Tickets are available from Iowa's Wine Cellar in Ames, Ingersoll Wine & Spirits, Ingersoll Wine Merchants, the Southern Hills Store at Valley West Mall, the Iowa Favorites store at Jordan Creek Mall, or any Heart of Iowa Wine Trail member winery at www.heartofiowawinetrail.com.

Come to the 2nd Annual First Friday Breakfast Club Red Valentine's Party. Enjoy an evening of fun, music and wine in the spirit of Valentine's Day, benefiting the First Friday Breakfast Club scholarship fund. Guest Speaker: Alice Hoagland, mother of 9-11 hero Mark Bingham. Paricipate in a Silent Auction and "Best Dressed in Red" Contest.

A participatory theater program for children ages 4 - 6 years of age.

Go Red at Brenton Skating Plaza... This is an event to raise awareness about heart disease & to empower women together to fight it! Wear red & skate free!

Landscape in Passing: Photographs of Iowa; Ceramics: New York; Local Places, Remote Terrains: A Range of Photographs,

Performing his hilarious hit one-man play this Valentine season, Rex Havens presents "To Her With Love/What You Learn When She Thinks You're Not Listening" - a warm, positive & outrageously funny tale of love & marriage from the author of "Everything I Needed To Know I Learned From My Wife".

Contact Info: Joyce Watters (515) 288-7473

Thurs. Feb. 5: Say What! Poetry and Open Mic, 9pm, $5, Poetry/Acoustic Fri. Feb. 6: Here’s My Chance, Thoughts of Crossing, Shadows of the Broken, Calvary, 5 pm, All Ages, Rock Fri. Feb. 6: Plastic Apartment, 9:30 pm, $5, Rock Sat. Feb. 7: Finding the Warren, Breathe Electric, The Finest, Here’s My Chance, All the Right Moves, 5 pm, $9, All Ages, Rock Sat. Feb. 7 Rocket Transfer, Under Shallow Ground, Nathan and Jessie, The Ben Lehl Band 9:30 pm $7 Rock *

The Shrews are the nastiest of nasty girls with a brutal sense of humor! They cover all topics with a wicked slant. The theme of their show is popular & unusual, thus they have developed a loyal following (this show is rated Triple R for content & strong language).

DATES: February 3, 4 & 7!! Spend more zoorific days at the Blank Park Zoo with your toddler & our Zoo Tot friends! Enjoy new stories, hands-on activities, crafts & visits from animals. Classes are approximately 45 minutes & are for 2-4 year olds plus an adult. Regular registration includes admission to the Blank Park Zoo. Registration and prepayment are required.

Adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald. Based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
Join Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe, and all the other holders of the coveted Golden Ticket as they set off on their adventure through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - the greatest chocolate factory in the world - accompanied by Wonka himself! This new stage musical features the Oompa Loompa chants from the Gene Wilder film, as well as the songs ""Candy Man"" and ""Pure Imagination.""

Show Days & Times
7:00 PM Friday
1:00 PM Saturday
1:00 PM Sunday
4:00 PM Sunday (1:00 PM only on Feb. 8)

Tickets
$15.00 Adults/Seniors (62+)
$12.00 Students

Doubt, the 2005 Tony Award & Pulitizer Prize winner, is a breathtaking look at faith, guilt & the pitfalls of moral certainty. It's a tour de force for actors, a riveting experience for audiences & sure to stimulate lively debate.

Show Days & Times
7:30 PM Wednesday
7:30 PM Thursday
8:00 PM Friday
8:00 PM Saturday
2:00 PM Sunday

Tickets
$35.00 Adults Section A
$32.00 Seniors (62+) Section A
$24.00 Adults & Seniors SEction B
$20.00 Students Both Sections

The State Historical Museum marks Black History Month in February with a new display related to African American Iowans, issues and events. “Celebrating Black History Month” is on display now through March at the State Historical Museum, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines. Admission is free and open to the public. Hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and Noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit www.iowahistory.org for more information.

