While we all should honor our mothers every day of the year, Sunday marks the official day for showering moms with love and appreciation. Flowers, cards, brunch and phone calls are the obvious ways for grateful husbands and children to say thank you. Here are several other ways to get Mom out and about this weekend:

Mother’s Day Showcase: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (5/12), Noelridge Greenhouse, 4900 Council St. NE, Cedar Rapids; free.

— Tiptoe through hundreds of blooming plants and educational exhibits, then stop at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for presentations on making a mini garden. Still looking for a Mother’s Day gift? When Mom’s not looking, buy her a hanging basket, mini garden kit, honey, greeting cards or handcrafted jewelry. Information: (319) 286-5762.

“Mothering in the Trenches”: Noon Sunday (5/12), Environmental Education Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE, Iowa City.

— Dreamwell Theatre presents “a loving (but un-Hallmark) approach to Mother’s Day,” with monologues and poetry by Iowa playwrights Barbara Lau and Maggie Conroy. Cost is $20 per person, and $10 for each additional family member, to support Dreamwell’s season of female playwrights. Reserve your seat at (319) 423-9820 or Dreamwell.com

Tea Party: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday (5/12), Ushers Ferry Historic Village, 5925 Seminole Valley Trl. NE, Cedar Rapids.

— Pinkies up! Mothers, grandmothers and their children are invited to a sip tea, enjoy dainty tea time treats, hear poetry readings and music, and make a craft in the village’s historic surroundings. Sponsored by the Cedar Rapids Parks & Recreation Department, cost is $12 for Cedar Rapids residents, $13 for non-residents and free for children ages 2 and under. Advance registration is required at (319) 286-5731 or crrec.org

Listen to Your Mother:  2 p.m. Sunday (5/12), CSPS, 1103 Third St SE, Cedar Rapids.

— Eastern Iowa writers will honor all aspects of motherhood — the good, the bad and the gross. Hear the live musings of local mothers, daughters and sons, including Brook Easton, Melissa Erbes, Jana Madsen, Steve Malerich, Katie Mills Giorgio, Emily Muhlbach, Michelle Pendergrass,  Meg Schneider, Annie Scholl, Amy Stourac, Marianne Taylor, Mary Vermillion, Carly Weber, Rhonda Whittaker and Zach Wahls. Tickets are $15 at the door or $10 advance at (319) 364-1580 or Legionarts.org

For more ideas, see the events calendar at HooplaNow.com

Luther College Composer-in-Residence Brooke Joyce (kneeling, center) explains the power components of a "Talking Trees" station to colleague Andy Hageman's Literature and Ecology students during a late morning fieldtrip Tuesday, 5/7/13. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

DECORAH – Down in a valley, between majestic limestone bluffs and the rolling hills of northeast Iowa, the sound of music slowly dissolves from traffic whizzing by to the drone of a fly layered over a babbling brook, a bevy of birds, a band of frogs and a choir of insects.

They join their voices in a summer symphony springing from nature and enhanced by electronic gadgetry in an artistic installation titled “Talking Trees.”

The sonic soundscape blends into the landscape of Heritage Farm, home to Seed Savers Exchange, just off Highway 52 a mile or so north of Decorah. Hikers along 1.25 miles of the farm’s main trail can stop at four stations devoted to specific sounds, but as with nature, birdsong wafts through each one, creating a lilting, chirping counterpoint.

The details

• “Talking Trees” outdoor music installation
• Heritage Farm, 3094 N. Winn. Rd., Decorah
• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through May
• Admission: Free
• Information: Seedsavers.org

This is the brainchild of Luther College Composer-in-Residence Brooke Joyce and collaborator Harvey Sollberger, a retired music professor and active composer who lives in Strawberry Point. Both were interested in developing music to be heard in an outdoor environment, so they contacted Seed Savers and got an immediate greenlight.

The composers secured $7,000 in funding seeded through a $4,800 Iowa Arts Council grant. Luther College helped pick up the overage and “Harvey and I kicked in a little ourselves,” says Joyce, 39, of Decorah.

The bulk of the money grew into four metal tripod sculptures that create a kind of open dome over a wooden bench where visitors can sit and experience the changing music and scenery.

“This has really been a group effort,” says Joyce, who has been on sabbatical from teaching duties at Luther this spring so he could complete the installation. Consultants aided with the solar aspects and computer programming that power the music. Local artist Kelly Ludeking created the steel sculptures that are designed to weather with the elements.

The installation is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through May, and admission is free. In late August or early September, it will move to the nearby Luther campus, and Joyce hopes to take it farther afield after that.

Steel boxes house the computer, battery components and timer that operate each station of "Talking Trees." (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

Motorcycle speakers are mounted on the framework to pump out the sound. A computer memory card holds the music program and solar panels generate the power to operate the recordings via deep-cycle batteries set to turn off after hours.

Joyce and Sollberger traversed the site last May to capture environmental noises at different times of the day, which means visitors can hear the sounds change during the 10-hour cycle. Hikers also will pass by another art installation: “Grassfed,” featuring larger-than-life paintings of the the Ancient White Park Cattle living at Heritage Farm. Artist is Valerie Miller of Steel Cow studio in Waukon.

“We came out in late evening and early morning and walked all over the property, which is vast,” Joyce says. “Most people don’t realize it’s somewhere between 800 and 900 acres and there are trails all over.

“We walked on almost all the trails. Whenever we heard something that was particularly interesting, we would just stop and record a minute or two. By the time we were done, we had spent five or six hours out here had about two hours of recordings,” he says.

“What you hear are exclusively sounds that were gathered from Seed Savers. The only thing I added was a wind chime sound you’ll occasionally hear. But everything else are sounds that have been manipulated and pushed and pulled a little bit to get the effects that we want, using a computer program.”

Joyce learned to much through the project — from electronics to a new computer language — and encountered a surprise along the way from a fly that followed the composers as they made their recordings and became an underlying drone that fit naturally into the music mix.

“One of the interesting things you can do when you record sounds is put them under a microscope and figure out what frequencies are present there and what the nature of the sounds are — kind of analyze them,” Joyce says.

He discovered the frogs were “croaking right round the pitch C” and a particular bird had a call that peaked around a C.

“And then this fly is also buzzing right around the pitch C as well. So when I injected some pitch into this piece, it’s been basically a C or a G, the perfect fifth above it. So the piece – it’s like it’s in a key. I had no idea that would happen,” Joyce says. “I don’t know if it’s coincidental. I don’t know enough about biology to know if these creatures are actually communicating or being influenced by each other that way. But the environment here seems to be in the key of C. Who knew? Why not? C’s a good note.”

Sharing the nature of music and the music of nature is what it’s all about with “Talking Trees.”

“You will hear birds coming from the speakers but hear real bird sounds coming from birds around you, so you’ll have that wonderful experience of ‘what am I listening to,’ and before you know it, you’re really paying attention to your environment, which is what we want,” Joyce says.

The five Luther students walking the trail this week were doing just that, as part of Andy Hageman’s “Literature and Ecology” class.

Metal tripod sculptures by Kelly Ludeking of Decorah, with curved frames articulated in the manner of branches, house the speakers, solar panels, sound system and benches in the "Talking Trees" outdoor sound installation along 1.25 miles of the main trail at Heritage Farm near Decorah. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

“Being from Decorah, I’ve been to Seed Savers before, but this opened my eyes again to the beauty of northeast Iowa and how we can become closer with nature,” says Erik Bay, 21, a Religion major. “The recordings did sound lot like the natural sounds.”

Nils Johnson, 20, a Biology and English major from Madison, Wis., found natural tie-ins to their classroom work.

“It makes me think about a lot of what we’ve read in class, with more of just returning to a simpler kind of life. It’s reminiscent of the past. It’s simple and it’s enjoyable in that sense, to kind of return to that.”

Award-winning artist and author Arthur Geisert will launch his latest creation Saturday afternoon (5/11) at the bar across the street from his home studio in Bernard, a village off Highway 151, south of Dubuque. National Public Radio producer Rebecca Hersher will be there to report on the book party. Claudia Bedrick, Geisert’s editor and publisher from Enchanted Lion Books, is traveling from Brooklyn, NY, to Coe’s Bar, too, which Geisert says serves as the area’s gathering spot.

