A L W A Y S
ISSUE 304 March 2022
F R E E
WEATHER
Y OU LI K E I T O R N O T Into the Iowa storm
PG. 24
El Santuario de Iowa City
Unsung Oscar nominees
A Chicago superhero
Everything is Terrible
PG. 23
PG. 38
PG. 40
PG. 44
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Vino Vérité is a series of thought-provoking, chance-taking, and visually-arresting films paired with hand-selected wines and dessert. University of Iowa alum Erin Casper earned the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance for this spellbinding tale of two scientists journeying to the edge in pursuit of jou their love for volcanos and each other.
MARCH 6, 8PM
Filmmaker Erin Casper joins us in person! Ticket includes film, reception and handpicked wine.
www.icfilmscene.org/vino-verite
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Issue 304, Volume 31
Arts Editor
Adith Rai
March 2022
Genevieve Trainor
adith@littlevillagemag.com Cover by Jordan Sellergren
genevieve@littlevillagemag.com Digital Director Managing Editor
Drew Bulman
From 500-year floods to December
Emma McClatchey
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derechos, weird weather has
emma@littlevillagemag.com
become the norm. In this issue, Videographer
LV explores storm-chasing, Cedar
News Director
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Meet this month’s guest contributors: Steven A. Arts is a writer and
Dr. Dawson is the founder of
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photographer living in Cedar
@hiphophealing, a local business
Calendar/Event Listings
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Rapids.
dedicated to cultivating hip hop’s
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joseph@littlevillagemag.com Corrections
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soul.
and literary translator who lives Distribution
near Iowa City. He hybridizes
Thomas Dean is Senior
Terrance Banks,
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Presidential Writer/Editor at the
March Contributors
Luke Brooks
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University of Iowa and has been
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OFFICES
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W. Alex Choquemamani, Chad
Little Village
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Ben Delgado is the Programming
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Iowa City, IA 52240
weird stories and plays music with
City.
tian, John Martinek, Kembrew
the Shining Realm. Kembrew McLeod is a founding
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Top Stories Daily news updates, events, restaurant reviews and videos at LittleVillageMag.com.
UI’s LGBTQ Clinic, a ‘haven’ for trans and nonbinary patients, marks 10
Farewell, fried chicken: John’s Grocery is closing its kitchen
years of breaking down barriers
By Sid Peterson, Feb. 2
By Adria Carpenter, Feb. 2
John’s Grocery began serving up freshly prepared food in the 1950s.
“It’s one of my most favorite jobs that I’ve had ever, and the absolute
Despite decades of success selling deli sandwiches, potato salad,
most rewarding,” said Bridgette Hintermeister, an RN at the LGBTQ
cheeseburgers, baked goods and fried chicken, the kitchen will close
Clinic. “Teaching a brand new patient how to do their own testosterone
indefinitely starting Feb. 4. John’s is shifting its focus to expanding in
injections, or how to apply estrogen patches, and they start to cry, and
other areas, such as online shopping, manager Doug Alberhasky said.
they’re so happy about it ... it’s so awesome to see that.”
As McConnell calls Jan. 6 ‘a violent insurrection,’ Grassley and Ernst
WATCH: Hot to Pot at Iowa City’s Szechuan House
avoid giving direct answers on the issue dividing Republicans
By Jason Smith, Feb. 25
By Paul Brennan, Feb. 8
Few things beat sharing a meal with friends and family,
The Republican National Committee’s attempt to whitewash the Jan. 6,
but doing it gathered around a simmering chili-infused
2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “legitimate political discourse” while
broth does spice things up. Little Village asked Aaron
condemning two Trump-critical party members has led to pushback from
Pang, a writer and foodie who grew up on hot pot and
GOP senators, Politico reported on Tuesday. That pushback does not
has recently relocated to Iowa City from San Francisco,
include Iowa’s two Republican senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.
to invite some friends for dinner at Szechuan House and talk about their experience with this treasured tradition in Chinese cuisine. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THINK IOWA CITY
WATCH Hot to Pot at Iowa City’s Szechuan House
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THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS This issue of Little Village is supported by: 80/35 (42) Adamantine Spine Moving (14) Arnott & Kirk (71) Artifacts (47) Brides by Jessa (59) Cedar Rapids Czech Village/New Bohemia (60) - Goldfinch Cyclery - NewBoCo - The Daisy - Parlor City Pub & Eatery - Next Page Books City of Iowa City (33) Chorale Midwest (46) The Club Car (35) Coralville Public Library (6) Corridor Entertainment Group (5) Crowded Closet (46) CSPS (48) Dodge St. Tire (70) FilmScene (66) Firmstone Real Estate (41) Goodfellow Printing, Inc. (41)
Grinnell College Museum of Art (39) Gross Domestic Product (42) Hancher Auditorium (72) Health (55) Honeybee Hair Parlor (50) Hotel Grinnell (11) ImOn (53) Iowa City Downtown co-op (27) - Beadology - Release Body Modification - Record Collector - Yotopia - Merge - Critical Hit Games - Fix! Iowa Children’s Museum (55) Iowa City Northside Marketplace (64) - Artifacts - George’s - John’s Grocery - R.S.V.P. - Hamburg Inn No. 2
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Little Village magazine print readership 25,000—40,000 per issue LittleVillageMag.com readership 200,000 monthly article views 74,000 unique monthly visitors
RECENT READER SURVEY DATA MEDIAN AGE: 37 25—34: 26% 35—44: 22% 45—54: 17% 55—64: 14% 65+: 10% 18—24: 9%
AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN 1.85
MEDIAN PERSONAL INCOME: $55k 26%: $40k—60k 18%: $60k—80k 17%: $100k+ 17%: $20k—40k 12%: <$20k 11%: $80k—$100k
GENDER
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Letters & Interactions LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere. I HAVE LIVED for almost three years in Iowa City. From the very beginning, I have been reading Little Village. Thank you for your dedication; I had a chance to get knowledge about city life and the people here by reading it. I want to share my writing with you. Feeling the pain of being forced to emigrate, I wrote a simple poem. If you publish it, I would be happy. I like your perspectives that embrace all kind of differences, uniqueness that people have. It meets my need for acceptance. I dedicate this poem to people who have no better choice unless they leave their country and loved ones to live a slightly better life. At the same time, I share their pain with people living in occupied countries.
14 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
The rainbow stretches over my thoughts A sinking boat is on the flat sheet as it gets wet Everyone left behind loves me inside my head Some towns are cold when you get back there Wave flows through the shore of the bed Little tears, lots of thoughts on my way Waves and tears find their way to the river The river On the side of a house Sometimes Sun shines On the side of our lives —Pinar Emirahmetoglu
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HI—THANK YOU for the article about Berkeley Breathed and the return of Bloom County! You might be curious to learn that Breathed offered up a piece of artwork to the [Iowa City Public Library] prior to the one that hangs there now. The library decided it was not
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L E T T E R S
&
I N T E R AC T I O N S
appropriate and my mom, part of the “swellest public library in the known universe” staff, ended up with it (nobody wanted a picture of Steve Dallas smoking a cigarette
hanging in the ICPL, apparently). As I spent much of my childhood hanging out in the ICPL, I’m proud to have it hanging on my wall now. —Britt Searles
I N T E R AC T I O N S LV asked: Who is the best meteorologist in Iowa? Out of more than 400 responses (including many variations on “my left knee,” “my joints” and “the local timber witch”), these were the top 10 most beloved forecasters.
because of less mechanical issues, fuel, and environmental bonuses. —Ben S. With a call for ‘fresh eyes,’ Chuck Swanson announces retirement from Hancher (Feb. 1)
Ed Wilson, WHO13, Des Moines Megan Salois, WHO13 Jeriann Ritter, WHO13 Jason Sydejko, KCCI TV8, Des Moines Joe Winters, KCRG-TV9, Cedar Rapids Kaj O’Mara, KCRG-TV9 Amber Alexander, WHO13 Nick Stewart, KGAN/KFXA, Cedar Rapids Terry Swails, Midwest Weather (tswails.com) Jason Parkin, KCCI TV8
Congratulations Chuck! Enjoy retirement. Your contribution to the University was great! —Maureen M.
Iowa City’s new electric buses quietly creating a ‘paradigm shift’ in public transit (Jan. 31)
Omg my husband is crying right now. “No! The four piece!” Pray for me. Pray for [him]. — Whitney R.
But not too quiet? I hope electric buses are also subject to the regulation that they need to make some noise at low speeds? —Dina B. People are struggling to make rent and pay their heating bills and we’re spending $5.5 mil on buses? —Paul H. fair point, but grants paid for a huge chunk. And the remaining amount is divided by four. Which is actually a good price for a vus. Let alone an electric bus. Really it’s more savings
Farewell, fried chicken: John’s Grocery is closing its kitchen (Feb. 2) Don’t do it Doug. —Jamie P. As somebody whose diet consists of at least 30% John’s Grocery chicken, this is devastating. —Ben C.
I will pray for you and your family. Sorry for your loss. Please also pray for me and my family during these impossible circumstances. We aren’t just losing fried chicken, but also potato salad. —Shannon O. There’s gotta be someone in this town who would help Doug create a “John’s Chicken” food truck. —Amy S. This and the Mill? It’s like college is really over. —Heather F.
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I N T E R AC T I O N S Sadddd. In 1993 my parents moved downtown only a few blocks from Dirty John’s, and we had no kitchen for about a year! I lived on John’s Grocery fried chicken and potato salad that year!!! I have to call my mom. She’s not going to take this well, she still goes to John’s all of the time for chicken and potato salad. —Shannon O. I would have died of hunger in undergrad if it wasn’t for that kitchen. —James Y. Best fried chicken of my life. I weep for the IC community. —Amber A. Gov. Reynolds: COVID-19 is now ‘part of our everyday lives,’ no longer ‘a public health emergency’ (Feb. 3) I’m glad we’re hearing this from the person who purposely diverted Covid relief funds to pay her staff instead. Thank God we’re in such good hands. —Alex C. As McConnell calls Jan. 6 ‘a violent insurrection,’ Grassley and Ernst avoid giving direct answers on the issue dividing Republicans (Feb. 8) Republicans in disarray. This is not a party ready to lead in 2022 OR 2024. Just completely unorganized and can’t agree on a simple question about protecting democracy. You can’t have people breaking into the capital to overturn an election result they didn’t like. You just can’t. —@CalvinPoolidge on Twitter More evidence every day of how close we came to ending our democracy, and the continuing failure of Trump Senators, now trying to destroy democracy through legislation, and having the gall to call January 6 “legitimate political discourse.” —@WheezyNC on Twitter “The difference between a hero and a coward is one step sideways.” Gene Hackman. —@Quote4That on Twitter COVID-19: Gov. Reynolds says ‘We need to move on,’ IDPH reports another 172 deaths (Feb. 9) Let’s not forget about, her pandemic 18 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
right hand “man,” Dr. Pedati who was rewarded a 45% pay raise as she sat and watched people fall. She moved on from pandemic almost as soon as it started! —Saba S. Yes, we must go on. But we can do so with empathy and concern for others. Unfortunately, this governor shows no compassion for the 8500+ Iowans who have died from Covid. This lack of compassion is so hurtful for the friends and families left behind to grieve. Leadership without empathy is not leadership at all. —Jane S.Z.
STRESS FRACTURES
I wonder who she thinks is going to take care of all the sick people when there are no more health care workers left because we have all bailed from the profession, or died from it treating others? This “Governor” has no clue, and just want to brush this under the rug to try and get re-elected. She is just horrible for our state. —Blaidd D. Iowa reported 172 more coronavirus deaths for its weekly update (Feb 2-9) that Governor Reynolds is stopping. That is 24.6 deaths per day, the leading cause of death in Iowa. Please help stop the spread, stay healthy, and save lives. —Rob Hogg JOHN MARTINEK
L E T T E R S
&
I N T E R A C T I O N S
‘State-sanctioned bullying’: Iowa House Republicans advance bill to ban transgender students from playing girls sports (Feb. 10) Wheeler should be impeached for violation of church and state. You can’t use the Bible as an excuse to make laws in this country. I’d also love to see, exactly, what part of the Bible talks about transgender people. Pretty sure it’s not in there anywhere. Plenty of stuff about how to beat your slaves, plenty of stories about getting your father drunk so you can have sex with him to get pregnant, plenty of stories about genocides. Yet the Bible is strangely silent on transgender issues. It’s silent on whether or not it’s moral to own other human beings as property, too. It’s not a book that you can justify making any laws on and anyone stating that is unfit for office. —Steven G. 1000 kids in a high school. 500 cis girls, 5 trans girls (1%). So 500 to 5. Yea, real scary. First, they gotta be out and second, they better be damned good
B R O C K
A B O U T
LittleVillageMag.com
to be a threat. The low hanging fruit of transphobia. —Jacqueline B.W.
years ago, late at night, looking like Bill the Cat. —Harrison M.
Republican majority on House Education Committee unanimously approves ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports (Feb. 15)
I still have dreams about the different rooms in that house. —Annette C.
Of course they did! —Barbara G. “He did not cite any examples of this alleged harm. As Keenan Crow of One Iowa, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ Iowans, explained during the subcommittee hearing, ‘Iowa hasn’t had a single incident of even alleged unfairness, let alone a documented case.’” —Ben S. ‘Bloom County’ is coming to television as an animated series, bringing echoes of Iowa City with it (Feb. 19) To love this any more there would have to be two of me. —Jose N. I have certainly walked out of that house,
T O W N
News from my neighborhood! Love walking past this house on my way to work. I remember reading this strip as a kid (over my head! ), but still had an Opus stuffy. Plus, his children’s book Red Ranger is a family favorite! —Katie R. Daylight Donuts is closing, and Donutland is returning to Iowa City (Feb. 21) I’ve never had a donut from Donutland, Dunkin’, Hurts, Hy-Vee, etc. that tasted as good as a Daylight donut. They were/are the only truly good donut for sale in this area. —Erin M. All these people saying Daylights is best probably haven’t tried Donutland chocolate cherry donuts, or Donutland in general. You’re in for a treat. —Lisa D.B.
