Local Players Perform Apartment 3A

Throughout the Iowa City Corridor there are many opportunities to enrich our lives with the various cultural arts and entertainment opportunities.  I just wanted to make sure that everyone heard about a new play coming to Iowa City called Apartment 3A.  This play is a comedy about a woman, who after having a failed relationship, moves into an apartment building full of unique characters and re-discovers her love for life.  Apartment 3A will also feature players from this area, a true opportunity for Corridorians to shine a light on their many talents. 

Details on Apartment 3A

Apartment 3A will be showing March 27 – April 13, 2008.  Ticket prices range from $12 – $24.  There are date night specials available, please ask for details.  To request tickets you may call the Riverside Theatre box office at (319) 338-7672, or you can buy tickets online.  If you need additional details about the play feel free to visit The Riverside Theatre online.

About Riverside Theatre:

Located at: 213 N. Gilbert Street

Iowa City, IA 52245

www.riversidetheatre.org

The Riverside Theatre was founded in 1981, and is the only resident, professional, non-profit theatre company located within 30 miles of Iowa City.  They provide a variety of plays for many different audiences year round.

 Sources:

http://www.goiowacity.com/calendar/venue.asp?VenueName=Riverside%20Theatre

http://www.riversidetheatre.org/index.htm

Local artists showcased at Make Art, Not War art show

Local artists will be displaying their work at the IMU tomorrow (March 28) as part of the University of Iowa Anti-war committee’s “Peace Week” celebration.
 
Make Art, Not War: Art Show and Campus/Community Literature Fair
2-7 pm, IMU Ballroom, 2nd floor
The event is free.
Visit www.aaronbos-wahl.com/imuartshow for more information.  

Food competition features Corridor chefs

If you’re a local foodie you won’t want to miss Iron Chef Iowa City. The competition will be held Friday, April 4, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Main Ballroom of the University of Iowa’s Iowa Memorial Union on Madison Street.

The free event is sponsored by the UI Center for Ethnic Studies and the Arts as part of the “Food, Ethnic Identities and Memory” symposium which includes four food-themed lectures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that same day.

Just like its cable namesake, teams of three chefs from the Iowa Memorial Union, Zins restaurant in Cedar Rapids and the New Pioneer Co-op will be given surprise ingredients and will have 15 minutes to improvise a recipe. They will have one hour to prepare a main dish and side dishes if they wish.

Four cameras cover the competition and broadcast live shots of the chefs in action. “Play-by-play” commentary and interviews will be projected on a screen for audience members.

The winning team will receive a plaque and a feature story in the Edible Iowa River Valley magazine featuring their winning recipes.

Marcia Hughes, vice president of the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, a local actress and singer, will serve as emcee. Commentators include Floyd Akins, senior director for development at the UI Foundation; Rikki Saltzman, folklorist for the state of Iowa; and Michael Knock, food writer for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Five judges will determine the competition winners: UI President Sally Mason and her husband, UI lecturer Ken Mason; Joe Jennison, executive director of Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, Beth Bewley, executive director of The Englert Theatre and president of the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance; and Wendy Wasserman, publisher of Edible Iowa River Valley.

Co-sponsors of the cookoff are IMU Food Services, Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance and Edible Iowa River Valley magazine. The UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the Harry Oster Folklore and Folk Music Memorial Fund, the Graduate College and the Office of the Provost provided funding for the event.

Corridor Welcome Reception to feature Rebecca Ryan

A Corridor collaboration between the Professional & Technical Diversity Network, Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA), Diversity Focus and Access Iowa will welcome Rebecca Ryan, author and founder of Next Generation Consulting, back to the Corridor on Monday, March 24.  

The collaboration will host a Corridor Welcome Reception for Ryan beginning at 5:30 p.m. at hotelVetro, 201 South Linn Street in Iowa City. The free reception is sponsored by IowaCoast.com. A short program will begin at 6 p.m.  Later that evening, Rebecca will read from her book, “Live First, Work Second,” on WSUI’s “Live at Prairie Lights” at 7:30 p.m. hosted by Julie Englander.

Ryan is well-known in the Corridor and throughout the nation as an expert on attracting and retaining young talent and bridging generational differences to make the workplace more effective.  Her description of what constitutes “cool communities” reverberates with young professionals and organizations throughout the U.S.  Released in March 2007, Rebecca’s self-published book is available from Prairie Lights in Iowa City and on her Web site: www.NextGenerationConsulting.com.

Economist and author Richard Florida (“The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class”) gives Rebecca a decisive endorsement in his foreword in her book.  As an entrepreneur, Ryan knows business rules. When she launched her Next Generation consulting business, she adopted a simple, three-step process which led to consulting success and her first book, “Live First, Work Second: Getting inside the head of the next generation.”  

For more than a decade, Rebecca has gathered information from more than 24,000 young people. Armed with data, Rebecca engages and captivates audiences with logic, business sense, her charm and understanding how the world of work is changing rapidly.

A Rockin’ Good Time

Another great family-friendly event is taking place this weekend — The 44th annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show.  My family has attended the last few years and it’s really a fun event.

Just looking at all the rocks, gems and fossils is quite the experience. They also have fun merchandise to buy as well as interesting activities for the kids.  Last year my son was able to do a dig for fossils in a big sandbox and our whole family enjoyed picking out a geode and watching them break it open to display the beauty inside.   Local jewelry makers are also on hand displaying their craft.

There is a small fee to attend.

March 15–16—Cedar Rapids, IA.
Cedar Rapids Rocks & Minerals Society
44th Annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show
Teamsters Union Hall, 5000 J St. S.W.
Info.—Leslie Blin, 319/377-3339.