Geisert, 71, has been attracting national attention throughout his 30-year career in children’s literature. He’s produced nearly a book a year, often using pigs to teach kids about everything from counting to letters. Three of his books have been named “best illustrated books” by The New York Times Book Review: “Pigs From A to Z” in 1986, “Roman Numerals I to MM” in 1996 and “Ice”  in 2011.

His books have been translated into French, German, Latin, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Even the one-word “Oink” has been translated into six languages.

“It’s fun to see the same book in three or four languages,” Geisert says. “The Roman numerals book is especially interesting in the Oriental languages, because you combine the stately, imposing Roman numeral type with the Japanese typeface.  The typography gets a little weird looking and fun to look at.”

His work has appeared in The New Yorker and has been reviewed in The New York Times, but he’s most proud of one accolade in particular. Publishers Weekly proclaimed Geisert’s 2001 “Nursery Crimes” — about a family of pigs whose turkey-shaped topiary trees are stolen at Thanksgiving — “the most ridiculous plot of the year.”

“When you realize how silly and goofy some of the plots are for children’s books,” he says, “thousands are published,” so the tongue-in-cheek award is high praise, indeed.

The whole pig and farm premise seems goofy, too, when you consider that Geisert grew up in Los Angeles, has never lived on a farm, didn’t see pigs until he moved here and didn’t even see a gravel road until he was 21.

“I thought (the road) wasn’t finished,” he says with a laugh. “I didn’t realize they left them that way.”

Arthur Geisert

He studied sculpting and printmaking at the Otis Art Institute in LA before making his way to the Midwest. He taught at Concordia University in Chicago’s River Forest suburb, then moved to Galena, where he lived for 35 years.

Married at the time to his wife and collaborator, Bonnie, trips to her family homesteads in South Dakota helped inform his intricate images of farmlands and houses. After they divorced, Geisert wanted to stay near Dubuque, where his extended family had settled.

So he started scoping out nearby places where he could live and set up shop. The winding road to “something cheap and about 1,000 square feet” took him to tiny Bernard six years ago.

Not too many people can say they bought the bank, but the town’s empty 700-square-foot building fit the bill. Geisert’s currency is etching glorious scenes of the rural world around him.

Since his art studio and printmaking equipment take up most of the space, he sleeps in the vault. That room is small, but he rarely closes that door, so the lights shining through his big front windows from the bar across the street reminds him of living in a big city.

“It’s a small town, but I can look out and see the lights of town,” he says.

He’s found a warm welcome there, with area farmers always at the ready to fact-check his drawings and correct his technical errors.

“Tractor wheel placement, windrows, cutting, raking, baling — that stuff is more complicated than you think, and more sophisticated,” he says.

His latest book wouldn’t even fit in the bank if the pages were laid side by side to create the continuous picture it’s designed to be. Etched on 34 copper plates, the continuous picture is 40 feet, one-quarter inch long. That’s even bigger than the town’s first billboard, beckoning folks to Saturday’s book launch and signing.

As with all of his 25 picture books, the pages are works of fine art. His hand-colored etchings have hung in the Art Institute of Chicago, the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and the Dubuque Museum of Art. Another Figge exhibition is planned for summer 2014, highlighting the “Thunderstorm” artwork.

“Thunderstorm” is a blow-by-blow account of a storm’s development, path and destruction across farmland on a July afternoon, from 12:15 to 6:15 p.m. The pictures are so detailed, so engaging, even showing glimpses inside burrows and tree hollows where animals are nesting. Laundry blowing on the clothesline is gathered and hung inside to dry. Clouds roll over the fields, whipping into a tornado. One family leaves its pickup to take shelter under a bridge overpass. When the storm dissipates and the sky turns calm, families and friends begin patching and repairing the damages.

While not necessarily the stuff of bedtime stories, the book is beautiful and compelling.

“Other people have made that same point,” Geisert says. “Some younger children might need a little reassurance.”

Geisert spent about two years on the preliminary drawings. Once he got the go-ahead from his publisher, he devoted six months of intensive labor “all day every day” to do the etchings. The hand coloring took another three months. The result is a sophisticated artistry that will fascinate all ages.

His books “take repeated looking for adults and children,” he says. “Children are usually a little sharper than the adults in looking at the pictures and picking out things.”

He has fond memories of reading and rereading picture books cover to cover in his youth, especially Holling Clancy Holling’s “Minn of the Mississippi,” about a turtle’s journey from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, and “Paddle to the Sea.” Geisert was especially intrigued and influenced by those books, which had little notes and drawings in the margins.

“I used to read those books, never from cover to cover. I would just thumb through and just look at the margins and go back and forth through the books,” he says. “I think my books can do the same thing.”

• What: Arthur Geisert’s “Thunderstorm” book launch and signing
• When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday (5/11)
• Where: Coe’s Bar, Bernard

A pagre from, "Thunderstorm" by Arthur Geisert

Members of the Harmony Hawks Barbershop Chorus members warm up with a rehearsal in 2010, preparing for the Cedar Rapids ensemble's 60th anniversary concert. In 2013, the men's a cappella singing group is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Barbershop Harmony In America, with a concert at 7:30 p.m. April 26 at the Concert Hall at College Community in Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Chemical engineer Wendell Keith came to Cedar Rapids for a job interview nearly 30 years ago at the Duane Arnold Energy Center and left that day with an offer in hand and an invitation to attend a Harmony Hawks rehearsal.

“I had not ever been to Cedar Rapids before when I came for my job interview,” says Keith, now 56, of Cedar Rapids.

He spied a music note on the interviewer’s bulletin board. Turns out, she sang with the local chapter of Sweet Adelines, a women’s barbershop chorus. Keith told her he had sung barbershop back in his hometown of Hammond, Ind., part of the Chicago metro area.

So before he even moved here, he had found a way to advance his career and his love of choral singing.

Since then, he spent about 12 years with the Harmony Hawks, then the past 15 years with another local barbershop organization, Twenty-First Century Vocals. He’s also been singing with Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale for 25 years, then simultaneously with Chorale Midwest the past 11 years or so. He’s held leadership positions with all those organizations, performed with their various small groups and in their Orchestra Iowa gigs, and has taken voice lessons with two teachers.

While Keith is perhaps more plugged in than the average Corridor chorister, he is among hundreds of adults finding musical outlets through auditioned community choirs and bands in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area.

By day, he says he “makes electricity” at the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo. On evenings and weekends, it’s “the love of music and really enjoying bringing that to people’s lives” that keeps him juggling rehearsals with three groups, their performances and voice lessons.

“It’s a great way to spend your time,” he says. “For me, it’s a great enjoyment that sometimes can be great elation. It’s just a lot of fun to do.”

Members of Chorale Midwest rehearse for the annual Chorale Festival at Echo Hill Presbyterian Church in Marion on April 6, 2013. (Kaitlyn Bernauer/The Gazette-KCRG9)

He’s never added up the cost of participating in all those groups, with dues and related expenses such as voice lessons. “It’s certainly nothing compared to the enjoyment I get out of it,” he says.

The best fringe benefit, however, was meeting and marrying Rebecca Farmer, who also sings with Concert Chorale and Chorale Midwest.

Some of Keith’s fellow performers are music educators wanting to step out of the classroom and onto a stage. Others are doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, retirees, students and media types — like this reporter, who has sung with the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale, Jazz Inc., a combined choir with the Chamber Singers of Iowa City, Cedar Rapids Symphony (now Orchestra Iowa), four Follies and 15 Theatre Cedar Rapids musicals and is currently a member of Chorale Midwest and the Marion Community Band.

“(Performers) really do come from all walks of life,” says John Hayden, 43, of Blairstown. Director of choral activities at Benton Community High School in Van Horne, he’s also directed the Harmony Hawks for most of the past 20 years. The award-winning a cappella ensemble, organized in 1949 and chartered a year later, is celebrating 75 years of the Barbershop Harmony Society in America.