HELLO, DEAR READERS, and welcome to the weather issue. An apt theme, I think, as we barrel into what we here in Iowa very generously refer to as spring. In reality, it’s two months of light snow showers, punctuated with false hope. It’s particularly stressful for people like me, who do not and will never possess the organizational skills required to check the weather every morning before getting dressed. Three times so far this year, I’ve left the house in a sundress and driven home from work in a blizzard. I have also lost my phone in the fridge multiple times, but that’s neither here nor there. Perhaps because we have so much going on in this department, we Iowans love to talk about the weather. It’s the perfect topic to fulfill our fetish for polite small talk: uncontroversial, undemanding and of interest to practically everyone. The average office worker in Iowa will hear about the weather 4,712 times every week. That’s a real statistic, and that’s because it’s working for us. Nobody, in the history of the world, has complained about this status quo, and yet here I am, begging you to stop, because if I have to hear about wintry mix one more time, I am going to lose my mind. Here’s an exercise in alternatives: Picture tomorrow. There you are in the break room, waiting for your low-sodium minestrone to heat up and fantasizing about climbing out the window, faking your own death and moving to Bora Bora. You’re not even 20 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
AUDREY BROCK
100 percent sure you could point to Bora Bora on a map, but it has to be better than here. Suddenly, you see Cara from administration out of the corner of your eye. She’s here to reorganize the Keurig cups and make sure you haven’t exceeded your 30-minute lunch break. The silence between you is so thick, you could cut it with one of those flimsy plastic butter knives they keep in here for some reason. God, this is awkward. You have to say something, but what is there to say to a woman who has a framed photo of someone else’s pug on her desk? You open your mouth and say… • “Did you hear what Todd said about Jessica?” Can’t go wrong with good, old-fashioned office gossip. People look down on gossip because the Bible said not to do it or something, but Jesus underestimated how much of modern life would be built on talking shit about innocent people. • “Yesterday, I saw a dog wearing a sweater, and—” Another option is to put her off completely by just being yourself. There’s nothing people hate more than when you’re vulnerable and honest about who you really are, so if you want her to stop looking over your shoulder while you’re on Facebook, let fly with that internal monologue. • “So, how about this war?” Look at you, all grown up and talking about current events!
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I N T E R A C T I O N S The thing I regretted most about living in Iowa City was having to drive to Cedar Rapids to buy the blueberry donuts at Donutland. No one does cake donuts like Donutland and I’ve got the waistline to prove it! —Brent W. It’s the circle of life... get it? Like a donut is a circle? Ya? —Charlie M. Iowa House Republicans approve ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports, extending the ban to colleges and universities (Feb. 22) Why is it any elected official’s business to be talking about “the Holy Spirit” in the line of duty? —Samuel F.W. Damn, remember when Iowa was a swing state? —Hung T. Not only is this discriminatory and exclusionary — it would also cost Iowa untold legal fees and potential federal
funding cuts as it would violate Title IX and non-discrimination laws. —Sean F. So what, do they want to bring conversion therapy back? This rhetoric has no place in 2022 for gods sake. I used to think I was lucky living in Iowa and raising my daughter here. Now my state just makes me so sad and so so disappointed. Thank the gods the ICCSD wants to fight this! —CJ S.
/LittleVillage READER POLL: Given the choice, would you rather have President’s Day (third Monday in February) or Election Day (first Tuesday in November) off of work/school? Election Day 93%
President’s Day 7%
Separation of church and state is working out real well… Along with the GOP’s grand idea of small government. All girls deserve to play sports. This bill is disgusting. —Abigail G.
Covid Kim getting the boost. —Jeffery J.
Jeff.Shipley@legis.iowa.gov, 319-4323108. —Erick W.
She’s getting groomed for a VP nom. —Lindsey
Gov. Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address (Feb. 22)
This is a cursed task. Has anyone had a career boost from delivering one of these? Rubio, Jindal, Joe Kennedy, it’s an impossible speech. —Trevor J.
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JS
Cortado Santuario de letras y guitarras
E
POR W. ALEX CHOQUEMAMANI
s un viernes de diciembre del 2021, y afuera hace frío. Pero esta antesala al invierno de Iowa no es motivo para no reunirse en el Sanctuary Pub de Iowa City, tomar una cerveza y escuchar cuentos, historias y poemas en idioma español. Esta noche no es una cualquiera porque esta actividad literaria llamada Subtituladxs se realiza después de dos años; una pausa larga producto de la pandemia. Por ello no me equivoco si digo que el público asistente esa noche estuvo alegre, motivado, y no menos de uno tenía ánimo de fiesta. Y también lo estaban Arturo Camacho (Colombia), Lara Dopazo (España), Mireya Hernández (España), Javier Hernández (Colombia) y Lupita Zavaleta Vega (México), todos ellos y ellas estudiantes del programa de escritura creativa en español de la Universidad de Iowa. Es cierto que los textos se leyeron en idioma español, pero hubo también una traducción de los mismos al idioma inglés, la cual se proyectó sobre una pantalla ecran. Este detalle ha permitido que más personas puedan asistir y disfrutar de buena literatura en español. Pero hubo más cosas aquella noche en el Sanctuary Pub. En un ambiente contiguo a la actividad literaria hay música en vivo a cargo del grupo Cedar County Cobras de Iowa City. Ellos tocan canciones de música blues, y otros de sus temas son una mezcla de blues, rock y folk. En todo caso, para mí es más fácil mirar la guitarra de acero del músico Tom Spielbauer, escuchar su voz grave, ver como golpea la batería de pie, y escuchar cómo suena el contrabajo de su compañera, April Dirks. Todo esto es más fácil y hermoso que intentar clasificar la música que él y ella están tocando esta noche. A simple vista blues y literatura parecen dos cosas distintas, una alejada de la otra. Pero aquella noche de diciembre, en el Sanctuary, yo no había visto tanta familiaridad entre la música blues y la literatura. ¿Será acaso porque la literatura es también una forma de música y el blues una forma de literatura? Yo pienso que sí, en tanto ambas artes son expresiones profundas del alma humana y el fuego abrasador de la vida. Termina el evento literario-musical, mas no termina la noche. Algunos comienzan a buscar sus abrigos, otros comienzan a abandonar el Sanctuary, quizás en busca de más música y literatura. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 23
Community UR Here
Our Cloudy Kin There is no bad weather, just bad neighbors. BY THOMAS DEAN
B
rother Snow. Sister Rain. Auntie Sunshine. Uncle Cloudy. Grandfather Cold. Grandmother Warmth. Cousin Storm. Mother Earth. Welcome to the family of weather—our kin. Ecological understanding is about wholeness, knowing that the earth—as a whole system, organism or being (what many call Gaia)— comprises diverse, interdependent beings (or organisms, if you prefer) that live together and support each other in a web of reciprocal relationships. Much of science has come to understand this pretty well for at least 50 to 100 years; Indigenous peoples have known this for thousands. Weather is an integral part of the genius that is the living earth. In recent years, “kinship” has been used more and more to describe the entangled relationships of our world, especially to help us humans understand that we are as much part of this ecological web—as both givers and takers—as any other form of life, that indeed all of life is our kin, that we are kin to all of life. In fact, in the past year, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gavin Van Horn and John Hausdoerffer, under the auspices of the Center for Humans and Nature, have edited a five-volume book series with the overarching title Kinship. But, again, this is nothing new: For centuries, many Indigenous peoples have said some version of “all my relations” or “we are all related” in their greetings, prayers and thanks, acknowledging that the ultimate expression of humanity is our oneness with all of creation. Our animal creature kin range from the unseen microbe up to the charismatic megafauna (such as bison and elephants). But our relations include every manner of life, including plants and basic elements. They also include systems, such as waterways, forests and prairies. And so to my point—weather is also our kin. Weather consists of three simple but fundamental things—air, water and sunlight (or energy, if you prefer). Without those essentials, life simply wouldn’t exist. In its simplest systematic terms (forgive me, meteorologists), weather is just the behavior of air and water moving around, powered by sunlight. But from an ecological perspective, we are enmeshed in weather simply by virtue of our existence. And therefore from a 24 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
Jordan Sellergren / Little Village
community to all that lives—is needed for us to be in right relationship with the rest of the living world. A sense of kinship with all that lives—and genuine acts of “kinning,” as Kimmerer, Van Horn, Hausdoerffer and others would say—can lead to that care for the world we need to practice. MOST OF THE TIME, AT LEAST IN A This kind of kinship certainly calls STABLE ENVIRONMENT, THE WEATHER for a major attitudinal shift among IS DOING WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO: BEING much of humanity today. We often see our lack of kinship in everyday attiPROVIDENTIAL. THAT IS, PROVIDING tudes toward weather. We’re coming FOR LIFE ON EARTH, INCLUDING OURS. out of winter, which bears the brunt of most anti-kinship attitudes here in the superior to, the rest of the earth. This attitude has Midwest, though there will be plenty of sourled to the mindset that the earth is for our use pussing in the coming seasons as well, as many and exploitation, that nature is a “resource” for start to complain about heat and humidity. Many treat “bad” weather as a personal afour comfort and consumption. And that attitude is the root cause of today’s ecological problems: front, an inconvenience or a comfort feature pollution, climate instability and catastrophe, of a living space that has been denied to them. Weather is not akin to a swimming pool in an mass extinction, desertification, you name it. An ethic of care—which Aldo Leopold in apartment complex or a nice view out of a the 1940s called a “land ethic,” extending the west-facing window. And it certainly isn’t trying kinship perspective, weather is our relative. The ecological consequences of a kinship perspective can be significant. For a long time, many humans, especially in the Western world, have considered themselves separate from, even
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to make you miserable or disrupt the ease of your planned day. It can certainly do those latter things, but much of that misery or disruption often derives from our attitude or relationship—not the weather itself. As with the human kin we care about, what we need to do is reasonably accommodate ourselves to, not fight against (because you can’t) or fling hatred at, the weather. Most of the time, at least in a stable environment (more on that in a minute), the weather is doing what it needs to do: being providential. That is, providing for life on earth, including ours. The snow, cold, warmth, sunshine, clouds, rain and wind are providing the temperature regulation, cycles of moisture and varied climates that grow our food, create a habitable home and give us beauty. Weather is about our existence, our flourishing on a beautiful planet, not our convenience. A couple of important caveats. First, yes, weather is sometimes destructive. Tornadoes, hurricanes, torrential rains and drought, for example, are weather phenomena that cause damage and loss of life. That can’t be denied. But second, our non-kinship attitudes toward the earth, including weather, are what have caused such destructive storms to escalate, to become even more frequent and out of control. Some say you can’t change the weather, but we already have—for the worse. And we have it in our power to at least slow the climate damage we’ve caused and, if we were truly kin to the earth, to stabilize and over time reverse at least some of the catastrophe of our own making. Kinship’s companion posture is gratitude. How can there be anything but thankfulness for what gives us our own life and the multiplicity of life around us? And that has to include our air, water and light, and that has to include how they move around to provide what is needed for life. No one’s asking you to compose a poem while shoveling snow, perform an interpretive dance in below-zero weather or share a candlelight dinner with high humidity (though you should do any or all of those things if you want to). In our everyday lives, we all sometimes get frustrated at seemingly endless cold snaps and heat waves, snowstorms in April and day after day of clouds and rain. But even then, we need to relate to weather in the only proper way: as our kin (even when it annoys the heck out of us), and with humility and gratitude rather than arrogance, anger and even hate.
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Thomas Dean knows that crazy Uncle Tornado will visit this spring, but he admits he doesn’t want him to.
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L I R L H THE
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Eat your heart out, Helen Hunt. Iowa storm chasers have a front-row seat to some of the craziest weather events on record. BY ADRIA CARPENTER
A
s soon as Mark De Bruin had a car and a license, he was chasing storms. “Since I was a little kid, I would always go out on the porch and watch whatever storm came by my house, and I always just found them so fascinating,” said De Bruin, a junior meteorology major at Iowa State University. “A lot of us just have this unexplainable lifelong passion for storms and severe weather … Honestly, I can’t really explain it.” De Bruin is one of many storm chasers in the Midwest. Some chase to experience and photograph the beauty of tornadoes and supercells, while others conduct research on severe weather phenomena. Storm chasers, as well as skywarn spotters, are the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service (NWS), providing on-theground information for weather warnings that can save lives. 28 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
The severe weather warning system relies on three factors: radar, environmental observations and spotters, said Rich Kinney, a warning coordination meteorologist. Kinney works at the NWS Forecast Office in the Quad Cities, which covers 36 counties across central Illinois, northeast Missouri and eastern Iowa, including Linn and Johnson County. “If you take any one of those three factors out of the equation, that would not be good. Spotters are vitally important to really telling us what’s going on,” he said. The most dangerous severe weather events are EF3, EF4 and EF5 tornadoes, which have over 135 mph winds, though these are rare, Kinney said. Most tornadoes in Iowa are EFU (unknown), EF0 or EF1 tornadoes, with wind speeds up to 112 mph. Those last from a few seconds to five minutes and aren’t as destructive.