Stop out to Summerset for the great entertainment! Enjoy a bottle of the most popular Iowa wine in the state during the concert! If you're not familiar with our wines you may sample them before you purchase a bottle. We also offer cheese & crackers and other goodies to tempt your palate. Winter Schedule: Feb 1 Old School Feb 8 The El Dorado's Feb 15 Bunky Marlow Band featuring Janey Hooper - Also playing Valentine's Ball Feb 14. Feb 22 Tony Valdez & Don Jaques Mar 1 Ashanti.

Weekend Drop-In tours will be taking place every Sunday starting February 1st, ending March 29th at 2pm. Enjoy a FREE guided tour of the Art Center and exhibitions.

The State Historical Library is offering a workshop on how to navigate Access Newspaper Archives, an online database of historical newspapers. The workshop will be offered four times: 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. on Jan. 31, and Feb. 7. Through demonstrations, participants will learn how to search, view, save & print full-page digital images of newspapers pages. Although not as extensive as the Historical Library’s microfilm collection of Iowa papers, the Access Newspaper Archives contains more than 300 Iowa newspapers plus tens of millions of searchable newspaper pages from around the world dating back to the 1700s. Admission is $5 with pre-registration or $8 at the door. Contact State Historical Librarian Susan Jellinger at (515) 281-6897 or susan.jellinger@iowa.gov for more information.

After Many Springs: Regionalism, Modernism & the Midwest is the first exhibition to address the artistic battles that were waged simultaneously in New York & the Midwest during the 1930s & early '40s. In the midst of the Great Depression, one of the most contentious & fractious artistic debates emerged, one that pitted progressive modernist figures such as Jackson Pollock, Charles Sheeler & Philip Guston, against artists who sought a revival of tradition. Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry & Grant Wood fought against abstraction, believing that American subjects should be conveyed only by straightforward, recognizable imagery. While Benton would become one of the most vocal spokespersons for the movement that became known as Regionalism, his painting, like that of Wood, actually had its origins in abstraction & the Modernist movement.

DATES:
January 30 - February 1
February 4-8

The story of a suburban American family … they have everything they could want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down & leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. "Rabbit Hole" charts their bittersweet search for comfort, for dealing with loss & the hope of moving on into the light of day.

Doubt, the 2005 Tony Award & Pulitizer Prize winner, is a breathtaking look at faith, guilt & the pitfalls of moral certainty. It's a tour de force for actors, a riveting experience for audiences & sure to stimulate lively debate. Show Days & Times 7:30 PM Wednesday 7:30 PM Thursday 8:00 PM Friday 8:00 PM Saturday 2:00 PM Sunday Tickets $35.00 Adults Section A $32.00 Seniors (62+) Section A $24.00 Adults & Seniors SEction B $20.00 Students Both Sections

Directed by Josh Visnapuu.
Tallgrass Theatre Company's 3rd Annual Iowa Playwrights Workshop (IPW) was originally created in 2006 for the purpose of developing & showcasing fresh new works by Iowa writers. Writers are encouraged to submit one-act or full-length plays at any time to Tallgrass via electronic or hard copy.

Submissions accepted until September 15; Script to be announced October 15.
Auditions: November 24 and 25 @ 6:00 PM
Parts TBD

Comedy

Sleeping Dogs centers around 2 mothers who are trying to uncover facts surrounding a car accident that has left one woman's son dead & the other woman's son comatose. Their investigation, which leads to surprising & disturbing revelations, ultimately forces the mothers to re-examine the identities of themselves & the sons they thought they knew so well. Loosely based on a true story, Sleeping Dogs examines the complex & personal reasons why some people are content to accept matters as they appear to be while others are compelled to seek the truth at any cost. DATES/TIMES: January 23rd & 24th @ 7p.m.; January 30th & 31st @ 7p.m.; February 6th & 7th @ 7p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.tallgrasstheatre.org or www.iowatix.com.