“Ninety percent of our members who walked through our door as guests have had somewhat significant musical experience, whether with high school, college or church choirs. Once in a while we’ll get an organist — we get a lot of guys with instrumental backgrounds who are really good music readers. And sometimes we get guys who can’t read music at all,” but learn by hearing the notes.

He says the most prevalent reason he hears from new members is that they’re looking for “a creative and emotional outlet somewhere in their life.”

“A lot of them have jobs that don’t allow them much creativity or much expression,” Hayden says. “Their jobs are pretty cut and dried. They come to us for that weekly release of emotional involvement. They just really like to sing. We hope we’re giving them a quality product so when they leave, the feel filled up.”

He gets filled up, as well, even though his life is already filled up with family and school activities.

“Certain things are hard to get out of your blood,” he says. “There’s another real big piece of the puzzle — guys really enjoy the brotherhood and the bonding. It’s not always easy for men to find places to connect and have friends that have a common interest. …

“For me, too, I love the music. It’s kind of infectious and it’s kind of in my blood. I’ve been doing it since I was 16 years old,” Hayden says. “I also just get energized. … As a high school choral director, you find yourself having to motivate kids all the time. As the director of a community group, they are so motivated from the minute they walk in the door that they’re almost the ones motivating me.”

Concerts are popping up all over this spring and summer. Some area groups also travel to competitions, like the men’s and women’s barbershop ensembles and the Eastern Iowa Brass Band. Others travel to exotic locales, like the Marion Community Band, invited to the Austrian National Band Festival in 1988 and the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain, in 1992. Chorale Midwest, which will be touring and performing in the British Isles in June, also sent members to sing in Russia in 2000 and Hawaii in 2011.

Volunteer community bands are alive and well across Eastern Iowa, too, continuing an Iowa tradition that reaches back to the 1800s. In the early 1920s, the Iowa Legislature even passed the Iowa Band Law, allowing communities to levy a tax to support municipal bands. Karl King celebrated that ruling by writing the “Iowa Band Law March” in 1923.

Iowa’s love of community bands hit Broadway in 1957, 1980 and 2000 with 76 trombones blazing through Meredith Willson’s iconic Tony-winner, “The Music Man.” The 1962 film adaptation was nominated for five Academy Awards and won for best musical score. A 2003 television adaptation grabbed five Emmy nominations.

Further proving the music doesn’t stop after high school and college, instrumentalists ages 55 and older can toot their own horns in New Horizons Bands in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

Even though all these groups use volunteer musicians, Orchestra Iowa calls on various community and college vocal groups for pops and symphonic concerts.

Such pairings provide the orchestra with “a convergence of two missions,” says music director Timothy Hankewich, 45, of Cedar Rapids. “One is outreach and partnerships with other organizations throughout the community. The other component is making great art.

Each chorus has “unique strengths that you can use in different contexts,” he says. “For example, the Harmony Hawks were perfect in our patriotic program during the summer. (Luther College’s) Nordic Choir was perfect for the ‘St. John’s Passion,’ which required an extreme attention to detail. Concert Chorale and Coe College were perfect for Brucemore, and we’re going to be collaborating with Concert Chorale soon.”

Hankewich, who trained as an opera conductor, has stepped off the podium and into the spotlight, as well, in past Follies productions or piano performances.

“I enjoy being a ham,” he says, “and at the same time, I spend most of my days coaching other musicians on how to play and perform. There comes a time when you have to practice what you preach or you lose credibility. … It’s a totally different skill.”

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Here’s a look at some of the Corridor’s volunteer music ensembles for adults

Vocal

CEDAR RAPIDS CONCERT CHORALE: Auditioned mixed choir, founded in 1959, up to 100 voices; Tuesday night rehearsals, three to five concerts per year, special events, director Fred Kiser. Upcoming concert: “Pictures at an Exhibition,” 5 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. concert May 19, First Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, $6 to $14 at (319) 365-8221, crconcertchorale@gmail.com or crchorale.org

CEDAR SOUNDS CHORUS: Sweet Adelines women’s barbershop chorus, 20 voices, shows, special events, competitions; Tuesday night rehearsals, Cedar Rapids, director Marilyn Fairchild; Cedarsoundssingers.org

CHAMBER SINGERS OF IOWA CITY: Auditioned mixed choir, formed in 1970, about 50 voices; Monday night rehearsals, three major concerts per year, director David Puderbaugh. Upcoming concert: Haydn’s “The Seasons,” 3 p.m. May 19, Iowa City High School, $5 to $17 at door, (319) 535-0150 or icchambersingers.org

CHORALE MIDWEST: Auditioned mixed choir, founded in 1996, about 75 voices; Sunday night rehearsals, Cedar Rapids, two to three major concerts per year, special events, director Bradley Barrett. Upcoming concert: “A Spring Celebration … Then and Now,” 3:30 p.m. April 28, 7:30 p.m. April 29, St. Wenceslaus Church, Cedar Rapids, $12, Choralemidwest.org

HARMONY HAWKS: Men’s barbershop ensemble, organized in 1949, chartered in 1950, more than 60 voices; Thursday night rehearsals, two major concerts per year, special events, competitions, director John Hayden. Upcoming concert: “Spectrum of Harmony,” 7:30 p.m. April 26, featuring international men’s championship quartet Vocal Spectrum, Concert Hall at College Community, Cedar Rapids, $5 to $20, 1-(866) 967-8167 or Harmonyhawks.org/spring-show

METRO MIX CHORUS: Sweet Adelines women’s barbershop, Iowa City, formed in 1964; Monday night rehearsals, director Beverly Hamilton. Shows, competitions, Metromixchorus.org

OLD CAPITOL CHORUS: Men’s barbershop, Iowa City, chartered 1963, about 30 voices, Thursday night rehearsals, concerts and competitions, director Chad Knipfer. Upcoming events: April 25 Guest Night, May 2 Cookie Festival, Oldcapitolchorus.com

THE QUIRE: LGBT/allies mixed chorus, Iowa City, formed in 1995; Sunday night rehearsals, two major concerts, special events, director Peter Grau. Upcoming concert: 7 p.m. May 11, details TBA; Thequire.org

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY VOCALS: Men’s barbershop, Cedar Rapids, Thursday night rehearsals, details dwpenner@rockwellcollins.com

Instrumental

EASTERN IOWA BRASS BAND: British style brass band, Mount Vernon, formed in 1985, 35 members; Thursday night rehearsals, three subscription concerts, competitions, festivals, conductor Kate Wohlman. Upcoming concerts: 7 p.m. April 20, First Church of the Open Bible, Cedar Rapids, with Chicago Staff Band; Subscription Series finale, 7:30 p.m. April 27, Mount Vernon Middle School auditorium, $4 and $10,  Easterniowabrassband.com

IOWA CITY COMMUNITY BAND: Concert band, high school through retirees, formed 1982, summer concerts in Iowa City area, winter holiday concert at the Englert Theatre; Saturday morning rehearsals, conductor Rob Medd; iccband.org

MARION COMMUNITY BAND: All-ages concert and jazz bands, Marion, formed in 1982; two concerts, conductor David Law; concert band rehearsals, Tuesday nights, May 28 to June 18; jazz band rehearsals, Thursday nights, May 30 to June 20. Upcoming concerts: 7 p.m. June 11 and 25, Marion Square Park, free; Marioncommunitybands.us

NEWS HORIZONS BAND/CEDAR RAPIDS: Concert band for ages 55 and older, Tuesday morning rehearsals, Coe College, director Alan Lawrence; details (319) 399-8521, alawrenc@coe.edu or Public.coe.edu/~wcarson/newhorizon.htm

NEW HORIZONS BAND/IOWA CITY: Concert band for ages 55 and older, rehearses twice a week at Iowa City Senior Center; details (319) 335-3026, erin-wehr@uiowa.edu or Uiowa.edu/homepage/resources/listings/n/New_horz_comm_band.html

Director Bradley Barrett leads a rehearsal for Chorale Midwest's annual Chorale Festival at Echo Hill Presbyterian Church in Marion on April 6, 2013. (Kaitlyn Bernauer/The Gazette-KCRG9)

New to the lineup is the Iowa Soul Festival, bringing gospel groups, drums and dance and funky vibes from Sept. 13 to 15.