De Bruin witnessed his first tornado when he was 17. “I saw it in my hometown of Pella, Iowa,” he said. “Since then I’ve chased 30 tornadoes in the last five years.” There have been 892 tornadoes in Iowa from 2006 to 2021, causing 19 deaths and 227 injuries, NWS data shows. Tornadoes have caused over half a billion dollars in property and crop damage since 2006, typically around $5 million a year, excluding outliers. Storm chasers and skywarn spotters reported 158 tornadoes of those 892 tornadoes to the NWS. “With the storm chasers in our area, they give us great data,” Kinney said. “Instant data, right up to the minute, so we can look at that radar, and compare it to what they’re telling us in the field.” There have been 17 EF3 or EF4 tornadoes
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Climate Corn-trol A
Jordan Sellergren / Little Village
since 2006, and only one EF5, a 15-mile-long tornado that struck Butler County in 2008. In 26 minutes, that tornado killed nine people, injured 50 and caused $75 million in damage. Another EF4 tornado in 2008 lasted 45 minutes.
eight minutes, injuring 30 people and damaging 1,016 residential and 35 commercial buildings. Storm chase season lasts from March to September, De Bruin said, though his group has chased even later into the year. Peak season
THE SEVERE WEATHER WARNING SYSTEM RELIES ON THREE FACTORS: RADAR, ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATIONS AND SPOTTERS. “IF YOU TAKE ANY ONE OF THOSE THREE FACTORS OUT OF THE EQUATION, THAT WOULD NOT BE GOOD.” —RICH KENNEY “We’ve actually had tornadoes in our area in every single month of the year,” Kinney said. Some of Kinney’s coworkers also chase storms, but he doesn’t. One tornado hit Iowa City in April 2006, an EF2 with 155 mph winds. The tornado lasted
starts in late May until June. His friends and other meteorology students have traveled as far as Colorado, sometimes spending a full week storm chasing. De Bruin is a self-taught storm chaser. He learned how to read long-range weather
s someone who grew up in semi-tropical south Louisiana, I didn’t think Iowa had anything to teach me about humidity. I was wrong. Iowa, of course, is the most corn-centric of the states. Last year, cornfields made up more JS than a third of its total landmass. And with corn comes corn sweat. Like other plants, corn releases water vapor from its leaves—“evapotranspiration” is the scientific term. During peak growing season, an acre of corn can release as much as 4,000 gallons of water vapor every day. In 2021, there were 12.5 million acres of corn growing in Iowa. Corn sweat can exacerbate problems caused by humidity, but it’s not the biggest humidity-related problem Iowa is facing. Climate change is. “The rise in ‘absolute humidity’ (moisture in the air) is likely to become the most pervasive factor in climate change across the state,” according to the 2017 Iowa Climate Statement, endorsed by 190 scientists, researchers and educators from 39 of the state’s colleges and universities. In Dubuque, absolute humidity during springtime increased 23 percent between 1970 and 2017, and increases in “humidity have been measured across the Midwest and in Iowa across all seasons and at all long-term monitoring stations.” Humidity makes it harder for humans and other animals to cool off and accelerates corrosion of metal and the warping and rotting of wood. It also aggravates some of Iowa’s worst agriculture problems as “increased warm-season humidity leads to increased rainfall, extreme rain events, water-logged soils during planting season, soil erosion, and runoff of chemicals to waterways,” the statement said. Addressing the increasing humidity means addressing climate change, and until that’s done, Iowans will have to keep sweating, just like the corn. —Paul Brennan LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 29
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forecasting models and different chasing techniques, like positioning yourself around storms and planning escape routes, from YouTube and other online resources. He began locally, and with more experience, expanded his range. He plans his chase days in advance, searching for supercells or deep-rotating updrafts that can produce thunderstorms and tornadoes. “Supercells are like living beings. They have all of these different behaviors, and you can recognize them in real time,” he said. “The storms are dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so it’s important that you learn how to forecast and how the storms behave.” Once his team has picked a target area, they gather their cameras and safety equipment, and leave in the morning. For hours, the sky is clear with calm, white clouds. But by the afternoon,
JS
Why Cedar Rapids is Replanting
I
BY STEVEN A. ARTS
n August of 2020, Iowa was hit by something called a derecho, with winds blowing as fast as 140 miles per hour. Cedar Rapids was hit especially hard— debris flew, buildings were damaged and some 65 to 70 percent of the city’s trees were downed. That number doesn’t even include the trees downed on private property, which is 85 percent of land in Cedar Rapids. It has been estimated that a total of 669,000 CR trees were lost during the short storm, and 7.2 million trees statewide. During and after the derecho, Marion’s Thomas Park and its trails suffered extensive deforestation. Areas that had been fairly thick with
30 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Number of Tornadoes in Iowa per year
892
tornadoes in 15 years
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 These last 15 years of data feel like a lot, especially if you’ve ever
iowafloodcenter.org
seen a tornado up close and personal. But Iowa is only seventh in
ready.iowa.gov
the country for tornado frequency. Texas takes a significant lead
iowastormwater.org
at number one, ahead of twister-famous Kansas, with a yearly
weather.gov/dvn
average nearly three times that of Iowa. Want to explore more
weather.gov/dmx
important weather data and resources? Check out these sites >>
ehs.iastate.edu/weather
trees before the storm were left sparse—now one can clearly see houses on both sides of the trail that had been at least partly covered before. Sections of the park and trails looked as though a giant hand had come down from the sky and snatched trees, ripping them out of the ground. The City of Cedar Rapids has committed to spend $3.7 million per year for 10 years to replace as much of the tree cover as possible, in partnership with the nonprofit Trees Forever (whose headquarters are located just off the trail at Thomas Park in Marion). Dubbed the ReLeaf Project, the $37 million plan will include replanting trees in 38 city parks, and funding to provide water and care for the trees for the first two years. Before the 2020 derecho hit, Cedar Rapids had an estimated 24 percent tree canopy; after the derecho, it was down to a mere 8 percent. ReLeaf will restore 42,500 trees on public land, with 34,227 street plantings and 8,275 trees in city parks. They are also working to encourage plantings on private land through outreach and education, tracking and mapping each new tree using Linn County’s Geographic Information System (GIS). The recommended trees for planting fall into three different categories. First is Superior, which are big native trees that offer the most environmental benefits. Next are Allowed trees, which are not beneficial to the food web, but will fill holes left in the tree canopy. The third category is called Contingent, trees small enough so as not to disrupt power lines, used only where necessary. Certain planting locations are also being prioritized, with an emphasis on equity—planting
trees a wide range of Cedar Rapidians can experience and enjoy. “We want to provide shaded sidewalks for people to use as both recreation but most importantly for access to work and goods and services,” Patrick Alvord said, helping present the ReLeaf Project Plan at the Feb. 8 Cedar Rapids City Council meeting. Alvord is a principal architect at Confluence, Inc.’s Cedar Rapids office, collaborating with Trees Forever and the city on ReLeaf. “The idea was, let’s get trees back in the neighborhoods first, and then on those roads and streets that people use most often to get to and from work and to and from the grocery store and other services,” he continued. “And then lastly, we looked at those streets that already had a high availability of planting sites both before and after [the derecho].” For both urban and country settings, trees afford a large amount of unseen benefits. Trees prevent up to 75 percent of soil erosion, which is important to maintaining healthy land, waterways and infrastructure. They filter carbon dioxide into oxygen to freshen the air. They filter fertilizer and pesticides on farms, removing up to 50 percent of destructive runoff. Trees also improve soil quality by sending nitrogen into the ground, feeding healthy microbes and crops. They can drop healthy snacks for livestock and serve as wildlife habitats. Native plantings along streams and rivers can provide food, protective cover and a migration corridor for wild animals. Other benefits pertain to humans’ mental
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thunderstorms roll overhead. “When you are close to a tornado, it’s a very interesting sound,” he said. “Most of them actually sound more like waterfalls because they’re
flying debris, hydroplaning, distracted drivers and more can make crashes and collisions fairly common. “We have had a couple close calls. Most of
“SUPERCELLS ARE LIKE LIVING BEINGS. THEY HAVE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS, AND YOU CAN RECOGNIZE THEM IN REAL TIME. THE STORMS ARE DANGEROUS IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, SO IT’S IMPORTANT THAT YOU LEARN HOW TO FORECAST AND HOW THE STORMS BEHAVE.” —MARK DE BRUIN going through cornfields or forests, and all of that rush of wind in one spot makes it sound like a really, really loud waterfall.” But the riskiest part of storm chasing isn’t the tornado, De Bruin said. It’s driving. High winds,
them were driving-related,” he said. “And it’s the lightning as well because lightning can strike at any time, and you have no control over where it’s going to hit.” They won’t leave their vehicles when there’s a
high volume of lightning strikes. On one chase in Oklahoma, a supercell shot down lighting every few seconds within a mile of their caravan. “It sounded like cannon shots,” he said. “We did not get out, ’cause we were not going to take any chances on that.” In 2018, De Bruin tracked an EF3 tornado in Pella, Iowa. Five miles long and 800 yards wide, the tornado developed just north of Pella, traveling southeast for 12 minutes. Thirteen people were injured when the tornado crossed a Vermeer Corporation manufacturing building. The storm resulted in $120 million worth of damages. “It came over the building and ripped it up, and threw bricks and pieces of roof everywhere. And basically it destroyed that plant completely, and broke down all of the walls, and tore up the cars in the parking lot,” De Bruin said. “It was a wide mix of emotions, and that
Plant an Oak!
health. It is estimated that people who use parks and other open spaces achieve recommended levels of physical activity more than non-users. Trees can encourage children to play, climb or explore. Trees shade us in our backyards in the summer with relieving coolness. Workers who can see trees from their workspaces often demonstrated more patience, were more satisfied with their work and experienced fewer health problems. ReLeaf offers education to farmers on how to plant trees as buffers from wind dangers like derechos, assist in choosing which trees are appropriate, find funding resources, guide buffer installation and maintenance and co-share assistance, among other things. “It’s a huge undertaking, but I believe that we can build momentum,” said Shannon Ramsey, Trees Forever founder. “It will be challenging to maintain that for 10 years. However, we’ll be working hard to make that happen. As we’ve said, it’ll take an army of volunteers, tree keepers, tree buddies, people that are out helping each other plant [and] water, volunteers for planting and watering and all the many partners.” She added that Trees Forever “planted almost 700 trees last year,” and “we’ll be ramping up this year to plant 850.” “I always emphasize that trees grow faster than you think,” she assured the city council. “Within five years, people are going to feel much better.”
M
aple and ash trees are overrepresented in eastern Iowa, and both are vulnerable to invasive insects such as the emerald ash borer. Plant these oaks instead, classified by the ReLeaf Project as “Superior” species for their native roots, nourishing nuts and bountiful size. Northern Pin/Hills Oak Tree shape: Triangular Leaves in fall: Red-orange Tolerates infertile, sandy soils Bur Oak Tree shape: Irregular Iowa’s state tree Largest acorns of any North American oak Northern Red Oak Tree shape: Round Leaves in fall: Red Fast-growing Shingle Oak Tree shape: Oval Distinctive laurel-like leaves Once commonly used to make roof shingles Chinquapin Oak Tree shape: Round Gray-yellow, flaky bark Sweet acorns can be eaten raw by humans and wildlife
For more information, go to treesforever.org, or telephone 319-373-0650. Emma McClatchey / Little Village
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 31
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happens a lot in storm chasing, because initially I was very excited to be seeing multiple tornadoes that were touching down and not hitting anything,” he continued. “As it came closer to the town, and it destroyed that building, it quickly turned to fear for the people whose lives were being impacted at that time. And then also fear for myself, because I needed to make sure that I was staying safe and not putting myself in danger.” His group brings work gloves, closed-toed shoes and safety goggles in case they need to help with search and rescue. De Bruin is also trained in CPR. In situations where every second counts, storm chasers can arrive before first responders. But so far, first aid hasn’t been necessary. De Bruin’s chases are for first-hand experience and photo/video documentation. He’s training to become a severe weather meteorologist and research tornado development. In the meteorology community, he explained, they don’t completely understand why some supercells produce tornadoes and others don’t. He wants to help improve forecasting, so people can take shelter when needed. “The problem is that tornadoes are relatively rare, and to get observations close to a tornado, that is very, very difficult,” Kinney said. “We’ve made incremental progress, and we have a little bit better understanding of the mechanics of particular airstreams and how they interact.” But there still needs to be more research, especially into how climate change affects development and frequency. While climate change can increase hurricane intensity, heavy precipitation and flooding, it’s unclear how it affects tornadoes. “If you have warmer temperatures, you’ll have more moisture in the atmosphere, which is good for severe storms. But you may have more cloud cover, so you’re holding down temperatures,” Kinney said. “There’s some conflicting things in terms of the ingredients to get severe storms. So that’s why a lot more research is needed.” But tornadoes are infrequent in Iowa. Flash flooding and straight-line winds, like the August 2020 derecho (though not always so intense), are more common, Kinney said. “They don’t necessarily get as much attention, but they’re certainly a big threat around here,” he said. “Sometimes with these events you can get a dual threat. You’ve got the bigger, broader overall straight-line, thunderstorm winds, and then embedded small tornado circulations.” De Bruin originally planned to stay home during the derecho. But when he saw a line of severe storms swoop across western Iowa, he packed up his gear. “I had no idea that it was going to be that 32 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
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strong,” he said. You can’t chase a derecho. The winds will easily outrun your car, or flip it over. Instead, De Bruin parked his car outside of Newton, Iowa— far away from trees and power lines—and oriented his car into the winds. “When you set up for a storm like that, there is no way that you can go back and get out of the way. If you are set up to take this storm, then that’s what you have to do,” he said. The radar showed winds reaching 70 to 100 mph. When the line passed over him, the sky darkened, and a wall of dust blew from a green shelf cloud. The wind and rain flew near horizontally, flattening the cornfield around him. “It lasted for at least 15 or 20 minutes, which was probably the longest duration of severe wind that I’ve ever been in,” he said. “One of the first houses that I came across had a massive tree snapped off, and had fallen off in front of the house.” Derechos are products of the warm seasons, caused by high-pressure weather systems that create strong downdrafts. Sometimes a cluster of downdraft winds hits the ground and races ahead of the storm. Derechos occur when these winds move across 250 miles of land with wind speeds of at least 58 mph. In December 2021, another derecho tore across Iowa—“an unprecedented and historic event,” the NWS said. It was the first derecho in December anywhere in the United States, and it unofficially set the record for the most tornadoes (and the most EF2 or stronger tornadoes) in Iowa on a single day since 1950. “If it’s warming up into the 40s or 50s in December, then it’s time to pay attention to the weather,” Kinney said. “To get a derecho in December? That’s an even more rare occurrence.” De Bruin and his team documented the December derecho in Jefferson, Iowa. “We had lightning shooting all across the sky, just constant lightning, and we could see the storm coming at us very quickly,” he said. The winds hit the town, knocking out power lines and transformers in “power flashes,” or bright, colorful electric discharge. “We started seeing these power flashes one by one all the way down this line that was coming at us,” De Bruin said. A few tornadoes touched down around Jefferson, but the storm passed over them, heading north. Most chases aren’t that exciting, though. Around 80 to 90 percent of De Bruin’s pursuits are “busts,” and the team returns empty-handed. That’s his main complaint with the 1996 movie
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Wuh-oh: a storm brews over SW Iowa City. Drew Bulman
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Twister, starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, about a group of storm chasers in Oklahoma (though a few of the most memorable scenes were filmed in Iowa). “I remember watching that when I was a kid. As far as the general idea of storm chasing, they nailed it on the head,” he said. “But what they don’t show in the movie is all of the failures that come with storm chasing.” Kinney also has a few gripes with Twister. “One of my favorite parts is when, I think it’s Bill Paxton’s character is out there kind of sniffing around, you know, looking at the dirt and the grass, and trying to sense if there’s going to be some sort of a tornado occurring. I don’t think we really do that,” he said. “There are crews out there that are doing this on a regular basis, exactly what you saw in that movie. That’s part of the research process. Now their safety practices are going to be much more robust than what we saw in the movie.” As the storm season begins, Kinney advises everyone to make a severe weather plan, know where the nearest emergency shelters are and have multiple forms of communication
available: internet, television, radio, etc. You can also become a skywarn spotter by taking the NWS two-hour training course, either in-person or online. If you want to chase storms, it’s best to accompany a professional, he said. De Bruin remembers chasing a supercell in Minnesota, just as the snow and ice had begun to melt off. They caught sight of a mesocyclone, a rotating section of thunderstorm between two and six miles in diameter. “This storm was absolutely gorgeous,” he said. “It looked like a stack of pancakes … and then just this spectacular anvil cloud overhead. We just sat there, and we watched the whole storm, like several miles wide spin over top of us, and it was really, really awesome to see.” Adria Carpenter is a multimedia journalist for Little Village, and shares that strange fascination with severe weather. When she was young, she’d sit on the porch with a bag of popcorn and watch thunderstorms. Lightning once struck about a meter away from her. The brief, hot flash was the brightest thing she’s ever seen. And ‘Twister,’ a childhood staple, came out the year she was born.
