Other Events

If you're looking to make your reunion trip an extended vacation, here are some events that will be going on around the same time.

Downtown Farmers Market - Des Moines

From people-watching, to tasting home-grown produce, baked goods, and freshly prepared food, to live music and other entertainment, this farmers market truly has the best of the best. It's a Saturday morning delight from May through October in downtown Des Moines. You can find breakfast, or grocery shop for the week.

Des Moines Arts Festival

This is a REALLY top notch event, one of the best art festivals around the nation. Buy art. View art. Talk to artists. Watch people. Live music and entertainment. Food everywhere. Huge attendance. It occurs the weekend before the reunion. Click here to see their website. If art is your thing, you'll like this.

Goodguys Heartland Nationals 2009

For those who love custom and antique cars, this is the event of the year. It'll be going on at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines during our reunion weekend. No doubt, you'll see some of the oh-so-special cars cruising the area during the weekend. Now you know what that's about. Click here for their website. If cars are your thing, you'll like this.

Adventureland

For kids of every age, an amusement park on the east side of Des Moines.

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino is also adjacent to the Adventureland.

Living History Farms

A fascinating trek back through the history of life on the prairie. Click here for their website. See a 1700 Ioway Indian Village, 1850 Pioneer Farm, 1875 Town of Walnut Hill, and 1900 Horse-Powered Farm. Living History Farms was the site of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979. The little Church of the Land there stands on the same hillside where Pope John Paul II spoke to an estimated 350,000 people on October 4, 1979. (For more information about the Pope's visit, click here.)

Iowa Cubs Minor League Baseball

The Iowa Cubs are a triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Click here for the their schedule. They will be playing in Des Moines the week immediately before the reunion.

The Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX^® Dome Theater

Located in downtown Des Moines, the Science Center is a great adventure for young and old. From the inner workings of the human body to the outer reaches of the solar system, science surrounds you with dynamic live programs and hands-on interactive exhibits that will inspire the curiosity in us all. Interact, experiment and explore and see what you and science can do! Plus, an IMAX theater.

Blank Park Zoo

The mission of the Blank Park Zoo is to inspire an appreciation of the natural world through conservation, education and recreation.