“Our goal is that everyone has soul, and we in Iowa City uniquely have the ability to bring people together to celebrate the greatness that diversity brings to our community, brings to the region and brings to Iowa,” says Chad Simmons, executive director of Diversity Focus in the Corridor, which is presenting the Soul Festival.

One thing that won’t be filling downtown streets this year is sand. Debuting in 2009, Sand in the City became “logistically challenging for us,” according to Lisa Barnes, Lisa Barnes, executive director of Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts. That event is moving up to Cedar Rapids as a new Freedom Festival attraction.

Also new is a partnership between the University of Iowa and Summer of the Arts to bring under the umbrella the MusicIC chamber music and literature festival June 13 to 16. Among the highlights are the musical setting of a new poem by Marvin Bell and the return of Iowa City natives Conor Hanick on piano and soprano Meagan Brus.

The mainstay events are bringing out the heavy-hitters, with the Old 97′s cowboy rockin’ the Iowa Arts Festival on June 8 and for the sizzling hot Iowa City Jazz Festival, fireworks on July 5, Dr. Lonnie Smith on July 6 and Pharoah Sanders on July 7.

The Friday and Saturday Night concert series bring out the best in local and regional bands across all genres. The Friday series is expanding into September, launching May 17 with a Hancher concert by Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience.

The ever-popular Free Movie Series opens with “Victoria/Victoria” on June 15, coinciding with Iowa City’s Pride Fest, and closes Aug. 22 with “The Hunger Games.” In between are movies targeting various ages and interests, from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” to the animated “Ice Age” and “Monsters Inc.” Films are shown on a big screen outside Macbride Hall on the UI’s Pentacrest.

It’s still early in the season, so some festivals will be adding shows to their lineups in the coming weeks. Want to get in on the action behind the scenes? It takes more than 450 volunteers to make the events run smoothly. Check Summerofthearts.org for updates and volunteer opportunities.

Fireworks light up the Tree of Five Seasons at the finale of the Freedom Festival on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, in Cedar Rapids. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Some things old, some things new, some things borrowed and lots of red, white and blue. That’s what’s in store for the 30th anniversary of the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival.

The celebration gets under way June 21 to 23 with the return of the Dock Dogs canine aquatic contest, moving to Kirkwood Community College, and the new Sand in the City sand sculpture contest at NewBo City Market.

“We’re excited to bring Sand in the City to Cedar Rapids,” says Brandon Busbee, the Freedom Festival’s marketing and operations director. “It’s been in the Corridor, but this is our first time bringing it to Cedar Rapids and making it part of our festival.”

The Dock Dogs competition premiered last year and generated so much excitement that the governing group proclaimed Cedar Rapids the site for this year’s Midwest Regional Championships.

“The community really liked it and really embraced it,” Busbee says. “We just had to bring that back.”

Next to waving flags and fireworks, nothing says Fourth of July like patriotic music.

“We’re incorporating not only one military band, but we were lucky to get a second one, as well,” Busbee says. “The U.S. Navy Band will march in the parade, play a rock concert in the evening (June 29) and play in the Patriotic Pops Concert at the Paramount. Then the U.S. Air Force Band will be headlining the concert downtown before the fireworks. We’re excited to have two military bands, since we haven’t had one since 2010.”

NewBo Market will be the site for several events June 29, beginning with a flag retirement ceremony at 4 p.m., followed by the U.S. Navy Rock Band concert and the revamped Music Night, featuring Simpleton & Cityfolk from Chicago. All of the concerts will be free with a $3 Freedom Festival button.

The buttons, designed by local artist Dan Schuster of Design Trust, will go on sale May 24 at all local Hy-Vee Food & Drug Stores and Casey’s General Stores. Scattered among the buttons are gold ones that qualify the buyer for prizes, including a trip for two to Mexico.

Kicking the party into overdrive is a raffle where one lucky ticket holder will drive off with a 2013 KIA Soul. Tickets go on sale May 20 at the Freedom Festival office, 226 Second St. SE.

The two-week festival typically brings 350,000 to 400,000 people to town, generating between $10 million and $12 million in economic impact, Busbee says.

For more event information, go to FreedomFestival.com or call (319) 365-8313.

SCHEDULE:

— June 21 to 23: Jump for Freedom, Dock Dogs canine aquatic jumping contest, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kirkwood Community College

— June 21 to 23: Sand in the City, sand sculpture contest, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., NewBo City Market

— June 25: Balloon Glow, 5:30 to 10 p.m., Brucemore

— June 27: Tribute to Heroes Dinner, 7 p.m., The Hotel at Kirkwood Center

— June 29: Imagination Square, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Greene Square Park; Freedom Festival Parade, 10 a.m., downtown Cedar Rapids

— June 29: At NewBo City Market: Flag retirement ceremony, 4 p.m.; U.S. Navy Rock Band concert, 5 p.m.; Music Night, 8 p.m., with Simpleton & Cityfolk from Chicago, free with button

— June 30: Patriotic Pops, 4 p.m., Paramount Theater, featuring 45-piece U.S. Navy Great Lakes Wind Ensemble, free with button

— July 2: Movie Night at the Ballpark, 7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Stadium, showing “Sandlot,” free with button

— July 4: Downtown Cedar Rapids: Pancake breakfast, 8 to 11 a.m.; KidZone and Ferris wheel, food and beverages, 4 p.m.; U.S. Air Force Rock Band concert, 7 p.m.; car raffle winner announced, 9:30 p.m.; 30th Anniversary Fireworks Show, 10 p.m.

A driving and hiking trip through The Badlands, just 8 miles south of Wall, is a highlight of any trrip to South Dakota. Layers of color glimmer in the summer sun, creating a magical kaleidoscope in this must-see national park. (Diana Nollen/The Gazette)

North by northwest of Eastern Iowa lies a tourist attraction of monumental proportions.

Mount Rushmore is, quite simply, a national treasure. And it’s just an easy day-and-a-half drive away, with several great four-lane routes to zip there: straight across Iowa on Interstate 80 or Highway 20, north on Interstate 29 or 35, then west on Interstate 90. Smooth sailing all the way.

Note: If you do take the I-35 route, you’ll miss western Iowa’s celebrated Loess Hills — our own mini mountain range, beckoning a side trip my family definitely will make on our next trek west.

And we will go back. South Dakota is that spectacular. The Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, nearby Custer State Park, twisting mountain roads, Crazy Horse emerging from a mountain, lively Deadwood, nearby Devils Tower and the oh-so-good Badlands. We saw them all in a quick five-day trip, and relished every moment.

The hardest part about planning our August 2012 outing was working around the infamous annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. For summer 2013, you’ll want to avoid Aug. 5 to 11 — and probably a week on either side of those dates — unless you’re part of the die-hard biker throng that converges on all the roads, restaurants, campgrounds and hotels for miles around.

We went the last week of August and enjoyed perfect weather — although it was 105 degrees at Devils Tower.

We needed to find a summer vacation destination within an easy two-day drive of Eastern Iowa — one where our mother could sight-see from the car or wheelchair accesses. My brother and I wanted photo ops and some hiking possibilities.

South Dakota blew us away.

It exceeded our every expectation and upon our return, my brother proclaimed it “the best road-trip we’ve ever taken.” Considering we’ve driven all over the United States, that’s the pinnacle of praise.

At first glance, Interstate 90 seems a rather desolate drive. Occasional sunflower and sorghum fields dot the wide-open spaces, and in the midst of the drought, cattle gathered around the few watering holes that hadn’t dried up. Gnarled sun-bleached trees added Wild West ambience. Thankfully, our modern covered wagon had air conditioning and comfy seats.

Along the way, we decided to skip the Corn Palace (been there, done that) and Wall Drug. My brother was so sick of the multitude of signs pointing toward the famed tourist attraction that he refused to stop there. We were on a mission to reach Rushmore that afternoon.