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heckers?” That was the first question from the waiter as my girlfriend and I slid into a side booth at Tornado’s Pub & Grub. If you grab one of the booths inside the front door, you’re treated to a tabletop that doubles as a checkerboard—just one of the quaint eccentricities in this dive bar at the corner of Third Street and 16th Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids. In this instance, I use “dive bar” in the warmest sense, as Tornado’s is an establishment devoid of formality but rich in character, the kind of spot that realizes dark lighting is a prerequisite and cold beer is an imperative. The clientele is firmly blue-collar Midwest, as is the supply of ranch dressing. As for décor, Tornado’s sports a hodgepodge of bar lights, tin signs and black-and-white images across the walls. This is also the kind of spot that features a jukebox you can actually play at a volume above faint—a huge plus in my book. The building that houses Tornado’s was built in 1914 and previously housed Clover’s Grocery Store, Carl’s Grocery Store and the Kacere Café. Tornado’s has been around since 2000, and their website boasts of having survived both the 2008 and 2016 floods. Some might remember Tornado’s being left on the wrong side of a temporary flood wall that the city erected to protect NewBo during the 2016 flooding. They have indeed survived, and the spot was packed on a cold Valentine’s Day night. We started with a couple beers and an order of Southwest chicken egg rolls. I need no persuasion to tip back a High Life, but if there were ever a place to imbibe in the Champagne of Beers, Tornado’s is it. Added bonus for serving 36 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
Tornado’s Pub & Grub. Chad Cooper / Little Village
dribbling off the burger. Speaking of the sauce, it was my highlight of the burger. It tasted like a mix between Heinz 57, buffalo and barbecue sauce, and it paired nicely with the other toppings. And while burgers are the highlight at Tornado’s, they offer a full menu of other enticing items, including salads, po’ boy sandwiches and even hot bagels with all the fixings. My girlfriend had the grilled chicken salad with iceberg lettuce, bacon, diced onion, tomato, croutons, cheddar cheese and grilled chicken. She was TORNADO’S IS KNOWN FOR THEIR BURGERS— pleased with both the flavor MOST NAMED ON THE FUJITA SCALE FROM F2 and quantity. Tornado’s TO F5 IN KEEPING WITH THE TORNADIC THEME. definitely doesn’t skimp on their salads. As we got up to leave, the main dining area (hot), a half-pound burger, complete with bacon, Canadian bacon, pepper-jack cheese, American was still full of a mixture of large groups and cheese, jalapeños and buffalo sauce underneath couples enjoying the warm confines for their all the aforementioned cheese to seal in the fla- Valentine’s Day meal. A staff of three or four worked diligently to cover every table and take vor. That sounds like a lot on one sandwich, but every order. Country music played comfortably the burger was surprisingly well-composed and throughout the room. The neon cast just the right low on my own personal messy scale. It had just glow. All in all, Tornado’s is now on my must-return enough heat to be noticeable but not painful. I’m also a fries stickler, and the crinkle-cut spuds at list. One, because I need to try one of the hot baTornado’s hit the sweet spot with crunch and gel sandwiches. Two, because I need to avenge flavor; perfect for dabbing up the extra sauce my loss in checkers. —Chad Cooper Miller’s flagship beer in a bottle: my preferred delivery system for the golden greatness. The egg rolls were a solid starter: crunchy exterior with a flavorful interior, and the perfect size and quantity to split before the main course. You can have either ranch or sweet chili as a side dipping sauce. Being steadfast Midwesterners, we opted for the ranch. Tornado’s is known for their burgers—most named on the Fujita Scale from F2 to F5 in keeping with the tornadic theme. I opted for the F4
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Gymnast Věra Čáslavská
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Golden Nuggets Don’t let Spielberg, sandworms and a planet-killing comet distract you from these understated Oscar gems. BY BEN DELGADO
T
he Oscars are bullshit, right? Well, not entirely. After you get past the massive marketing campaigns, backroom handshake deals and the skewed demographics of the voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, you’ll find there are some bright spots—and even some welcome surprises—within the final list of nominees for 2022.
an empathetic look at introspection, with some excellent needle drops throughout. Currently screening at FilmScene
Drive My Car Noms: Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay
The Worst Person In the World Noms: Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay
A good place to start when looking for hidden gems is the International Feature Film category, and this year is no exception. The final film in Norwegian-professional-skateboarderturned-arthouse-filmmaker Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, The Worst Person In the World, follows Julie, a magnetic peregrine on the verge of 30, as she tries to find her place in the world. It’s an impeccably crafted and beautifully acted comedic romance for our modern times that takes
WALK THE CARPET
The critics and the Oscars are often at odds, at least when it comes to the more adventurous or conventionally challenging films. So it came as a bit of a shock when Drive My Car, the three-hourlong contemplative Japanese film that critics had been championing since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in July, got four nominations. Filled with quiet moments of poetic grace,
Writing with Fire Nom: Best Documentary Feature
The biggest longshot of the five nominated docs is also one of the most remarkably uplifting. Writing with Fire is an inside look at the Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run and staffed entirely by Dalit women. This group of probing investigative journalists are effecting real change with their reporting and never let their interview subjects weasel out of a question. Seeing their camaraderie even in the face of myriad injustices, hypocrisy and life-threatening situations is truly heartening. Opens at FilmScene March 11
Ascension Nom: Best Documentary Feature
THIS DELICATE AND PRECISE EXPLORATION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ALIVE IS THAT RARE PIECE OF ART THAT LIVES UP TO THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ITS MEDIUM.
Ascension marked the return of FilmScene’s Vino Vérité series back in November, and it deservedly made the cut for the documentary nominees. This tightly composed exploration of the Chinese Dream is as enlightening as it is damning, with a fair amount of levity mixed in alongside its Koyaanisqatsi-esque visuals.
Blue Carpet Bash FilmScene— Chauncey Sunday, March 27, 5:30 p.m., Free Ross Meyer, head projectionist and facilities director, at Blue Carpet Bash in 2018. via FilmScene
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director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s breakthrough hit is a life-changing tale of love and loss that has catapulted the auteur into his rightful place as one of the most lauded and discussed directors of today. With transcendent performances and an endlessly elegant script, this delicate and precise exploration of what it means to be alive is that rare piece of art that lives up to the full potential of its medium.
Attica Nom: Best Documentary Feature
Speaking of damning portrayals, veteran documentarian Stanley Nelson and co-director Traci A.
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Curry take a fresh look at the inmate uprising at Attica Prison 50 years after the fact in their film Attica, finally earning Nelson his due from the Academy. Featuring new interviews with survivors, observers and expert government officials that further expose the atrocities of the past, this incisive documentary is yet another reminder of the urgent need for carceral and police abolition today.
Bestia Nom: Best Short Film (Animated)
The Best Animated, Live Action and Documentary shorts categories often feature a cadre of up-andcoming talent. A real highlight among all 15 nominees is a short from Diluvio, a Chilean audiovisual, art and film production company specializing in stop-motion animation. Their latest creation, Bestia. is a dark masterpiece featuring ceramic, clay, wood and more mixed materials expertly animated and lovingly crafted. But be warned, this one is not for kids. The Oscar-nominated shorts are currently showing at FilmScene
JANUARY 28 – APRIL 9, 2022
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Honorable Mention: Not that The Power of the Dog needs any more love with 12 Oscar nominations in hand and a company like Netflix behind it, but given its relatively quiet theatrical release, I will go ahead and give a tip of the hat to the Academy on their taste in getting behind this psychosexual western from the great Jane Campion. Of course it didn’t hurt the film’s chances that she’s a former winner for her screenplay for The Piano.
Ben Delgado is the programming director at FilmScene. When he’s not spending every waking hour of the day watching, thinking about, planning or writing about movies, he’s getting his ass kicked in hard video games or eating cheese. Sometimes both. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 39
Culture Prairie Pop
“Kindness Is Paramount” From mentorship to making essential art, Dr. Ewing exudes the energy she wants to see in the world. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD
W
hen I mentioned that I was interviewing Dr. Eve L. Ewing to Matt Griffin, a Ph.D. student in my Communication Studies department, he recounted a moment that encapsulates her wide-ranging work that spans everything from poetry, comics and academic publishing to a recent novel for young readers, Maya and the Robot. During the 2019 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, this University of Chicago sociologist and Marvel Comics scribe gave a thoughtful and wide-ranging interview that focused on writing for Ironheart—all while cosplaying Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro. During the conversation, she talked about how she liked that the character of Ironheart, Riri Williams (whose stand-alone series Ewing debuted in November 2018), was a young Black girl who was one of Marvel’s smartest characters. Ewing also discussed how she and the artist worked hard to accurately represent the hairstyles of contemporary Black teens—and why that matters. Later that day, Griffin approached Ewing at her booth, where they were selling copies of Ironheart and her scholarly book Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side, which she signed while still wearing bunny ears, face paint and a whitegray top. He told Ewing that he was inspired by her work because he was a grad student who makes comics, and she was very encouraging about his pursuits in a way that speaks to her dynamic presence as an intellectual, artist, writer and teacher. During an interview with Ewing conducted over email, she offered this wisdom for those who are charting their own path less traveled: “All of us are going to die. Prayerfully, you will live a long life, but we live on an ever-dying planet, and we are here for a finite period of time. You have to make the work that you believe is essential. And only you can decide what that is and what it looks like.” Ewing’s journey began in her hometown of Chicago, where she was born in a hospital that 40 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
has since been torn down. “I grew up in and around the community of Logan Square,” she said, “which at the time was an almost entirely Mexican and Puerto Rican neighborhood, and now has been gentrified to the point of being more or less unrecognizable to me. I think of myself as kind of a time traveler from a place that no longer exists.” A product of Chicago Public Schools—which is the subject of Ghosts in the Schoolyard, published in 2020 by the University of Chicago Press—Ewing encountered some incredible teachers who encouraged her creativity, as well as her fair share of not-so-nice teachers who stifled it. “Unfortunately, a lot of my schooling experiences, like many people, focused on sort of checking the boxes you need to check to show that you’re good at school,” Ewing observed.
MISSION CREEK Mission Creek Festival: Keynote Reading—Dr. Eve L. Ewing w/ Fariha Róisín, Golden, FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City, Saturday, April 9, 6 p.m., Free
“But I got to do a lot of writing in school, which I appreciate now. When I was in eighth grade my teacher Mrs. Sullivan had us read Eyes on the Prize and we did a lot of creative writing, and even some acting, which I now feel very grateful for.” Ewing also credits her parents for encouraging her creativity from a young age, which she is still grateful for. Her mother made up songs offthe-cuff and composed nonsense poems about
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“I GOT THE MESSAGE AT A YOUNG AGE THAT CHICAGO WAS A CITY OF ARTISTS, AND THAT OUR ARTISTIC HERITAGE WAS IMPORTANT AND WORTH TALKING ABOUT.”
