Virtual Iowa City Jazz Festival to showcase local and national performers
Jenna Post, Arts Reporter
July 2, 2020
For its 29th year, the Iowa City Jazz Festival — organized by the Summer of the Arts — will be held in a virtual format because of the COVID-19 pandemic, from July 3-5. The switch to online includes some aspects of the classic version and some new inclusions. “It’s kind of a combination of th...
MusicIC Festival cancels in-person programming
Naomi Hofferber, Arts & Culture Reporter
May 6, 2020
The MusicIC Festival, coming up on its 10th anniversary, has officially cancelled in-person programming for this June, according to a press release by the UNESCO City of Literature. The festival was originally scheduled for June 18-20. The programming planned for this summer will instead take ...
Classics Department goes digital, moving spring Homerathon online
Roxanna Barbulescu, Arts Reporter
April 29, 2020
Last year, students and members of the University of Iowa community gathered on the T. Anne Cleary walkway to listen to volunteers read The Iliad. Their reading took over 24 hours. The event, known as the Homerathon, has been held by the UI Classics Department and Eta Sigma Phi Honorary Society a...
Iowa City Pride festival canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Naomi Hofferber, Senior Reporter
April 20, 2020
The annual Iowa City Pride parade and festival for LGBTQ community members and allies have been canceled amid COVID-19 uncertainties and in efforts to combat the risk of a large-scale gathering, Iowa City Pride shared Monday. Originally set for June 19-20, the celebration this year was set to be...
New Mission Creek dates and Refocus Film Festival to share September weekend
Josie Fischels and Madison Lotenschtein
April 4, 2020
Downtown Iowa City will once again be bursting with artistic life this fall with the rescheduled 2020 Mission Creek Festival and FilmScene’s newly launched Refocus Film Festival. Both events will share the same weekend in September, according to a joint press release by John Schickedanz, the...
Mission Creek Underground showcases filmed performances during COVID-19 pandemic
Megan Conroy, Arts Reporter
April 2, 2020
Today would have been the third day of the 15th anniversary Mission Creek Festival. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was postponed on March 12, but the Englert Theater staff didn’t leave it at that — instead organizing a virtual mini-festival to hold the community over until the reschedu...
Des Moines cancels 80/35 Music Festival
Josie Fischels, Arts Editor
March 30, 2020
The 2020 80/35 Music Festival at Western Gateway Park in Des Moines has been canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. 80/35 was scheduled for July 10 and 11. The 2020 lineup had yet to be announced. According to a statement posted on the 80/35 website on Monday afternoon, “It’s with a sad song in ...
Iowa City resident hosts virtual talent show for LGBTQ performing artists
Josie Fischels, Arts Editor
March 26, 2020
By means of a livestream on Instagram Wednesday evening, six performers showcased their talent virtually for the first round of “Gays Got Talent: a Virtual Talent Show for LGBT+ Artists.” The contest, organized and hosted by Iowa City resident Sydney Speltz, allowed LGBTQ+ artists to come t...
Elizabeth Tate High School finds another resource for struggling students through the Writing and Wellness Club
Pedro Barragan, Arts Reporter
March 7, 2020
On Wednesday March 4, the Iowa Youth Writing Project hosted their monthly Writing and Wellness Club event at Tate High School. A program started by IYWP associate director Emily Spencer in November of 2019, the club aims to empower, inspire, and engage youth through creative writing. Spencer hopes the orga...
Rebellious Russians bring Orchestra Iowa and Ballet Quad Cities joint show to Coralville
Samantha Murray, Arts Reporter
March 6, 2020
The main performance hall of The Coralville Center for Performing Arts will soon fill with the deep rumble of intense compositions sharing the stage with pale flashes of dancing ballerinas. Orchestra Iowa and Ballet Quad Cities will present their show Rebellious Russians tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Rebellious...
Hancher to host 18th annual Nachte Raho dance competition
Naomi Hofferber, Senior Reporter
March 5, 2020
A Bollywood fusion battle is set to begin at Hancher this weekend, at the 18th-annual Nachte Raho dance competition. The University of Iowa will host the national dance competition Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m., where eight teams from around the nation will compete for the grand prize of $3,000. Teams...
Comedic magician Grant Freeman charmed audiences with controversial and magical comedy
Ashley Dawson, Arts Reporter
March 5, 2020
Magician Grant Freeman entered the pink-lit Coralville Center for the Performing Arts stage on Wednesday night to a rock n’ roll drum cadence. Standing in a plain, gray t-shirt with jeans and a gray button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, he proceeded to perform his touring gig, An R-...