A Facebook friend who lives in Rapid City assured us the semi-boring, flatland drive across the state would all be worth it once we got to the Black Hills. She was so right. The hills are alive with beauty and majesty and wonder — and people. South Dakota seems pretty sparsely populated until you approach Rapid City, where suddenly, it all explodes. People and traffic and houses and shopping and the soaring sights to see, seemingly around every twisty bend.

Two rocks lean into each other, creating a "cave" frame for Washington's bust at Mount Rushmore. This sight is one of the fun discoveries on the park's guided ranger walks. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

MOUNT RUSHMORE

Mount Rushmore is the epitome of patriotism — four giant presidential portraits carved into a granite mountainside — so intriguing, Hollywood couldn’t resist. The faces were recreated for the climactic chase scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller, “North by Northwest,” and more recently, Mount Rushmore was the hiding place for the City of Gold in “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”

You really don’t see it when you’re driving up the highway from Keystone, but when you turn the corner and the 60-foot busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln emerge atop the 5,725-foot mountain, all you can do is gasp.

The figures represent 150 years of America’s history, from birth and growth to development and preservation — and took 14 years to complete. Danish sculptor Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers dangled from steel cables and perilous perches from Oct. 4, 1927, to Oct. 31, 1941, using dynamite to carve the memorial.

No one died from the arduous work, but Borglum died of an embolism in March of 1941. His son, Lincoln, continued the sculpture. The total cost was $989,992.32 and the National Park Service took control of the monument in 1933.

Today, a gorgeous, modern park setting greets visitors. Restrooms, a visitors center, bookstore, cafe and gift shop line a wide walkway that leads to an avenue of state flags, opening onto an amphitheater in front of the massive sculpture.

We arrived in the afternoon and caught the last ranger’s walk that took us so close to the faces it felt like we could touch them. We couldn’t, but we did have spectacular angles for photos. We also explored sculptor Borglum’s studio.

We left to find dinner and a motel in Keystone, then returned before dusk for the Evening Lighting Ceremony. This solemn celebration included a film about the arduous sculpting process and a tribute to veterans in the audience. Be sure to take tissues. It’s a very moving experience.

The next day, I found myself craning for another glimpse of this historic wonder as we traversed the Black Hills, en route to Custer State Park.

Burros rule the road halfway through a leisurely drive in Custer State Park near Custer, S.D. Roll down your window even a bit and these friendly creatures will nuzzle your arm and grab any snacks they can reach. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

CUSTER STATE PARK

Although South Dakota’s first and largest state park isn’t that far from Mount Rushmore as the crow flies, we’re not crows. Several roads will lead you from Keystone to Custer, but for the very best, most exciting and scenic path, take the turn that’s about halfway up the road from Keystone to Mount Rushmore, turn left and follow Iron Mountain Road, which turns onto Needles Highway Scenic Drive.

Wend your way along a breathtaking series of switchbacks right through the Black Hills, with scenic overlooks and photo ops aplenty. At one point, you round a bend and suddenly Mount Rushmore is perfectly framed by the entrance/exit of a short stone tunnel. You won’t win any road races taking this route, but it’s a memory-maker.

At the end of the road lies the fairly flat Custer State Park, where a ribbon of easy driving roads creates a circular route through fascinating flora and fauna. Buffalo roam relatively freely there, along with elk, various deer, pronghorns (which look like antelope), mountain goats, bighorn sheep and reclusive mountain lions. Most of these smart animals were being reclusive as we drove through the midday heat.

The burros, however, were not. They are not one bit shy, and will stand right in front of your car, forcing you to stop. If you roll down your window, they will poke their heads right inside and sniff out any snacks within reach. You’re not supposed to feed the animals, but the temptation is pretty great, and something tells me lots of people do. For the record, we did not.

DEADWOOD

Leaving Custer, we needed to make our way to Deadwood, seeking another scenic route. A local advised us to drive by the Crazy Horse Memorial, a giant sculpture slowly and painstakingly emerging from a mountainside north of the town of Custer. A Gazette colleague and her young family loved exploring this site, but we were not intrigued.

Also near Custer are turnoffs to Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, attractions we’ll check out next time.

We had a lovely, leisurely afternoon drive up to Deadwood, a Wild West mining town that now mines tourists’ gold. It seems like every other storefront on the old town Main Street houses a casino.

We dined at Kevin Costner’s swanky joint, The Midnight Star, which features two restaurants and a gaming floor. We skipped the pricey top-floor fine-dining room, but loved the second-floor bar and grill, Diamond Lil’s, chock-full of Costner’s costumes, photos, posters and movie memorabilia. Alas, “Field of Dreams” was relegated to the hallway by the men’s bathroom. Not very dignified for our Iowa icon.

We arrived too late to squeeze in the town’s tourist attractions like Boot Hill (actually Mount Moriah Cemetery), final resting place of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and other Wild West notables. The drive is incredibly steep, so our waiter advised us to take one of the buses that make the trek.

The Old West city also boasts other historic attractions, including shoot-outs. You could easily make Deadwood a lively day’s destination. But the Devils Tower was calling our name.

Mystical Devils Tower pops up in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, about an hour west of Deadwood, S.D. Since this natural monolith was the centerpiece of the sci-fi film classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” it seemed appropriate to give this shot an alien feel using the Android phone’s “glimmer” effect. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

DEVILS TOWER

A little more than an hour west of Deadwood lies the country’s first National Monument, signed into posterity by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

This giant monolith emerging from the prairie truly lies in the middle of nowhere. But the moment you spy it, this magnificent magma formation lures you with a mysterious magnetic force. You just have to have a close encounter with this natural wonder. It’s no wonder this is a sacred site to the Lakota and other American Indian tribes.

Of course, I wouldn’t even know about this monolith with its distinctive vertical cracks if not for Steven Spielberg’s 1977 alien epic, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Unfortunately, it was 105 degrees when we arrived at the park gates, so we just hopped out of the car, shot a multitude of photos, admired the view and skipped the recommended hiking.

Note: The trading posts by the entrance to the park are not gas stations, so fill up your tank before you leave Deadwood.

Sunflower fields dot the landscape along Interstate 90 spanning South Dakota, and occasional blooms even pop up among the scrub brush in the desolate Badlands. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

THE BADLANDS

On the way home, about midway across South Dakota, lies the biggest surprise of our trip. The Badlands. Gas up in Wall, then turn south, and after about 8 miles of dreary flats, the land falls away into an unparalleled moonscape that will leave you speechless. Majestic mountains are carved downward, and as you drive down, you suddenly feel like you’re on top of a fantasy land of colors and shapes and valleys and rifts.

Saber-tooth cats once roamed there. Now you’ll see lots and lots of cute little prairie dogs, as well as the occasional bighorn sheep, bison and horned creatures we couldn’t identify. My brother and I wanted to do some hiking, but the “BEWARE Rattlesnakes!” signs prevented us from straying from the boardwalks.

Photo ops abound, and the Visitor Center gives a nice overview of the area, as well as a welcome respite from the heat.

We felt like we saw a lot in a week, but I really think we just scratched the surface. We can’t wait to explore more of this monumental state right next door. We remembered very little from our childhood trips there, but felt like children again every step of the way.

IF YOU GO:

— Getting there: Interstate 90 crosses South Dakota and connects with Interstate 29 at Sioux Falls, S.D., and with Interstate 35 at Albert Lea, Minn.; Mount Rushmore lies about 720 miles west of the Corridor

— Mount Rushmore: nps.gov/moru and Mtrushmorenationalmemorial.com

— Rapid City region: Visitrapidcity.com

— Black Hills: Blackhillsbadlands.com

— Deadwood: Deadwood.org and Cityofdeadwood.com

— Badlands: nps.gov/badl

— South Dakota: Travelsd.com

Vacation photos shot with a smartphone can take on myriad special effects, creating an arty look to the already magnificent beauty of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The Android’s “warm” special effect casts a pinkish glow to this portrait of the presidential monument, topping a 5,725-foot mountain in the scenic Black Hills. (Diana Nollen / The Gazette)

The Paramount Theatre will rock and roll with next year’s Broadway series.