Nolis Anderson
anything and everything, and her father pushed her to draw and would take her to the library to show her reams of art books that inspired her. “Looking back on my childhood, I often was lacking material things, but I never lacked people to believe in me, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I also got the message at a young age that Chicago was a city of artists, and that our artistic heritage was important and worth talking about. My parents taught me about the muralists and printmakers in Pilsen, about Oscar Brown, Jr. and the poets of the South Side Community Art Center, stuff like that.” There is a long history within Black intellectual circles of moving across art forms and spheres of social life, and Ewing sees herself as part of that tradition. “From Zora Neale Hurston to W.E.B. Du Bois to Derrick Bell, Black intellectuals have always
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moved between form and genre to make the work they felt they need to make,” she told me. “That has always made me feel like I had permission to do the same—and admittedly, a sense of confusion about the preoccupation people have with questions of genre.” After graduating high school, Ewing attended the University of Chicago and earned an undergraduate degree with honors in English Language and Literature. She then received a Ph.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University, after which she taught in public schools. She is currently appointed as an assistant professor at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice at the University of Chicago. As I can personally attest, the academic sausage-making machine discourages graduate students from straying from their prescribed lanes, and Ewing certainly experienced those pressures—which she more or less ignored. “Although I feel fortunate,” she added, “that my graduate advisor and mentor, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, is herself such a model in what it looks like to chart your own course that I never took such pressures from other people very seriously.” Ewing’s approach stands as a model that can be followed by new generations of writers, creators and students, like the above-mentioned Matt Griffin, who told me, “I really admire that Eve Ewing writes engaging, thought-provoking work both in academic research and in broader popular culture, like the superhero genre. Her work is fun and accessible while also bringing an underrepresented voice to comics.” Drawing on her experiences as a teacher, artist, writer and scholar who studies schools, Ewing has this advice for others who want to help students grow into their own. “Be kind to the young person in front of you,” she said. “Bring a rigor and a determination to your kindness. Ask hard questions about anyone and any system that discourages you to think that kindness is paramount.” Kembrew McLeod is a first-generation college student who failed 12th grade and had to repeat his senior year of high school, and now he chairs a nationally respected Communication Studies department.
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You Had Me at 35,000 Jerry Maguire VHS Tapes Everything is terrible, except the fact Everything is Terrible is finally returning to Iowa City. BY CHRISTOPHER BURNS 44 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
R
emember the Before Times of 2018? It was a nearly mask-less era, when friends, acquaintances and strangers alike came together to watch performances from out-of-towners or locals. It was during this time that Everything is Terrible, the California-based art collective, brought last their traveling show, The Great Satan Tour, to Iowa City. It is an understatement to say a lot has changed in those three and half years. One such change is the demolition of the venue that previously hosted them. “Oh, man, they tore that place down. We loved that place,” Commodore Gilgamesh reminisced after being informed the Mill was now rubble. “I guess that’s progress?” Here we are in 2022 and Everything is Terrible (EiT, if you will) is returning to Iowa City (March 12), with their brand new live experience, Kidz Klub! Through a conference call, I caught up with members Commodore Gilgamesh and Ghoul Skool just as they had awoken in some hotel room in Beaumont, Texas. Though deprived of coffee, they were in good spirits as they made their way through the Southern leg of their tour. After getting their bearings, we began to discuss what inspired them to take
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is Terrible sifts through second-hand stores for discarded VHS tapes, the cheesier the better, then edits them into thematic montage films. It is equally insane and funny with a hefty dose of psychedelia. In their own words, “Let’s say we started out as a group of friends who frequently met in the woods, where we learned how to edit tapes to entertain ourselves,” Commodore Gilgamesh assured me, though online sources may contradict these claims.
“WE’RE TRYING TO BRING JOY TO PEOPLE, AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABLE. EVEN THE GREAT SATAN WAS LIGHTHEARTED. I MEAN, BY THE END OF THE SHOW SATAN IS JUST A GUY TRYING TO PAY THE BILLS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.” It is hard to describe, exactly, what one can expect from their content and live shows, but for folks that grew up with late ’80s/early ’90s D.A.R.E. propaganda, or ever had to sit through awkward low-budget instructional videos, you might begin to understand what you’re in for.
Jerrys on exhibit, 2016. Jim Newberry
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on a children’s theme for their latest outing. “After The Great Satan, we could only follow it up by going the complete opposite way,” Commodore Gilgamesh explained. “That’s what Kidz Klub is. We decided to go full family friendly.” “Kidz Klub! is a hard PG!” Ghoul Skool added. “You can bring the entire family.” For anyone who doesn’t know, Everything
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Ad sales end May 1 Full family friendly: Everything is Terrible! Kidz Klub Tour 2022. Jim Newberry
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“We make the costumes ourselves,” said Commodore Gilgamesh, upon prodding. “I do a lot of the repairs on them while we’re on the road.” Jim Newberry
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Their altered-state collage videos have become a filmography of nine feature-length movies, including a dog-themed retelling of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 cult film The Holy Mountain, called Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! and The Great Satan, where late ’80s Satanic Panic content is transformed into a hilariously absurd mind-bender. “Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! broke us,” Ghoul Skool said. Commodore Gilgamesh elaborated: “We watched thousands of hours, maybe 10s of thousands of hours, of dog-themed movies and TV shows. Then we spent nearly 10 months editing those into a film. I can’t even watch movies anymore after that. It’s like, alright, there’s the plot and this is what’s going to happen and then this will happen after. I am terrible to watch things with, just ask my partner.” Broken minds notwithstanding, the EiT crew have developed a surreal live show to accompany their films on tour. Full of goofy costumes, live music (provided by Ghoul Skool and Country Death) and audience participation, the shows have a Saturday-morning-kids-show-meetsGWAR vibe. It’s like entering into an interactive cartoon. “We make the costumes ourselves,” said Commodore Gilgamesh, upon prodding. “I do a lot of the repairs on them while we’re on the road.” “The live shows are built around the movies, mainly because who just wants to sit in silence and watch weird videos?” Ghoul Skool posited. “Not when you can be a part of the experience,
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 47
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LittleVillageMag.com
anyway.” Though the movies and live performances tackle weird, unsettling territory, there is a levity to their approach. “We don’t want to be scary or mean,” Commodore Gilgamesh explained. “There’s enough of that in the world already. We’re not trying to make fun of anyone or put anyone down.” Ghoul Skool expanded: “We’re trying to bring joy to people, as much as we are able. Even The Great Satan was lighthearted. I mean, by the end of the show Satan is just a guy trying to pay the bills like everyone else.” Aside from gaining notoriety for their dadaist films and live shows, the collective is also well known for their massive hoard of Jerry Maguire VHS tapes. It is a collection so large they have plans to construct a Jerry pyramid in the California desert out of their cache. “We have over 35,000, at this point,” Ghoul Skool said. “In Denver alone we received 500,” Commodore Gilgamesh added. “We have enough to build the pyramid, we’re just waiting for the funding.” “We’re confident the funding will come,” Ghoul Skool continued. “It’s like Field of Dreams.” Curious, I asked what would become of the surplus tapes they’re still receiving. “Whatever tapes we have left will be entombed within the pyramid,” Ghoul Skool said. “Our shrine to all things Jerry!” To make sure there was no misunderstanding, Commodore Gilgamesh reassured, “We still want all of the Jerrys. Just because we can build the Pyramid doesn’t mean people should stop bringing us their Jerrys.” If you have never seen one of their shows and are on the fence, they have some words of encouragement. “The fans are great, and we love them,” Commodore Gilgamesh said. “But when we see someone after the show who came out on a whim, who’s never even heard of us, that’s the best.” Ghoul Skool chuckled before continuing, “There’s nothing like meeting someone who’s never heard of us and watching their mind break open.” And remember, if you find a Jerry Maguire in the wild, bring it with you! Christopher Burns lives in a state of uncertainty between Iowa City and the Quantum Realm. In between fluctuations he writes weird stories and plays music with the Shining Realm. 48 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 49
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR
EVENTS: March March 2022
Courtesy of Prairie Lights
Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.
Thursday, March 24,
John Scalzi: The Kaiju Preservation Society, Prairie Lights, Iowa City, at 7 p.m., Free Welcome back, book lovers! It’s been a long time since there’s been a chance to mingle in the stacks of Iowa City’s beloved iconic bookstore, hearing authors read their work in one of our most sacred spaces. With multi-Hugo winner John Scalzi, Prairie Lights sets up the chairs once more for this masks-required event. Subsequent events this month will be in person as well. Scalzi, a former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, told an interviewer in 2016 that he decided to write science fiction randomly, based on a coin flip, between that and mystery novels. His upcoming novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society (Tor, March 15, 2022), the prolific author’s 23rd, is set in a COVID-19 battered New York City, where a delivery driver open to anything is roped into a gig at an “animal rights organization” that helps creatures a little farther from home than he expected. Literary Luxuries Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Local
Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Let’s
Libraries LIT : R.O. Kwon, Iowa City
Talk Books: Banned or Challenged
Public Library, Online, Free
Books, Iowa City Public Library, Online, Free
Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. Carl Phillips w/ Kaveh Akbar,
Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Lee
Prairie Lights, Online, Free
Cole w/ Sarah Mathews, Prairie Lights, Online, Free
Sunday, March 6 at 4 p.m. Writers Open Mic, Iowa City Poetry,
Sunday, March 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Online, Free
Free Generative Writing Workshop, Porchlight Literary Center,
50 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
Iowa City, Free
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
AROUND THE CRANDIC
Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
Friday, March 25 at 12 p.m. IWP
Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m.
Friday, April 1 at 7 p.m. Mike
Melissa Febos and Elissa Washuta,
International Authors Panel, UI
Reading and Conversation with
Meginnis w/ LaTanya McQueen,
Prairie Lights, Online, Free
International Writing Program,
Robert A. Gross, Prairie Lights,
Prairie Lights, Free
Online
Free
Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. Laura Johnson Book Launch,
Monday, March 28 at 7 p.m. Read-
CSPS, Cedar Rapids, Free
ing and Conversation w/ Candice Wuehle, Prairie Lights, Free
Sepultura w/ Sacred Reich, Crowbar, Art of Shock, Wildwood Saloon, Tuesday, March 8,
Iowa City, at 7 p.m, $25-40
via Sepultura
It’s finally here. This is NOT (we really, really hope this is NOT) a drill. First scheduled for that ill-fated month, March of 2020, and of course postponed, then rescheduled for March of 2021 and yet again postponed, Brazilian metal superstars Sepultura are finally coming through to blast our faces off at Wildwood this year. The tour is in support of the band’s phenomenal 15th studio album, Quadra, released Feb. 7, 2020. The whole slate is not-to-be-missed, so consider taking Wednesday off to indulge in a mid-week thrashfest that will leave you sore and loving it. Musical Marvels Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m.
Mardi Gras Mambo 2022, Englert
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Matt
Wave Cage, Alyx Rush, Caleb “The
Blacktop Mojo w/ NonGrata, the
Theatre, Iowa City, $15-35
Sweeney “Superwolves” with
Negro Artist” Rainey, Trumpet
Forty Twos, RessurectioN MarY,
Emmett Kelly w/ David Ferguson,
Blossom Cafe, $10
Wildwood Saloon, $15-30
Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Englert Theatre, $15-25 Sunday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22 at 9 p.m. Duma
Tuesday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Bruce Cockburn, Englert Theatre,
w/Dryad, Trumpet Blossom Cafe,
Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Corridor Jazz Project Concert,
$20-50
$10-15
Brett Dennen with the Heavy
Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids,
Hours, Englert Theatre, $15-30
$15
Thursday, March 17 at 8 p.m. Jon
Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
Wolfe, Wildwood Saloon, $20-30
Schumann & Champagne, Opus
Belmont, Gabe’s, Iowa City, $18
Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 8 at 9 p.m.
William Elliott Whitmore w/ Awful
iHearIC Presents: Davis & Ver-
Friday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
Purdies, Englert Theatre, $15-25
ploegh w/ Lex Leto x Christine
Defeated Sanity w/ Skeletal Re-
Burke Ensemble, Trumpet Blos-
mains, Vitriol, Splattered,
Saturday, March 26 at 7 p.m.
som Cafe, $10
Wildwood Saloon, $15
Read Southall Band, Wildwood
Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. The
A Tribute to Aretha Franklin: The
Gregory Alan Isakov w/ Joe Purdy,
Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m.
Jayhawks with the Mastersons,
Queen of Soul, Hancher Auditori-
Englert Theatre, $26-47
Lucy Kaplansky, CSPS Hall, $20-25
Englert Theatre, $15-33.50
um, Iowa City, $10-50 Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m.
Monday, March 28 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 at 7 p.m. Kate
Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. Annie Mack, CSPS Hall, $20-25
Amirtha Kidambi Elder Ones,
Kirby and Sun June, Gabe’s, $10-15
Faux Paws, CSPS, $17-23
Trumpet Blossom Cafe, $10-15
Friday, March 4 at 9 p.m. All Them
Concert Cafe, Cedar Rapids or Online, $20-40
Saloon, $18-20
Witches, Gabe’s, $20
Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 6 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m.
Garcia Peoples, Trumpet Blossom
Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Gangstagrass, CSPS Hall, $25-30
We are the Willows, CSPS, $23-28
Cafe, $10-15
An Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories with Graham Nash,
Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. Alash
$20-69.50
Ensemble, CSPS Hall, $15-20 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 51
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
AROUND THE CRANDIC
OPEN CALLS via Brucemore Archives
Looking for a way to plug into your community? Look no further for auditions, submissions and more in the CRANDIC and around the state! Theatre Cedar Rapids is holding replacement auditions for open roles in their summer production of Mama Mia. Initial video submissions due by noon on Saturday, March 5; in-person callbacks follow on March 6. ICCT is holding auditions for its May production of Romeo and Juliet on Sunday and Monday, March 6 and 7. See iowacitycommunitytheatre.org/auditions for sides, COVID safety info and more. Willow Creek Theatre Company is holding auditions for their first original house improv team. Auditions will be held Tuesday, March 8. The Writers’ Rooms are seeking to fill the following positions on their Board of Directors: president, secretary and treasurer.
