116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Things to do: Explore art, history over holiday weekend
The unofficial start to summer fun in the sun is upon us. Here's a quick look at area exhibits and events to entertain all generations.
Parks, picnics, pools, rivers, lakes, trails, historic sites and golf courses lure outdoors enthusiasts, as well. For a special treat, stop by Old MacDonald's Farm at Bever Park in Cedar Rapids for a free encounter with four-footed friends and waterfowl.
For more entertainment options, go to HooplaNow.com
Renaissance Fest
Middle Amana Park magically will transform into Medici Grove for three days of music and merriment, jousting and jokers, gladiators and buccaneers, merchants and more, during the 25th annual Iowa Renaissance Festival & Gathering o' Celts.
Address: 27th Avenue and H Street, Middle Amana. Iowarenfest.com
Exhibits
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday to Monday.
Admission: $6 to $10 single day, $10 to $17 two-day pass, $17 to $22 three-day pass.
Details:
Artworks ancient to modern and history and its mysteries are on display in Eastern Iowa's major museum, beckoning visitors to stroll among the masters and monsters.
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
On the second floor: 'Diego Lasansky: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' features 32 prints and paintings in two galleries opposite the works of the young artist's world-famous grandfather, the late Mauricio Lasansky, who established the UI School of Printmaking.
'Ladies of the Club: Female Portraits from the Collection,' 21 female portraits from the museum's collection, including works by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Grant Wood, as well as local and regional artists.
Address: 410 Third Ave. SE.Crma.org
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Admission: free to $7.
Details:
Hoover Presidential Museum & Library, West Branch
'Ain't Misbehavin': The World of the Gangster' explores the Prohibition Era — the time of Al Capone, gangsters, jazz, speak-easies and the G-man.
Address: 210 Parkside Dr., West Branch.Hoover.archives.gov
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Admission: free to $10. Monday: free outdoor concert, 2 p.m., by the Eastern Iowa Brass Band.
Details:
National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids
'Immortal: Warhol's Last Works' features 36 silk-screens of pop culture icons by late artist Andy Warhol, from JFK and the 1969 moon walk to John Wayne dressed as a cowboy and the Wicked Witch of the West from 'The Wizard of Oz.'
Also on view: 'Bohemian Boudoir: Czech Vanity Glass,' with glass crystal perfume bottles and bedroom accessories, handcrafted in the 1920s and '30s in the Bohemia region of the former Czechoslovakia.
Address: 1400 Inspiration Place SW, Cedar Rapids.Ncsml.org
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: free to $10.
Details:
National Mississippi River Museum, Dubuque
'Dinosaurs Unearthed' includes 15 life-size, animatronic dinosaurs roaring to life outdoors and in the museum's second-floor gallery. Also: interactive displays, real and recreations of skeletons and fossils. Related 3D film, 'The Flying Monsters,' tracing today's birds back to yesterday's pterosaurs.
The museum complex also features aquariums, displays and exhibits focusing on life in and along the Mississippi River.
Address: Port of Dubuque, 350 E. Third St., Dubuque.Rivermuseum.com
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Admission: Various combinations; basic admission $10 to $15; add $5 for 'Dinosaurs Unearthed'; Total Experience with two 4D films $19 to $21.
Details:
National Motorcycle Museum, Anamosa
Exhibits trace the history of motorcycles, and feature a 1920s gas station, show bikes and choppers.
Address: 102 Chamber Dr., Anamosa.Nationalmcmuseum.org
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
Admission: free to $10.
Details:
Overalls All Over
Roam downtown Cedar Rapids and spots in Amana, Eldon, Marion and Robins to see 25 life-size fiberglass statues depicting the farmer and daughter from Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' painting, whimsically re-imagined by artists with Iowa ties. Themes range from landscapes and symbols of freedom to pop icons, photos and color bursts.
Map: Croveralls.com/map
Putnam Museum & Science Center, Davenport
'The Discovery of King Tut' opens the door to the boy king's tomb, and its subterranean world sealed from human eyes for 3,000 years. On view are more than 1,000 painstakingly detailed recreations of the artifacts revealed when British archaeologist Howard Carter chipped through a stone wall in Egypt 1922. Related 3D film: 'Mummies! Secrets of the Pharaohs,' $5 add-on with King Tut ticket.
Address: 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport.Putnam.org
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: $15 to $19 adults.
Details:
Cliff Jette/The Gazette 'Andy & Edie,' created by artist Julius Cavira, stands sentinel outside the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, in southwest Cedar Rapids. It hearkens to the museum's special exhibit of Warhol silk-screens of pop culture icons, on display through Oct. 2.
The Gazette Sir Daniel (Dan Konen) and Sir Joseph (Dane Gambrell) perform at the 2015 Iowa Renaissance Festival in the Middle Amana Park. This year's 25th annual event runs Saturday through Monday in the same location.
Theodor Oskar Krath Three coffins, nestled inside one another, held the mummified body of King Tut. These depict the two outer coffins; a smaller third coffin held the king's remains. These intricately detailed replicas are among 1,000 such artifacts in the world-traveling King Tut exhibit at the Putnam Museum in Davenport through Sept. 5.
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