The fun kicks off with “Under the Streetlamp” on Oct. 5, featuring the music of the American Radio Songbook of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, performed by former members of the Broadway touring production of “Jersey Boys.”

The remaining lineup includes: “Elvis Lives,” Oct. 22; the ABBA-inspired “Mamma Mia!” on Dec. 15; Green Day’s rock opera “American Idiot” on Jan. 26; Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight!” on March 22; the groundbreaking musical “Hair” on April 10, 2014; and perennial powerhouse “West Side Story” on May 7, 2014.

Season subscriptions are on sale at the Paramount Theatre Ticket Office, (319) 366-8203  and BwayAtTheParamount.com Individual show tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Paramount Theatre visitors in October hear about the efforts to save the Mighty Wurlitzer console, which was damaged during the Floods of 2008. The organ will be featured in Orchestra Iowa’s performance of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony No. 2 on March 8, 2014.

The Mighty Wurlitzer will be whirling through Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony No. 2 a year from now at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids.

That work is most appropriate, since the majestic pipe organ that’s been thrilling Paramount throngs since 1928 has been resurrected from the Floods of 2008. It will sing again with Orchestra Iowa on March 8, 2014.

“The centerpiece of the entire season is the Resurrection symphony,” says Maestro Timothy Hankewich, the orchestra’s music director. “That’s the program we initially intended to open the Paramount with, but we had to wait — the Wurlitzer wasn’t ready yet. That part of the program will use everything, including the kitchen sink.

“A program like this doesn’t come around very often, because of the numerous forces required. The orchestra is so large that it features offstage brass, ensembles in the audience, the organ, of course, and a chorus. We’ll maximize the entire potential of the Paramount,” Hankewich says.

That’s just one of the highlights of the orchestra’s 2013-14 season in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Coralville venues.

Theatre Cedar Rapids is joining forces with the orchestra to make treble right here in River City, with a concert version of “The Music Man.” Iowa’s quintessential contribution to musical theater will spring to life in five performances Sept. 26 to 29 on the Paramount stage, as part of TCR’s 80th anniversary celebration.

Ballet Quad Cities is continuing its partnership with the orchestra, in a new venture called Ballet Iowa. The organization will launch a three-year Stravinsky Ballet Trilogy project, beginning with “The Rite of Spring” on April 5 and 6, 2014, at the Paramount. Ballet Iowa will have its own subscription series, featuring “Dracula” in October, “The Nutcracker” in December and the Stravinsky.

Current season ticket holders can order series subscriptions now for all concerts from Brucemorchestra to chamber performances. General public tickets go on sale this summer. For more information, call (319) 366-8203 or watch for details on the Web at Orchestraiowa.org.

Elizabeth “Liz” Thompson Barry

A thirst for knowledge took Elizabeth Barry far afield in her 91 years, but her love of home kept her rooted in Cedar Rapids.

Barry, who died March 1 from ovarian cancer, spent her lifetime nurturing her family and her passions, from fishing and gardening to Hawkeye football and The Gazette, which her grandfather helped establish. She was elected to the company’s Board of Directors in 1975 and was secretary until her retirement in 2009.

“Liz Barry was a curious woman with a great intellect who was devoted to her family and community,” said Jack Evans of Cedar Rapids, who served with Barry on The Gazette board for more than 20 years. “She asked insightful questions at Gazette board meetings that reflected her background in accounting and science.

“She was quite a lady — full of energy and very informed as to what was going on not only in the city but in the state. She always came well-prepared to board meetings,” said Evans, president of the Hall-Perrine Foundation in Cedar Rapids. “I will miss her cheerful personality and refreshing stories about her garden and fishing adventures.”

Her love of family extended to her faith home, as well.

“She was a member of the family,” said the Rev. Ted Miller, senior pastor at First United Presbyterian Church in downtown Cedar Rapids. “She enjoyed being challenged intellectually as well as in the spiritual aspects of church life.”

She joined the church in 1935 and was active on various boards, committees and study groups over the years. She endowed the children’s library in memory of her husband, Donald S. Barry, who died in 1991.

Miller will miss their stimulating conversations “about all kinds of things,” he said. “We talked about politics, world affairs, football, Iowa — and we talked about faith. … The last thing we talked about was golf.”

“She got me into golf,” said son Steve Barry of Marion, a retired Gazette software engineer. His mother also instilled in him a love of gardening and of trips to Deer Lake in Wisconsin, even though he didn’t share her love of fishing.

With college degrees in botany and business administration, she was a driving force behind the scenes in her husband’s construction business and various service organizations, from Junior League and White Cross to Playtime Poppy, PEO and bridge and book clubs.

“She was smart, very capable, a very talented woman (and) thoughtful,” said son Don Barry, a math teacher in Andover, Mass.

“She let you be yourself. That’s an important legacy. She never pushed anything on us,” he said. “It’s a wonderful freedom to have parents who would always be supporting you but never getting in your way.”

Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday (3/9) at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home in Cedar Rapids, with a graveside service to follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Read Barry’s full obituary here.

Oprah Winfrey and author Ayana Mathis. (Rob Howard)

When Oprah talks, people listen. When she chooses books, they read.

She chose well when she selected “The Twelve Tribes of Hattie” for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0.

“The opening chapter just floored me — absolutely floored me,” Winfrey says in an Oprah.com video announcing her book club selection. “And listen to this: It is the author’s first novel. I love it when this happens. …

“The book touched me so deeply. The spirit of sacred truths just leaps from the pages. Oh my goodness, by the time I got to the last chapter, I was simply silent, so do not skip ahead.

“I knew I was having the privilege of witnessing a great writer’s career begin,” the talk show titan says.

Mathis, 39, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was on vacation when Winfrey called with the news that she was snapping up “Twelve Tribes” for her online book club.

“It was the most shocking phone call of my life,” says Mathis, who is teaching this semester at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in Iowa City. She graduated from the University of Iowa program in 2011.

An endorsement from Winfrey instantly elevates awareness of a new title — especially one by an unknown author.

“The book has reached a wider readership than it would have otherwise,” Mathis says. “… Oprah’s book club has a great many members. They’re quite devoted to her and to her selections. It would reach some people that otherwise it might not have.”

People who might have passed it by will now pick it up, she says. That’s pure gold for authors.

Book Reading:

• What: Ayana Mathis, “The Twelve Tribes of Hattie”
• Where: Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City
• When: 7 p.m. Feb. 25
• Cost: Free

Mathis finds herself “pretty busy” these days, trying to juggle a book tour and media interviews with her UI duties. After classes end in mid-May, she’ll go back to Brooklyn and focus on the tour.

“I’ll be traveling a lot for a while — I think that’s going to be the shape of my life for the next year or so,” she says. “I have another novel very, very slowly in the works. I’m not talking about it very much, because it’s very new and very fragile. It needs its little time in the dark.”

Her debut novel, however, casts light on a chapter of American history that’s largely been left in the dark.

“The Twelve Tribes of Hattie” weaves together the stories of Hattie Shepherd, her 11 children and one grandchild from 1925 to 1980, beginning during the time of the Great Migration of blacks from the South to the North. Hattie lands in Philadelphia, which is where Mathis grew up.

“The Great Migration is an enormously important part of our American history, which has not gotten nearly the attention that it needs to have gotten,” Mathis says.

The matriarch is “very loosely inspired” by her grandmother. “They’re not the same person, by any means. Hattie and my grandmother are very different,” Mathis says.

The 12 children, however, are fictitious, born from imagination — twins Philadelphia and Jubilee, trumpet-player Floyd, child preacher Six, babies Ruthie and Ella, secretive Alice and Billups, Vietnam vet Franklin, sickly Bell and Cassie, and Cassie’s daughter, Sala. All have inner and outer demons to battle.

