Earth art
NASA launched the space probe Voyager 1 almost 50 years ago and it’s still going. It passed Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, left the solar system and is now more than 15 billion miles from Earth — going, going, almost gone. Along the way, it’s sent back regular postcards, including photos of the “pale blue dot” we call home. That fragile but resilient planet, which the ancient Greeks called “Gaia,” is the subject of an exhibition called “Gaia II: The Pale Blue Dot” through Nov. 21 at Grand View University’s Rasmussen Center. It draws connections between art, science and spirituality, with oil paintings by local artist Mary Kline- Misol and a water-quality display by conservationist Christine Curry, whose fictional “Pure Iowa” sparkling water company riffs on Andy Warhol’s famous soup cans. According to Warhol, “having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want.” grandview.edu/events
Image: Mary Kline-Misol, “Dancing Magpie,” 2018
Acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 inches
Flower power
The Japan America Society of Iowa traces its origins to the 1960s, when a group of locals with Japanese connections — or simple curiosity — formed a club to practice flower arranging according to the centuries-old Japanese tradition known as ikebana. Over the years, the club evolved into JASI and now builds cross-cultural connections in many forms, including its annual sake party. This year’s event, “Ikebana to Izakaya,” features floral displays, small bites, sake and the warm camaraderie of an izakaya, a neighborhood pub that can be found throughout Japan. The event is set for Nov. 21 at West End Salvage. japan-iowa.org
Back in business
And a one, a two, a one-two-three: The Ingersoll opens its next act after a decade-long intermission. Fans of the renovated 1939 theater on Ingersoll Avenue will get a chance to peek inside when “Show Business” opens on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 28-30. The variety show, hosted by Napoleon Douglas and Max Wellman with Jason Danielson’s 10-piece band, promises a mix of music from Broadway to Motown to Las Vegas. It’s also a prelude to even more variety in the months ahead, including an Irving Berlin “White Christmas” revue (Dec. 6-27), songwriter and pianist Jim Brickman (Dec. 8), comedian Dante Powell (Dec. 11), Domita’s Drag Brunch (Dec. 14) and John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band (Dec. 21). Guests can order drinks, dinner and dessert without leaving their seat or missing a beat. theingersoll.com
Pictured: The Randy Andys hit the stage on Dec. 19. Photo: Celina James
Have a bawl
Will you enjoy the musical version of “The Notebook”? That depends on how much you want to cry. The national tour that visits the Des Moines Civic Center Dec. 2-7 seems deliberately engineered to open the emotional floodgates, with songs by Ingrid Michaelson that breathe new life into the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks. The love story focuses on Noah and Allie, whose summer romance is interrupted by class differences and family pressures, only to be rekindled decades later, when a certain notebook resurfaces to remind them of what they shared. And this time, there’s even more paper: The merch table sells packets of branded tissues. dmpa.org
Pictured: Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark play the middle-aged versions of Allie and Noah in the national tour. Photo: Roger Mastroianni
Horns aplenty
If you could distill the holidays into a single sound, what would it be? Jingle bells? The sweet supple voice of Mariah Carey? Whatever your holiday playlist sounds like, we recommend the polished power of the Des Moines Symphony’s brass players, who star in the second annual Holiday Brass concert set for Dec. 20 and 21 at Westminster Presbyterian Church. They’ll play festive favorites like “Joy to the World” and the “Hallelujah Chorus,” with backup from the orchestra’s percussionist and Juli Bey on the church’s marvelous Dobson pipe organ. It’ll be a blast. dmsymphony.org
