Free outdoor performances by the Joffrey Ballet, summer workshops by internationally acclaimed writers, jazz concerts by the fountain on a downtown pedestrian mall surrounded by upscale shops and dining choices that that range from French to Ethiopian cuisine. I’ll bet that right now you’re not imagining Iowa.
The Iowa caucuses are over now, that one moment every four years when everybody in the nation actually learns a bit about life in this Midwestern state. But the myriad images of candidates kissing pink piglets and eating loose meat sandwiches in small town diners isn’t quite the whole picture.
I’m just back from a holiday visit to the town in which I grew up, Iowa City. And like many small cities with big universities, it offers the best of two worlds—friendly small town ambience with cultural offerings one associates with much larger places. Last summer the Joffrey Ballet staged a series of outdoor performances there and in nearby communities. Every summer this community that is home to the acclaimed Iowa Writers Workshop where my favorite author Kurt Vonnegut once taught, offers workshops in which anyone can hone their skills. Summer means free jazz concerts as well in Iowa City’s downtown, which boasts a remarkable selection of shops, bookstores, clubs and restaurants. But you’ll need to wander a bit away from downtown to find a loose meat sandwich.
Not far away we had brunch to celebrate my mother’s eightieth birthday in a beautiful restaurant housed in an old converted power station. Its huge windows overlook the Iowa River, where upon hundreds of Canadian geese were taking a breather on their yearly migratory trek. We then drove just a few miles down the road to buy rhubarb preserves at a store in an Amish community that is still illuminated by gas lamps and had horse drawn buggies parked outside. A few miles further along the drive was a brand new casino, complete with a golf course cleared from the cornfields, a day spa and lots of clanging slot machines. Talk about a cultural crossroads.
My point in telling this tale is not really to plug my hometown, but to plant in your minds the seed of an idea for the New Year—that wonderful things to experience are to be found in unexpected places. So I hope this year is one in which you actively seek to break out of the box and find them.
More on the delights of Iowa City at www.iowacitycoralville.org.
USA Today just did a piece on bookstores worth traveling to visit. It appears I'm not the only one who's noticed the fine qualities of my hometown. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-01-09-nine-bookstore-destinations_N.htm
Monday, January 14, 2008
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