“The book is very much about the ways in which people live with their own very particular and strange psychologies and how they confront difficulties not only that come from the outside, but they sort of grapple with their own psychologies and their own way of acting against their own best interest, which I think is a thing that’s quite relatable to everybody, in many ways,” Mathis says.

“Certainly it is also a book about motherhood, because Hattie is a towering central figure. And about her relationships with her children, her relationships to herself — the way she perceived the world as not the kindest place and attempts to prepare her children to meet that. (Also) her successes and failures also as a mother, which I think are pretty relatable not just to mothers, but to parents in general.”

Mathis, who is in a relationship but is not a parent, spent about two years writing the book during her time at the Writers’ Workshop, from 2009 to 2011. She had planned to write something entirely different, but abandoned that project when she recognized the threads running through a series of short stories she was writing, set against a racially turbulent 20th-century backdrop.

Storytellers serve the present by keeping the past alive.

“Faulkner said, ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ In particular, we keep repeating things. Not only do we keep repeating things, we live constantly in the consequences and reverberations of the far and recent past. If we don’t think about that stuff, we’re at sea in ways that we don’t have to be,” Mathis says.

“Particularly with regard to the Great Migration, it is a deeply American story which has changed every aspect of the United States. It doesn’t get discussed as much as it ought to,” she says.

Related: Acclaimed novel sheds light on Great Migration (Review: ‘The Twelve Tribes of Hattie’)

Celebrated author Sir Salman Rushdie speaks during the 10th Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Established by the late K. Raymond Clark, the Contemporary Issues Forum presents the views of distinguished leaders whose work has shaped and altered the course of world events. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Sir Salman Rushdie never dreamed the book he considered his “least political novel” would touch off a firestorm of violence and incite a death threat that would haunt him for a decade.

“That just shows you writers can be wrong about their work,” Rushdie, 65, of New York City, said Tuesday night (2/12/13) while fielding questions from students during the 10th annual Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum.

Even though he’s never considered himself a provocateur, his writings have stirred plenty of controversy on the world stage.

The three leaders he’s rankled through his criticism of regimes in Pakistan, India and Iran — including the Ayatollah Khomeini — all died shortly after those books were published.

“Dictator elimination appears to be a service I can provide,” Rushdie said as the audience burst into laughter.

In an exclusive Gazette interview before his speech, he said he considers “The Satanic Verses” backlash to be just one chapter in his life — a part of his past he doesn’t even think about until journalists bring it up.

“It’s been over for longer than it went on,” he said. “It’s been a dozen years since there was really any issue.”

That chapter, however, plays out in his 656-page memoir, “Joseph Anton,” published in September. The book recounts the aftermath of the Ayatollah’s fatwa, issued Feb. 14, 1989, in which the leader called on Muslims to shoot Rushdie on sight.

Thus began an underground odyssey that kept the author on the move, under police protection and in a constant search for the next safe house.

“The first year, year and a half was a time of great upheaval,” he said, “and then it gradually calmed down a bit.”

Eventually he was allowed to have a more permanent place to live, but it could not be made public beyond family and friends.

“The way this thing came to an end, it wasn’t like somebody just threw a switch one day. It slowly got better, and one of the things that really helped me was America. There’s no question the reason I now live in New York is because I was allowed to come here in those days, initially for short periods of time — a week or 10 days, and then eventually for long periods of time — two or three months — and live like a free man. The American authorities agreed to allow me to make my judgments and take my chances, and that felt like a huge relief.

“So one of the important steps back on the road to a normal life was coming to spend time in the United States. So then when I did get out of the security trap, it seemed natural to continue to live in the place where I had begun to regain that freedom.”

He moved here permanently around the end of 1999, beginning of 2000.

The title of his memoir comes from the pseudonym he adopted while living underground in London — Joseph Anton — an homage to authors Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.

Joseph Anton is vastly different from the relaxed author who travels freely, lectures at colleges 10 to 15 times per years and has been consulting and writing the screenplay that is bringing his 1981 novel, “Midnight’s Children,” to U.S. cinemas in April.

Anton is “a younger self,” he said. “First of all, this is something that happened to me when I was 25 years younger. I was trying to re-enter the cast of mine, of my 40-year-old self. Also, of course, the person I was then was under really appalling and intense psychological pressure, and that was deforming in all kinds of ways.

“Many of my friends who knew me through that period say that I seem younger now than I did then. I think that’s just because there was a terrible burden, and so that’s something I wanted to write about … Yes I managed to get through it, but that was a different me. It was a me under quite intense pressure.

“One of the reasons for the whole third-person thing in the book is that I wanted to say yes it is me, but it’s also in a way not me.

The place I’m in now, which is happier and calmer and able to look back at the past and reflect on it and understand it and write about it — that’s a very different place than the place I was in those years.

“I wanted to say yes, of course we’re the same person, but the differences in our circumstances are so extreme that there’s a sense in which we’re not quite the same, and that’s the reason for making that distinction between the character in the book and the author writing the book, even though of course, they are actually the same person.”

Finding his creative voice again wasn’t easy.

“Fear is something you always have to have a strategy to deal with,” he said. “A lot of people who have been in very alarming situations have all said some variation of what I came to believe, which is that you have to put it in a box and put it in the corner, because otherwise, it takes over your life and you can’t do anything else. You have to play a mental trick on yourself — to just set it to one side so you can get on with your day.

“I managed to find a way of doing that, and actually, writing was the thing that allowed me to do that, because writing is so all-consuming, in terms of your mind and your self. If you’re really concentrating on writing a book, there’s no room for anything else — certainly no room for fear. Starting to work again — ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’ was the first one, and then others –  was one of the ways I was able to deal with it.

“I’ve always thought that it  was lucky that I was a novelist. A novel is a thing you can sit in a room and write. I thought how much worse it would have been if I’d been a playwright or a filmmaker. Supposing ‘The Satanic Verses’ had been a film or a play. It would have been much harder to write them and get them put on, because people would have been scared. It would have been much harder for me to get financed to make a movie. So really, my work would have been interfered with much more,” he said.

“But fortunately, the art of literature is something you can do, one man alone in a room, and so, I was able to continue.”

He rebukes the label “provocateur.”

“In fact, I kind of slightly regret that that albatross got hung around my neck. I’m just writing my books. One of the problems is, if a storm erupts around your book, as it did around mine, there’s a lot of people who will say, ‘Well, he went out to court that.’ Actually, who would want to court that kind of calamity?

“My view is that I’ve never thought of myself as that. I’m just trying to respond to the world I live in as best I can,” he said.

“Let’s not be falsely innocent, because clearly, there have been books of mine in which I’ve taken on public subjects. In my novel ‘Shame,’ there’s a sort of version of a military dictator not unlike Zia-ul-Haq, the military dictator of Pakistan at the time. In those cases, yes, the book is a kind of argument and if people don’t like it, well tough. But yes, you’re writing it to have that kind of (effect),” he said.

“The odd thing about ‘The Satanic Verses’ is that I thought it was the least political book I ever wrote. I thought this was a very personal book about migration and about my views about belief and faith and identity, with less politics mixed in than the ones that came before, and then it turned out to be the opposite of that.”

Rushdie was raised in Bombay, India, in a Muslim family that didn’t practice the faith in an overt way. He is an atheist today.

“I grew up in a very secularized atmosphere,” he said, among children who practiced many different faiths. “My neighborhood where I lived, the boys I played with, were from every conceivable background — some were Christian or Jewish, Parsi or Hindu or Muslim or Sikh or whatever.

“Our attitude was that we would celebrate everybody’s holidays, because that way we got more holidays. None of us really had a strong sense of coming from different religious traditions. We felt all of it was available to all of us. … Religion was just there, but you didn’t take it that seriously. India, sadly, has changed a lot. It’s beginning to suffer more and more from religious sectarian trouble.”

This complicated man who enjoys his sons ages 33 and 16, sees his professional legacy as relatively simple.

“If you’re a writer of my kind, you’re trying to write books that will last,” he said. “My friend Martin Amis has this wonderful phrase where he says that what you hope to leave behind you is a shelf of books.”

His shelf holds at least 24 books, ranging from novels and children’s books to non-fiction and essay collections.