Thursday, March 3,
In Her Steps: Women’s History Tour, Brucemore, Cedar Rapids, at 5:30 p.m., $10-15 See Cedar Rapids’ historic Brucemore Mansion from a new perspective, as staff present
their newest specialty tour. In honor of Women’s History Month, this tour will highlight the women who contributed to Brucemore’s place in the community. Among them: Caroline Soutter Sinclair, the first owner of the estate, who had the mansion built between 1884 and 1886. Also central to the story is Margaret Hall, Brucemore’s final resident, who donated her home to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1981. The tour lasts 90 minutes and includes indoor and outdoor portions over multiple floors of the mansion. Masks are required for all indoor portions of the tour.
These one-year commitments will help
Community Connections
via Micropress Publishing, Public Space One
guide the direction of the organization and preserve its mission to “encourage and foster community-based knowledge
Thursday, March 3 to Saturday, March 12.
to help lead literary sessions and provide a
Random Generator: the 2022 PS1 Art Auction,
safe, positive writing environment.” Appli-
Public Space One, Online
cations accepted through Friday, March 18. Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. River Music Experience is seeking Quad
Igniting Change One Wall at a Time — An
Cities visual artists for their new One
Obermann Conversation, Obermann Center for
Sound program, which aims to “engage in
Advanced Studies, Iowa City, Online
creativity and break down social barriers through the arts” in the community by
Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m. 2022 Spring Gallery
installing 10 artist-designed pianos across
Walk, Downtown Iowa City, Free Sundays March 20 & 27 and April 3 at 1 p.m.
the Quad Cities. Submissions due Friday, March 18.
Friday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m. Coralville Commu-
Micropress Publishing and Performance, Public
nity Food Pantry’s Free
Space One, Iowa City, $10-155
ArtFest Midwest is accepting artist appli-
Community Meal-To-Go, Coralville United Meth-
cations through Friday, March 25 for their
odist Church, Free
two-day, summer 2022 festival. The event
Saturday, March 26 at 10 a.m. UI Mobile Clinic: Free Healthcare Services,
features 200 artists in the mediums of clay,
Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Science and Stories:
drawing, metal, printmaking, mixed media,
A Magnificent Combination w/
sculpture, fiber, painting, wood, glass,
Dr. Theanne Griffith, UI Lecture Committee,
Tuesday, March 29 at 3 p.m. What Do We
paper and photography. Applications are
Online, Free
Mean by Research Now?— The Art(s) of Inquiry
curated by an artist-majority panel.
Coralville Public Library, Free
and Activism, Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, Iowa City, Online
52 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 53
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
AROUND THE CRANDIC
Opens Friday, March 4, The
Kornilov Affair, Willow Creek Theatre Company, Iowa City, $12-20
Over the course of two months, an ensemble of actors at Willow Creek Theatre wrote and designed this two-act comedy about the lead-up to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The result is Willow Creek Theatre’s newest production, which the theater calls, “a hilarious story that’s often more accurate than you’re likely to believe.” In the wake of recent actions taken by the Russian government against Ukraine, Willow Creek Theatre released a statement about the production, and its “use of Russian history and iconography.” “To be clear,” it reads, “we at WCTC wholeheartedly condemn the hostile actions of Putin’s government in Ukraine, and our show, The Kornilov Affair, does not express support for said actions in any way, shape, or form.” It goes on to reiterate the company’s goal to use “an often misunderstood piece of history” to illuminate current events and expresses hope that the play “spurs meaningful discussion in our community.” “These are unsettling times for a large number of reasons,” it continutes, “but we believe theater’s purpose is to help find common understanding of the world around us through communal art. As the world continues to move faster, theater often struggles to keep up with current events moving around it. It is so rare to find ourselves working on just the right project at just the right time, so when events line up the way they have, we consider it our duty as artists to follow through on our work.
Kornilov on his officers’ shoulders, 1917, public domain
“We hope audiences come out and use this show to plug themselves into these incredibly important issues, and allow our work to be a jumping off point for larger community conversations about current events.” If you like stage farces based on real-life farces and enjoy theater that pushes you toward common understanding, you won’t want to miss this premiere. Tickets are $20; students can snag $12 tickets in person at the box office or the door, with ID.
Theatrical Thrills Through March 5 The Revolu-
Sunday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. Disney
Friday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m.
tionists, Dreamwell Theatre,
Swan Lake: Russian Ballet Theatre,
Princess: The Concert,
RoM Variety Show, Run of the Mill
Artifactory, Iowa City, $10-15
Paramount Theatre, $29-89
Paramount Theatre, $33.50-66.50
Theatre Productions, Artifactory,
Through March 6 The Miracu-
Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Opens March 18 at 7:30 p.m.
lous Journey of Edward Tulane,
Red Room Comedy Showcase,
Dance Nation, Theatre Cedar
Saturday, March 26 at 11 a.m. and
MVLCT, Mount Vernon, $10-25
Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, $10
Rapids, $17-27
3 p.m. Rosie Revere, Engineer &
Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Opens March 11 at 7:30 p.m. The
Sunday, March 20 at 1 p.m. Na-
Improv First Thursdays, CSPS
Niceties, Riverside Theatre, Iowa
tional Theatre Live: No Man’s Land,
Hall, Cedar Rapids, Free-$5
City, $15-35
FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City,
Opens April 1. Farce of Nature,
$13.05-18
Giving Tree Theater, $23
Iowa City, Free
Friends, Theatre Cedar Rapids,
$15-20
Opens March 4 at 8 p.m. String,
Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.
UI Theatre, Mabie Theatre, Iowa
Game for Love: Live Dating
Friday and Saturday, March 25-
Friday and Saturday April 1-2.
City, $6.18-23.69
Gameshow, Theatre Cedar Rapids,
26. Disney’s The Aristocats Kids,
Stuart Little, Coralville Center for
Cedar Rapids, $35
Coralville Center for Performing
Performing Arts, $13-19
Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m.
Arts, Coralville, $13-19 Friday and Saturday April 1-2.
The Life and Music of George
Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m. 4th
Michael, Paramount Theatre,
Anniversary Comedy Show: Zach
Friday, March 25 at 7 & 9:15 p.m.
SPT Theatre Presents: The Roaring
Cedar Rapids, $29.50-49.50
Martina, Thew Brewing, Cedar
GTT Comedy Night: Mary Mack,
20s—Art Deco, CSPS Hall, $25-30
Rapids, $10-15
Giving Tree Theater, Marion, $20-
Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m.
23
Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m. CRANK-
Knights of the Round Pasties:
Friday, March 18 at 6:30 & 9:30
GAMEPLAYS: I Have To Do This
Get Lucky, CSPS Hall, $15-100
p.m. Tig Notaro: Hello Again, En-
Show, Englert Theatre, $37.50-125
glert Theatre, Iowa City, $20-59.50
54 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
LLAM EGDIR LAROC NI DETACOL • 5526-526-913 • GRO.MCIEHT
IMAGINE. CREATE.
PLAY! DISCOVER. EXPLORE.
TAKE PLAY TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, FACILITY RENTALS & MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 55
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR
Sunday, March 6,
Vino Vérité: Fire of Love, FilmScene— Chauncey, at 7:30 p.m.,
National Geographic
$10-20, Filmmaker and Iowa alum Erin
Casper returns to Iowa City with the Sara Dosadirected love story that won her the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance this year. Woven together from dramatic archive footage and narrated by singer, filmmaker, author and performance artist Miranda July, Fire of Love tells the story of doomed scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died together in an explosion at one of the volcanoes they spent their lives exploring. Full capacity; enhanced wellness protocols in place. Vino Vérité is a joint project of FilmScene, Little Village and Bread Garden Market, pairing wine tasting and dessert with fresh, fascinating films and the people who create them.
Friday, March 25, Tempest, Raven courtesy of Raven Wolf Productions
Wolf Productions, Williamsburg, at 7 p.m., $20 Raven Wolf, one of the region’s newer venues—nestled in an accessible spot
that somehow feels like you’ve slipped off the radar into fairyland—is opening its second season earlier than expected. How is this delightful outdoor, lawn chair, come-as-you-are casual space kicking things off in the always uncertain weather of March? Scroll their Facebook feed for some teaser pics of the delightful indoor space they’re debuting in 2022! California-based Celtic rockers Tempest start the Midwest leg of their current tour by warming the place up with some fiddling fire. Get your Iowa Irish On!
Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. SaP-
Saturday, March 12 at 9 a.m. 40th
Wednesday, March 16 at 8:30
Friday, March 18 at 3:30 p.m.
aDaPaSo Irish Hooley Fundrais-
Anniversary CASI St. Patrick’s Day
p.m. Wylde Nept, Wildwood
Celtic Cabaret, Sidekick Coffee &
er, Veterans Memorial Building,
Race, Downtown Davenport, $17-35
Saloon, Iowa City, $15-20
Books, Iowa City, Free
Cedar Rapids, $2-5 Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m. SaP-
Thursday, March 17 to Satur-
Saturday, March 19 at 9 a.m. St.
Tuesday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m.
aDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade,
day, March 19. Hoops and Hops,
Patrick’s Day Walk and Food Drive
Gaelic Storm, Englert Theatre,
Downtown Cedar Rapids, Free
Cowles Commons, Des Moines,
in Beaverdale, Des Moines, $3
Free
Iowa City, $35.60
Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m. Celtic
Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. Cher-
Irish Jam—Authentic Irish Music &
Thursday, March 17 at 7 p.m.
Thunder, Paramount Theatre,
ish the Ladies, Franklin Junior
Storytelling, Coggon Opera House,
St. Patrick’s Day with Wylde
Cedar Rapids, $47.50-67.50
High, Des Moines, $30
$15
Nept!, Jameson’s Public House, Waterloo
Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Velocity Irish Dance, Fairfield Arts
Dueling Fiddles, Noir Lounge,
& Convention Center, $21-45
Ames, $20 56 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
AROUND THE CRANDIC
MGM
Films In Focus
Wednesday, March 2 at 10 p.m. Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Army of Darkness, FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City, $7 Saturday, March 5 at 10 p.m. Bijou After
by
Hours: Thelma and Louise, FilmScene— Chauncey, Free-$7
ELEANOR BURGESS
Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Song Without A Name, FilmScene—Chauncey, Free-$7 Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13 at 11 a.m. The Picture Show: Whisper of the Heart, FilmScene—Chauncey, Free-$5 Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m. Everything is Terrible! Kidz Klub Tour 2022, FilmScene— Chauncey, $10-20 Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. Promare, FilmScene—Chauncey, Free-$7 Thursday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Pride
RIVERSIDETHEATRE.ORG
at FilmScene: I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, FilmScene—Ped Mall, Iowa City, $8.50-11 Saturday, March 26 at 10 p.m. Bijou After Hours: The Living End, FilmScene— Chauncey, Free-$7 Sunday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Driftless Flyatholon Presents: Fly Fishing Film Tour, Big
Become an LV Distributor
Grove Brewery, Iowa City, $20 Sunday, March 27 at 5:30 p.m. Blue Carpet Bash, FilmScene—Chauncey, Iowa City, Free Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. Rafiki, FilmScene—Chauncey, Free-$7 Contact:
distro@littlevillagemag.com
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 57
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
via Capital City Pride
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
DES MOINES Saturday, March 12 at
Saturday, March 19 at
7 p.m. The Pork Tor-
7 p.m. Kate Thompson
nados, Wooly’s, Des
Combo, Noir, Ames,
Moines, $20-40
Free
Saturday, March 12 at
Opening Tuesday,
7:30 p.m. Pink Floyd
March 22 at 7:30
Laser Spectacular,
p.m. Hadestown, Des
Hoyt Sherman Place,
Moines Civic Center,
Des Moines, $32.50-
$40-155
47.50 Friday and Saturday,
Saturday, March 5, Capital
City Pride 2022 Annual Gala and Awards Ceremony, River Center, Des Moines at 5 p.m., $200-250 Silver tier tix are all sold out, but you can still score gold ($200) or platinum
($250) reservations for this Studio 54-themed gala event. Slip into your best glittery jumpsuit to honor the winners of Capital City Pride’s two Persons of the Year awards, along with Pride Ally of the Year and Pride Company of the Year. The event will include food, entertainment and a celebration of all who strengthen the Iowa LGBTQ+ community. Get ready to disco! Dynamic DSM
Sunday, March 13,
March 25 and 26 at
20, 27 at 7 p.m. Dan
7 p.m. Sara Gazarek,
Tedesco: March Resi-
Noce, Des Moines,
dency, xBk, $15-18
$20-80
Monday, March 14 at
Opens March 25 at
7:30 p.m. JINJER, Val
7:30 p.m. Singin’ in
Air Ballroom, $30
the Rain, Des Moines Playhouse, $29-53
Tuesday, March 15 at 7 p.m. Chris Renze-
Friday, March 25 at
ma, Wooly’s, $20-45
9:30 p.m. Improv Comedy Deathmatch,
Friday, March 18 at 9
Teehee’s Comedy Club,
p.m. Lobby Lock-In,
Des Moines, $15-80
The Lobby Game Wednesday, March 2
Opens March 4 at 7
Monday, March 7 at
Friday and Saturday,
Lounge, Des Moines,
Saturday, March 26 at
at 7:30 p.m. Jimmy
p.m. Charlotte’s Web,
7 p.m. The Happy
March 11 and 12 at
$35
9 a.m. DSM Book Fes-
Eat World w/Dash-
Des Moines Play-
Fits w/Sarah and the
7:30 p.m. RENT, Des
board Confessional,
house, $14-19
Sundays, xBk, Des
Moines Civic Center,
Saturday, March
Moines, $16-18
$69-165
19 at 10 a.m. Entirely Kids Day:
Monday, March 28 at
March 5 and 6. The
Thursday, March 10
Friday, March 11 at 7
Find Yourself Inside
11 a.m. Iowa Climate
Thursday, March 3 at
Magic Flute, Des
at 7:30 p.m. Spino-
p.m. Janee Harvey,
Art, Des Moines Art
Strike 2022, Iowa State
6:30 p.m. All Access
Moines Metro Opera,
saurus: Lost Giant
Coral Thede, Elise
Center, Free
Capitol, Des Moines,
Live! Featuring James
Des Moines Civic
of the Cretaceous:
Cole, xBk, $10-13
Tutson and the Roll
Center, $25-125
National Geographic
Saturday, March 19 at
Back + Bridges2Har-
Live, Des Moines Civic
8 p.m. Poppy, Woo-
Monday, March 28 at 7
mony, xBk Live, Des
Center, $15-48
ly’s $25-225
p.m. Beartooth, Val Air
Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines, $39.50
Saturday and Sunday,
tival, Capitol Square, Des Moines, Free
Free
Ballroom, $32.50
Moines, $10
THE WEEKENDER YOUR WEEKLY EDITOR-CURATED ARTS COMPENDIUM, A.K.A.
st uf f to do IN YOUR INBOX EVERY THURSDAY LittleVillageMag.com/Subscribe
58 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
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EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
Saturday, March 12, Jane
PRESENTED BY T MOBILE
CEDAR FALLS / WATERLOO
in Concert,
Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, at 7 p.m., $6.75-60.75 This 2017 Brett Morgan documentary is set to a Phillip Glass score,
Jane, 2017
which the wcfsymphony will perform live with the screening at this event, rescheduled from the 2019-20 season. The film uses National Geographic archive footage to explore the early career of chimpanzee researcher and conservationist Jane Goodall. The film has won numerous awards, including a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score, for the Glass composition that the symphony will perform. Tickets from the 2020 event will be honored for this performance.