Opening reception January 23, 5-8 p.m. Works on Paper: Drawings, prints & photography in new & traditional forms by: Leslie Bell, Heather Brammeier, John Phillip Davis, Noah Doely, Catherine Dreiss, Tracy Duran, Diane Henk, Frank Hansen, Larassa Kabel, Richard Kelley, Nancy Lindsay, Bill Luchsinger, Therese Murdza, Wayne Norton, Toby Penney, Anthony Pontius, John Siblik, Karen Strohbeen, Richard Taylor, Jeffrey Thompson, Chris Vance, Ignatius Widiapradja & James Woodfill. Artist Talk by woodcut artist Catherine Dreiss January 24,11 a.m.

Exhibition in Print Gallery: Different Realities European & American Prints and Drawings from the 1920s and 1930s.  See www.desmoinesartcenter.org for more information.

SUNDAYS ONLY - Join local musicians as they escape from the cold, dry winter to the warm tropical environment of the Botanical Center. Every Sunday in January & February a different artist will be performing in the Dome from 1pm-3pm. Admission $4 per person. Come down & join us for food, fun, and entertainment! DATES/SCHEDULE: Jan. 4: Matt Woods Jan. 11: Brad ""DeBrad"" McCloud & John Zantow of the Case of the Blues Band Jan. 18: Mojo Jono Jan. 25: Dewey Cantrell & Jodi Bodley Feb. 1: Hot Tamale Duo Feb. 8: Thunderbird Kingsley Feb. 15: Fat Tuesday Duo featuring Scott Long & Greg Sutherland Feb. 22: Lady Blue Duo featuring Tina Haase-Findlay

The State Historical Society of Iowa recognized the importance of visual works of art as documents of history and began collecting paintings as far back as 1857,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Cyndi Pederson said. “These paintings are important historical artifacts because they provide clues about the activities, attitudes, ideas, interests, prejudices and status of the people who created and displayed them.” The museum holds in its collection more than 300 historical paintings, most of them suffering from decades of exposure to sunlight, tobacco smoke, coal dust and fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Aging varnish and a build up of grime also combined to obscure the images. The vast majority of the collection had been on display or in storage at the former Historical Building (now the Ola Babcock Miller Building) at 1112 E. Grand Avenue before being relocated in 1988 to the current location, where it is now protected in a climate-controlled storage area. For two decades, museum staff has identified a select number of paintings to be conserved and displayed in exhibits, but a comprehensive effort targeting the entire collection had been too costly until recently. In 2004, museum staff contacted Illinois conservator Barry Bauman, who began offering complimentary services to museums and non-profit organizations in 2003. He charges only for supplies. Bauman, who operates Barry Bauman Conservation in River Forest, Ill., is an Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation. He was formerly the Associate Conservator of Paintings for the Art Institute of Chicago and the founder and owner of the Chicago Conservation Center. “Recovered Treasures” showcases a selection of 20 paintings conserved by Bauman, and highlights a cross-section of the works in the museum’s collection. These paintings represent almost $100,000 in donated services from Bauman. Treatment images of the exhibit paintings can be viewed on Bauman’s Web site: www.baumanconservation.com. Eighteen of the paintings come from the museum’s climate-controlled storage area, and the other two have been on display at Terrace Hill in Des Moines and Governor William Larrabee’s home, Montauk, which is a historic site near Clermont, Iowa.

Questions/comments: Call the gallery at 286-2242 or visit www.heritagegallery.org.

Two centuries of history are preserved in "The Working White House: Two Centuries of Traditions and Memories," an artifact-based traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, developed with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage & the White House Historical Association. The "Working White House" gives exhibit visitors a rare view of the inner workings of America's most renowned residence through the experiences, firsthand accounts & one-of-a-kind artifacts of the largely unrecognized people crucial to the everyday lives of our first families. For two centuries, workers at the White House have witnessed history in the making and, in the process, they have created their own. "The Working White House" showcases the souvenirs, housekeeping implements, clothing, letters, menus, photographs and other objects to help illustrate the full story of the presidential residence. New interviews conducted by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and WHHA staffers with past workers provide eyewitness accounts of White House work culture and will be included in an audio tour and exhibition video.