Wildest W’loo + more! Through March 6 The
Sunday, March 6
Thursday, March 10
Thursday, March 17
Friday, March 18 at
Friday, April 1 at 10
Rocky Horror Show,
at 7 p.m. Jay Leno,
at 8 p.m. Wave Cage
at 7 p.m. Shades of
8 p.m. Joel Sires w/
a.m. First Friday Flick:
Waterloo Community
Gallagher-Bluedorn
and Bad News, Octo-
Green: The Screaming
Buff Company and
It’s a Beautiful Day in
Playhouse, $25
Performing Arts
pus College Hill, $10
Orphans, Cedar Falls
Jordan Sellergren,
the Neighborhood,
Community Theatre,
Octopus College Hill,
Waterloo Public
Cedar Falls, $35
$10
Library, Free
Center, Cedar Falls, Saturday, March 5 at
$38.55-$151.75
8 p.m. Eddie Bowles
Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18.
Blues Festival, Oc-
Monday, March 7 at
World’s Greatest
Saturday, March 19 at
topus College Hill,
6 p.m. Film Screen-
Spring Break for
9 p.m. The Deeves &
Cedar Falls, $10
ing: Roulette Girl,
Kids, Grout Museum,
Hot Knuch, Octopus
Hawkeye Community
Waterloo, $1
College Hill, $10
College, Waterloo, Free
CEDAR RAPIDS CZECH VILLAGE/ NEW BOHEMIA
Come work with us
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QUAD CITIES
Courtesy of Davenport Public Library
EDITORS’ PICKS: March 2022
Exiles from History: White Women’s Words and American Indian History in the Quad Cities, Thursday, March 24,
Davenport Public Library, Fairmount Branch (hybrid event), at 6:30 p.m., Free This lecture-style
event examines the poetry of Mary Brackett Durham, an upper-class white woman who lived in Rock Island in the late 19th century. Her work romanticizes Indigenous-white relations in the Quad Cities while also portraying a complex set of economic and political relationships. The discussion will highlight white women’s writing of the time, their problematic use of the “vanishing Indian” myth, and the impact each of these things has made in local history.
Quintessential QC Sunday, Mar. 6 at 1:30 p.m. ’Night
Friday, Mar. 18 at 4 p.m. The Brick
Mother, Black Box Theater, Moline,
House Anniversary Lego Party, The
$10
Brick House, Moline, Free
Thursday, Mar. 10 at 5 p.m. The
Saturday, Mar. 19 at 8 a.m. Corridor
Power of Words with Michelle
Clean Up, Davenport Public Works,
Norris, River Center, Davenport,
Davenport, Free
$20-49
Saturday, Mar. 19 at 8 p.m. Kampire
Saturday, Mar. 12 at 7 p.m.
& Special Guest Samuel P., Rozz-
Unapologetically Woman
Tox, Rock Island, $15
Burlesque Show, Spotlight Theater,
Moline, $15-100 Sunday, Mar. 20 at 2 p.m. Film Screening, Inhabitants: An Monday, Mar. 14 at 5 p.m. March
Indigenous, Perspective, Figge Art
for Excluded and Essential
Museum, Davenport, $50 —Sarah
Workers, Saint Anthony’s Church,
Elgatian
Davenport, Free
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 61
Iowa City auto repair for Subaru, BMW, Mini, Porsche, Audi, VW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Saab, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Acura and more
62 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
DEAR KIKI
LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki
D
THE IOWA CITY POLICE LOG A coffee table book
ON SALE NOW LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/POLICE—LOG
ear Kiki, My partner doesn’t read. They like to buy books sometimes and bring them home, and they seem to value books, and the IDEA of reading, but they have not read one book in the decade we have been together. I know everyone has periods where they read less, or even none at all (I certainly have and I did not like it), but I think my partner is depriving themselves of one of life’s greatest pleasures, not to mention that I just find it sort of mentally lazy and a little bit unattractive (thankfully they have many other attractive traits to fall back on!). Nothing I do (like buy books I
commenting on an acquaintance? Just because you don’t say it to your partner’s face doesn’t mean they haven’t picked up on it. In addition to making it hard to come clean as a non-reader, that might be making them feel pretty shitty, in exactly the way you’re hoping to avoid. If you’re right that your partner is a passionate reader who just hasn’t gotten around to it in the past 10 years, that leads to a whole host of other possibilities. Maybe they’re depressed: One of the key warning signs of depression is losing the pleasure you once found in your favorite activities. Maybe their prefered reading material is something they’re afraid you’ll judge them for. Do AN EARLY COURTSHIP WHITE LIE TO you openly make fun of lurid romance novels or IMPRESS YOU MAY HAVE BECOME TOO HARD graphic novels or lengthy TO WALK BACK ONCE THEY REALIZED HOW philosophical treatises—or the people who read them? CENTRAL READING WAS TO YOUR IDENTITY. Maybe their job is mentally taxing in a way that makes think they would find interesting and give them cracking a book a less relaxing choice. Or maybe to them and say “I hope you read this; I thought they just have other passions that feel more cenyou’d really enjoy it”) seems to have any influ- tral to them. You don’t say what activities they’d ence, and I don’t want to come off as insulting be replacing if they suddenly read often. Now, if you’re a careful reader, you’ll notice or condescending in any way. What would YOU suggest I do to help them rediscover this pro- a lot of mights and maybes in my response, Bookworm. That leads me to my advice for found life’s pleasure? Lonely Bookworm you: Ask them. Ask them straight out, in an honest, compassionate way that allows for all of the possibilities I’ve bandied about above. ear Bookworm, There’s a couple of questions that hover But before you do, ask yourself whether you’re around the outskirts of your query. For one, you truly comfortable with every possible answer say you want to help your partner “rediscover” they might give. Because before you ask them the pleasure of reading—but how are you certain to be honest with you, you need to know what it is a pleasure they ever felt? It may be some- your response will be if the truth is profoundly thing they never enjoyed. You have never seen unsexy to you. Don’t leave them with a cliffthem reading in all the time you’ve been togeth- hanger. xoxo, Kiki er, so unless you knew each other in the time before you started seeing each other, then you’re making a pretty big assumption. Now, maybe that assumption is based on things your partner has told you. Here’s the thing, though: That might not be the truth. An early courtship white lie to impress you may have become too hard to walk back once they realized how central reading was to your identity. That’s where the other question comes in. Just how central is this to you? And how have you Questions about love and sex in the Iowa conveyed that over the course of your time toCity—Cedar Rapids area can be submitted gether? You say you “don’t want to come off as to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com, or insulting or condescending,” but you’ve made anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/ clear to me that you find the choice not to read dearkiki. Questions may be edited for lazy and unattractive. It’s pretty likely your partclarity and length, and may appear either ner knows this. How often has it slipped out in in print or online at littlevillagemag.com. conversation, or while watching a movie or
D
KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS!
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est. 1939
312 E Market St | 351-9614
IC’s original northside tap, serving up cold brews, lively conversation, & our award-winning burgers.
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AARON MOSELEY JOHNNY BRIAN AMBER MORRIS JOHNTHOMAS RICHARD ANTOINE WILLIAMS JONATHAN T. THOMAS ARIANE PARKESPERRET JOSE CLEMENTE AUNNA ESCOBEDO JULIA J. WOLFE BENITO ZAMORA JULIE LEONARD BROOKE DEARBORN HUSTON KASEY BULLERMAN CAITLIN WILSON KELLY CLARE CATHERINE REINHART KELLY MOORE CLAIRE WHITEHURST KEN DUBIN CORY CHRISTIANSEN LACHLAN HINWOOD DANA POTTER LAURA NAPIER DANA TELSROW LAURIE ZAIGER DANI SIGLER LILAH SHEPHERD DANIEL SMITH MACKIE GARRETT DAVE DUGAN MARGARET YAPP DAVID DUNLAP MARIA RENNA DESIREE DAHL MARIANA RODRIGUEZ DAL PRA DEVLIN CALDWELL MUSTARDINLAW DONTÉ K. HAYES NANCY FOOTNER DORIAN DEAN NICHOLAS CLADIS DOUGLAS DEGGES R.C. TIBBOTT DREW CAMERON RACHEL COX ELIZABETH MUNGER RALUCA IANCU EMILY MAGNUSON RAMIN ROSHANDEL GOOD EVENING GUMM RICH DANA GYAN SHROSBREE RYAN BENTZINGER HANNAH GIVLER SALLY CHAI HEATHER PARRISH SAMMI HOPE SPRAGG SAYURI SASAKI HEMANN IAN HUEBERT SEAN TYLER INDIA JOHNSON STARFANGLED PRESS JAMIN SHEPHERD SUE HETTMANSPERGER JAN DUSCHEN SUSAN C WHITE JANE GILMOR TAYLOR YOCOM JANIECE MADDOX TERRY CONRAD JAY SCHLEIDT THOMAS AGRAN JENNA BONISTALLI TIBI CHELCEA JENNY GRINGER TREVON JAKAAR COLEMAN JEREMY CHEN TYLER LUETKEHANS JEY FOX HOUSTON VIKAS GARG JIM SHROSBREE
AST R O LO GY
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pastor and activist Charles Henry Parkhurst (1842–1933) said, “All great discoveries are made by people whose feelings run ahead of their thinking.” The approach worked well for him. In 1892, he discovered and exposed monumental corruption in the New York City government. His actions led to significant reforms of the local police and political organizations. In my astrological opinion, you should incorporate his view as you craft the next chapter of your life story. You may not yet have been able to fully conceive of your future prospects and labors of love, but your feelings can lead you to them. ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I not only bow to the inevitable,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “I am fortified by it.” Wow. That was a brazen declaration. Did he sincerely mean it? He declared that he grew stronger through surrender, that he derived energy by willingly giving in to the epic trends of his destiny. I don’t think that’s always true for everyone. But I suspect it will be a useful perspective for you in the coming weeks, Aries. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Vive la différence! Hooray for how we are not alike! I am all in favor of cultural diversity, neurodiversity, spiritual diversity and physical diversity. Are you? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to celebrate the bounties and blessings that come your way because of the holy gift of endless variety. The immediate future will also be a perfect phase to be extra appreciative that your companions and allies are not the same as you. I encourage you to tell them why you love how different they are. Now here’s poet Anna Akhmatova to weave it together: “I breathe the moonlight, and you breathe the sunlight, but we live together in the same love.” GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini singer-songwriter Bob Dylan said, “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” I think that will be a key theme for you in the coming weeks. Dylan described the type of hero I hope you aspire to be. Be alert! You are on the cusp of an invigorating liberation. To ensure you proceed with maximum grace, take on the increased responsibility that justifies and fortifies your additional freedom. CANCER (June 21-July 22): “I’d rather be seduced than comforted,” wrote author Judith Rossner. What about you, Cancerian? Do you prefer being enticed, invited, drawn out of your shell and led into interesting temptation? Or are you more inclined to thrive when you’re nurtured, soothed, supported and encouraged to relax and cultivate peace? I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I urge you to favor the first in the coming weeks: being enticed, invited, drawn out of your shell and led into interesting temptation. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A woman from Cornwall, UK, named Karen Harris was adopted as a little girl. At age 18, she began trying to track down her biological parents. Thirty-four years later, she was finally reunited with her father. The turning point: He appeared on the “Suggested Friends” feature on her Facebook page. I propose we make Karen Harris your inspirational role model. Now is a favorable time to find what you lost a while ago; to re-link with a good resource that disappeared from your life; to reclaim a connection that could be meaningful to you again. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa told us, “Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss or tranquility.” Instead, he said that meditation is how we “expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes.” Excuse me, Mr. Trungpa, but I don’t allow anyone, not even a holy guy like you, to dictate what meditation is and isn’t. Many other spiritual mentors I’ve enjoyed learning from say that meditation can also be a discipline to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss and tranquility. And I
By Rob Brezsny
suspect that’s what Virgo meditators should emphasize in the coming weeks. You people are in a phase when you can cultivate extraordinary encounters with that all fun stuff. If you’re not a meditator, now would be a good time to try it out. I recommend the books Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield and How to Meditate by Pema Chödrön. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Comedian Fred Allen observed, “It is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each other for the achievement of shared and private goals.” That’s an unromantic thing to say, isn’t it? Or maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s very romantic, even enchanting, to exult in how our allies help us make our dreams come true—and how we help them make their dreams come true. In my astrological opinion, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to focus on the synergies and symbioses that empower you. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood!” declare many self-help gurus. “It’s never too early to start channeling the wise elder who is already forming within you,” declare I. Oddly enough, both of these guiding principles will be useful for you to meditate on during the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’re in an unusually good position to resurrect childlike wonder and curiosity. You’re also poised to draw stellar advice from the Future You who has learned many secrets that the Current You doesn’t know yet. Bonus: Your Inner Child and your Inner Elder could collaborate to create a marvelous breakthrough or two. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “A myriad of modest delights constitute happiness,” wrote poet Charles Baudelaire. That will be a reliable formula for you in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You may not harvest any glorious outbreaks of bliss, but you will be regularly visited by small enchantments, generous details and useful tweaks. I hope you won’t miss or ignore some of these nurturing blessings because you’re fixated on the hope of making big leaps. Be grateful for modest delights. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I found out some fun facts about renowned Capricorn poet Robert Duncan (1919–1988), who was a bohemian socialist and trailblazing gay activist. He was adopted by Theosophical parents who chose him because of his astrological make-up. They interpreted Robert’s dreams when he was a child. Later in life, he had an affair with actor Robert De Niro’s father, also named Robert, who was a famous abstract expressionist painter. Anyway, Capricorn, this is the kind of quirky and fascinating information I hope you’ll be on the lookout for. It’s time to seek high entertainment as you expedite your learning; to change your fate for the better as you gather interesting clues; to be voraciously curious as you attract stimulating influences that inspire you to be innovative. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I always strive, when I can, to spread sweetness and light,” said P. G. Wodehouse. “There have been several complaints about it.” I know what he means. During my own crusade to express crafty, discerning forms of optimism, I have enraged many people. They don’t like to be reminded that thousands of things go right every day. They would rather stew in their disgruntlement and cynicism, delusionally imagining that a dire perspective is the most intelligent and realistic stance. If you’re one of those types, Aquarius, I have bad news for you: The coming weeks will bring you invitations and opportunities to cultivate a more positive outlook. I don’t mean that you should ignore problems or stop trying to fix what needs correction. Simply notice everything that’s working well and providing you with what you need. For inspiration, read my essay: tinyurl.com/HighestGlory LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304 March 2022 65
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LO C A L A L B U M S
Death Bag Stoopgoblin Suite—Live at Trumpet Blossom Cafe DEATHBAGIOWACITY.BANDCAMP.COM
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n Death Bag, Chris Wiersema (half of the ambient doom duo Lwa) plays electronics gizmos and Gabi Vanek, a veteran performer in the experimental live music scene who has grown up in the shadows of the University of Iowa School of Music, plays live and electronically altered bassoon. If you hear “experimental live electronic music” and shout “where do I sign up?” then this recording is right in your wheelhouse. If not, it can be a challenge. Melodies and steady rhythms are mostly absent here. Wiersema and Vanek construct their own audio vocabulary separate from, but related to, more conventional musical forms. It’s abstract the way Jackson Pollock’s paintings are abstract. The sound itself is the subject, in the same way as Pollock’s loops and spatters of the paint are their own justification. “Stray Voltage” stutters into life with the crackle and moans of damaged audio gear. Altered bassoon loops in short fragments as Vanek adds a layer of live playing. Raw frequency-modulated square wave oscillators provide squeals and rough, digital noise bursts. It sounds like street-level recordings of urban warfare, with sirens and alarms mixing with distant gunfire and explosions. “Morphemes” follows with slightly more tranquil sustained drones. Vanek bends the pitch of her bassoon slightly to interact and interfere with the electronic drone. Playing two sounds with very close
Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
not disappoint; it allows the listener a pitches as she does produces the journey through electric instrumentals audio equivalent of moire patterns. and cultivated poetry. The combined sound shimmers Welcome to Nowhere opens with and writhes. The live bassoon in“Notes by A Night Owl,” a look tertwines with Wiersema’s samples into who Ahzia is as a person. The and processed bassoon to arrive lyrics discuss his search for peace where the listener can’t distinguish and silence about the ups and downs live and electronic sound. of relationships, aspirations and “Hue and Cry (Derecho)” is setting goals. He speaks of the many based around recordings Wiersema thoughts that haunt him at night. Will made of the winds during the 2021 have the same group of friends as his Ahzia derecho. It isn’t clear what makes career grows? Will he want a wife Welcome to Nowhere the piercing cries that float in the and kids? The day leaves no time to storm noise, but that estrangeINSTAGRAM.COM/AHZIAHESTER ponder dreams because of responsiment in the sound is what keeps it bilities. Ahzia asks the hard questions unsettling and interesting. It’s as of life as the track goes on. It makes close to being music with a definite Mission Creek Festival: me ponder who he is asking, whether subject as Death Bag gets, without Ahzia, Gabe’s, Iowa City, it is himself or some “higher power.” just being that. The listener hears Friday, April 8, 7:45 p.m., Featured artist and beautiful songthe chaos and fear of a natural Festival Pass $50-100 stress Alysha Monique sets the mood disaster, but also the sound of the on track four, “Sunnyside.” Her voice performance in the moment as pure mixes perfectly with Ahzia’s as the sensation. owa does such a great job at lyrics reflect on how important it is to “Slavering Filth Pig” blooms in spewing out iconic, idealist and focus on the bright side of life. With sustained string orchestra chords illuminous inspiration. the lyric, “I’m gonna take a chance on out of the hysteria of “Hue and Ahzia, a Quad Cities native, me,” Ahzia shows that he is putting in Cry,” as Vanek improvises melodic established his tone for the year the hard work needed for a successful lines around Wiersema’s unreal with the release of his latest projcareer and isn’t going anywhere. orchestra. It’s lush, romantic music ect, 2021’s Welcome to Nowhere, The quality and foundation of this with reassuringly conventional released in December. He’s an Iowa project is a great example of the comsounds, but still connects to the favorite who has even snagged a munity that has formed in the Quad glitches and explosions of distorspot at the upcoming 2022 Mission Cities through a love of music. The tion that surround it. It flows seamCreek Festival, a huge accomplishrecording was done by Ryan Radig lessly into “Terminal Burrowing” ment for local artists. with production by infamous prowhere the chords are displaced by I love the decision to finalize ducer Pilotkid, who has worked with harsh noise bursts. Any concept of nine tracks for this album. It is the artists such as Joey Badass, IDK and conventional musicality disappears perfect balance of songs needed even Danny Towers. Accompanying in a fat wash of digital noise, with for a quick escape, to nowhere. Pilotkid is Z.Will, Kaz the God and looming drone notes simmering in But where is Nowhere? I prepared Cancel Culture band member Masked the mix. my ears to travel to a faraway land This is a recording of a live perforTHE ALBUM ALLOWS THE LISTENER A JOURNEY THROUGH mance, the goal of which was a shared ELECTRIC INSTRUMENTALS AND CULTIVATED POETRY. experience—something that’s been Man. The mixing and mastering of rare in the last two years. On the that would somehow also place the masterpiece was done by Quad musical continuum from the inme in the now. That anticipation Cities native Travis Harms. human perfection and artifice of of the listening experience was Iowa continues to blaze through (for example) the Carpenters to made even greater by the interestthe hip-hop culture establishing a lane the perfect disorder of white noise, ing album cover. Ahzia is shown of their own. Death Bag lingers at the point in a yellow hoodie in front of a Welcome to Nowhere, along with where ordered music and chaos are projected herd of cows. He stares a host of Ahzia’s other songs, can equally possible. If you surrender in deep thought, and I wonder if be found on all streaming platforms. to it, it can be scary or blissful, or this is his Nowhere—if clear skies Merchandise has been finalized with both at the same time. and pleasant meadows were the plans to release soon. —Kent Williams inspiration to, in his words: dream, create and achieve. The album does —Dr. Dawson
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LO C A L B O O KS
Lori Erickson The Soul of the Family Tree: Ancestors, Stories, and the Spirits We Inherit WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS
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ne morning, in a fling of middle-age thrill-seeking, Lori Erickson filled a small glass vial with her spittle and mailed it to AncestryDNA. Given that Erickson’s last name is Erickson and that she hails from Decorah, Iowa, arguably the most Norwegian-American small town on the continent, the results of the DNA testing were not surprising: 81 percent Norwegian, 16 percent Swedish and 3 percent Celtic. The testing company’s results also included information on likely geographic regions of origin and a list of over 600 potential relatives: A web of familial connections equivalent to a genealogist’s thick notebook of data and diagrams. Erickson no doubt pondered the results. Could her biological DNA be analogous to her spiritual DNA? Could the double helical configuration of her Nordic DNA be analogous to the intertwining of spirituality and travel, a lifelong interest of hers? The Soul of the Family Tree is her decidedly affirmative response. Erickson welcomes us aboard a literary longboat, dragon heads fore and aft, and sets sail on a genealogical and spiritual pilgrimage to explore all things Nordic, past and present. Although The Soul of the Family Tree is a pilgrimage, it is not the quintessential out-and-back trek (think the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu). Instead, the text presents a
Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240
series of ventures like expeditions: into Nordic lore and mythology, to historical sites, to contemporary celebrations. The old Viking stories were oral, eventually recorded in written form in the Nordic and Icelandic sagas. These accounts of famous Viking figures, like Leif Ericksson (a purported but unverifiable relative of the author) and the intrepid Gudrid the Far Traveler, provide descriptions of Viking adventures from Scandinavia to Iceland, Greenland, Vinland and back. Some of the characters were heroic, yet others were notably despicable, bringing Erickson to observe, “Genealogy makes it difficult to claim the moral high ground.” Recognizing that spiritual heritage is grounded in place, Erickson traveled widely to sites, ruins and holy places to learn ever more about her Nordic heritage. Her travels take us to the archeological site at L’Anse aux Meadows and the Viking reconstruction at Norstead, places that invite the reader to reimagine the hardships endured by these industrious adventurers. Other travels take us to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway; the Borgund Church in Sogn og Fjordane; and many sites beyond. Fortunately, traditions live on in contemporary reenactments such as the Midwest Viking Festival in Moorhead, Minnesota, where battles axes, looms and pots of vegetable stew bring history to life. The Soul of the Family Tree, as a literary work, is carefully researched and informative, concisely expressed, lighthearted in tone and woven together with humor like fine, handmade Scandinavian linen. The book is companionable, one you would want as a friend. After reading Erickson’s Family Tree and thinking more about genealogy, more about my own destiny, heritage and family (that is, my öorlog), I finally mailed in the glass tube from my DNA test kit—hoping the results will show that I am at least a few percentage points Norwegian. —William Blair
Jason Loper and Michael Schreiber This American House: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Meier House and The American SystemBuilt Homes POMEGRANATE
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s a woman in her mid-20s who has dedicated her life to the arts, owning any sort of house feels like a fantasy, much less one with as much historical significance as the Meier House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Monona, Iowa. But even for a person who doesn’t know much about architecture or house ownership, This American House (July 2021) was a satisfying and informative read. Authors Jason Loper and Michael Schreiber invite us into their process of finding the Meier House, falling in love with it and chronicling its history in a way that will even entertain readers who thought Frank Lloyd Wright was famous for airplanes or something. Originally, the Meier House was a part of a series of buildings in Wright’s American System-Built Homes (ASBH) plan to “bring high-quality architecture to the homeowner of moderate income.” The plan did not have the longevity Wright hoped it would, but it did leave behind houses to carry on the legacy. By the time Loper and Schreiber got to call the Meier House their home, it had already been home to several families who had taken on the act of “finding the right balance between Wright’s design goals and their own life patterns.” This book includes those stories as well. On its face, This American House
appears much too short to provide the information it does. But in fact, it tells the comprehensive story of the Meier House starting first with Frank Lloyd Wright, then the families that stewarded it before our authors moved in in 2013. Mixed with first-hand accounts from past residents are pictures of other Wright houses of similar eras, blueprints and side-by-side comparisons of the changes made to the structure over the years. Breaking the book up in this way makes it digestible for visually minded readers. Utilizing these images also allows the book to progress organically. While the authors do rely on some architectural jargon, it isn’t heavy-handed, and the visuals help round out the story for readers who aren’t familiar with the terms used. This American House is not a story about Wright, the previous families who called the Meier House home or even the authors. Instead, the house itself emerges as the main character. We learn about the changes it’s been through, the reason it was built in the first place and the interesting history it brings to Monona, and Iowa for that matter. By telling the story of the Meier House, Loper and Schreiber also remind us of the stories happening around us. History isn’t just made by loud people who fight in wars or invent machines, sometimes it’s made by humble families building a life in a hidden gem of a house hiding in the rural Midwest. On Feb. 5, Loper and Schrieber’s hard work was nationally recognized when the book earned the 2021 Silver Design Award for Historical and Biographical Books at the PubWest design awards held in Denver, Colorado. Whether you’re a homeowner, an architect or just a proud Midwesterner, This American House might be just the book you’re looking for next. —Lily DeTaeye
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27. Style for a wedding 28. Oscar-nominated
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44. Colorado town named for its native trees
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APRIL 6-7 • HANCHER AUDITORIUM H ANCHER .U I OWA . EDU • ( 3 19) 335 -11 60 O R 8 0 0 - H ANCHER The performance on Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 pm will feature an American Sign Language interpreter and audio description.
72 March 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV304