“That’s what I’m proud of — the fact that I’ve been doing this for a long time now. My first novel came out in 1975, so it’s almost 40 years. Actually, it is 40 years, if you count all the crap I wrote that never got published at the beginning,” he said with a laugh.

Ayana Mathis has entwined all the branches into a harrowing debut novel that digs deep into the soul of a black family uprooted at every turn by realities too harsh to bear.

It begins in 1925, at the midst of the Great Migration in which southern blacks moved north in search of a New Jerusalem. For Hattie Shepherd, that Promised Land was Philadelphia two years earlier, where she, her mother and sisters took refuge after two white men killed her father in Georgia.

Hattie was 15 and terrified. Two years later, she is fighting to save her sick twin babies with home remedies, too poor to buy the medicine that promises a cure. Their death sucks all the life out of her. Hattie is old too soon, all of her promise chipped away with nine more births springing from a destructive marriage.

With each chapter, we meet her 11 children and one grandchild, each fighting for their lives through the murky depths of poverty, prejudice and shattered promises inherent from the womb. All seek approval from their fierce and hollow matriarch.

“Hattie was like a lake of smooth, silvered ice, under which nothing could be seen or known. When she was angry, the ice creaked and groaned; it threatened to crack and pull them all under …”

Each character is drawn so vividly, so completely that we breathe what they breathe, feel what they feel, see what they see and gasp as their lives unfold.

Their lives are bleak, but this book is not. It is enthralling from beginning to end, gingerly ingrained with slivers of hope that let a dusty light filter through the leaves.

Celebrated author Sir Salman Rushdie speaks during the 10th Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Established by the late K. Raymond Clark, the Contemporary Issues Forum presents the views of distinguished leaders whose work has shaped and altered the course of world events. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

One of literature’s greatest roles through the ages has been to open the doors to greater global understanding, Sir Salman Rushdie said Tuesday night during the 10th annual Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum.

A capacity crowd gathered in Sinclair Auditorium to hear the literary giant who stirred up a firestorm of violence, criticism and controversy nearly 25 years ago with his novel, “The Satanic Verses.”

Stories are how we connect, he said.

“We may have very different politics, but we may support the same football team,” he said. “ … The more broadly we understand ourselves as human beings, the easier it is to find common ground.”

And that’s what breaks down barriers. So it’s imperative our ability to tell our stories not be squelched by censorship, he said.

“One of the things literature can do is to encourage a world view, which in turn encourages tolerance and civilization, and sets us up against this other view, an identity defined by hostility, which leads to extremism and bigotry.”

Storytelling is the answer to that, he added.

“Man is the storytelling animal. We are the only animal in the world that does this strange thing, of telling itself stories to understand what kind of animal it is. Some of the stories are true, some are made-up, but we live with and by stories,” he said,

“ … Stories are how we tell ourselves who we are. We live in what are commonly called grand narratives — big stories. History is a grand narrative. Religion is a grand narrative. Civilization is a grand narrative. These are all stories that we all have and we all have inside.

“The question is, what can we do with those stories? Are we allowed to change them? Can we argue about them? Can we discard the ones we don’t like anymore? It seems to me, that one of the definitions of living in a free society, in an open society, is that all of us have the ability and freedom to take those stories of our lives and to remake them, argue them, discard them, to satirize them, or to revere them and stand by them, defend them — or both, at different times.”

That is why long after he emerged from living underground in London, Rushdie, 65, now of New York City, continues to fight for freedom of speech.

“Art goes to the boundaries and pushes outward, even when forces push back.”

Don’t expect a lot of mushy stuff from Tom Arnold tonight (2/14) at Penguins Comedy Club.

“It’s sort of funnier when you hear things that maybe weren’t so lovey-dovey, when you hear things that might have gone wrong here and there,” Arnold, 53, says by phone from his home in Beverly Hills.

“I try, at least in my comedy, to be honest about some things and tell some, hopefully, funny stories. I wasn’t planning on working on Valentine’s Day, because that’s always a touchy one — to be on the road for that. But I was already going to be in Iowa, so I said why not?”

His Valentine isn’t joining him on this trip to his home state. Wife Ashley, whom he married in November 2009, is at home awaiting the birth of the couple’s first child.

“We’re having a baby in a few weeks,” Arnold says. “We’re very excited. That’s why I’m doing a road trip, going on the road for a little over a month. Hopefully I’ll be back home here a month before the baby’s due, then be around and do that stuff. It seemed like a good time to go on the road. … All is well and we’re very excited. It’s my first child and Ashley’s first child. It’s been a long time and we’re very happy.”

For the high he’s riding now, the Ottumwa native and diehard Iowa Hawkeye fan has had just as many lows, through failed marriages and a drug addiction. That’s all behind him now. He’s always been very honest and forthcoming about those harsh realities, weaving the bad with the good into his standup routines.

“I talk about my life,” he says. “I talk about the funny things that haven happened in my career. Obviously, I’m talking about being a father right off the bat — I am little older, and I talk about that process and what that’s been like and how that happened.

“Then I have stories about the different people I’ve worked with in show business and in different situations — funny stories, hopefully, that people can relate to and people probably know a little something about,” he says.

“To me, that’s my kind of comedy. It has to be honest … There’s some weird things that have happened, and I take people through some of that stuff in my life and personalize it, and hopefully it’s enjoyable.

“Some comedians just do jokes and you don’t know where they’re coming from exactly, and that’s great. If you see Jerry Seinfeld, he does brilliant jokes, but you really don’t know much about him, personally.  I’ve gone the other way. I think if there’s laughs to be had at my expense, I should be the one doing it onstage. That’s been my theory since I began being in the public eye,” he says.

Comedy was his saving grace at an early age. He grew up in Ottumwa, where his father, step-mother and lots of family members still live. His mother, however, left home when he was very young, which made him a target for taunting by his peers.

“You walk to school in a neighborhood and the kids know your mom moved out, they’re mean,” he says. “They’re mean for whatever reason. I just remember being in class one day, and I sort of disrupted class, trying to be funny, writing something inappropriate on the chalk board.  The kids that made fun of me started laughing. I said, ‘Well that’s a good feeling, that I like.’ So I tried to be funny throughout school.”

He really discovered his comedy chops in 1982, when he hit the stage during an open mic night at the University of Iowa student union. Standup comedy “was something I wanted to try,” he says.

“I got up there and I brought all my buddies and we had some Everclear punch. … I thought I was super funny, because my friends all laughed. Then the next year, in ’83, I moved to Minneapolis to really try to be a comedian and found out it was much harder if your audience is not incredibly intoxicated.”

Five years later, he moved to Los Angeles to write for his now-ex-wife Roseanne’s television show. He’s been there ever since, writing and acting for films and TV. But it all comes back to standup comedy.

“I feel like a lot of good things in other parts of my career come from standup,” he says. “It keeps you fresh. I also write still — I just turned in a movie for Relativity, which is a big studio out here.

“I continue to write, and I just think that doing standup is the genesis of a lot of creative stuff. It gets your mind working — you have to think, you have to write, you have to be on top of stuff. And as performer, whether you’re an actor or whatever, it’s a great opportunity. Not every actor gets an opportunity to go in front of live audiences … and I get asked to do it a lot. It’s all those things combined. It’s a challenge,” he says.

“I’m challenged going to Iowa in February. It’s really stupid on paper, but people will come out, so I’ll get there. It’s not easy to get there, but I’ll get there.”

And when he does, he’ll see lots of family and friends, maybe some Hawkeye basketball action and his favorite comfort foods.

“I have to be careful,” he says. “I was in New Orleans (for the Super Bowl) and it is all about the food. You gain 8 pounds when you get off your plane in New Orleans. Iowa is the same way. There’s some very fattening food that I enjoy in Iowa — the loose meat sandwiches and pork tenderloins. … I have to pace myself, and I will do that.”

FAST TAKE

What: Comedian Tom Arnold

Cedar Rapids: 7 and 9 p.m. today (2/14), The Vault/ Penguins Comedy Club, 208 Second Ave. SE; $22 advance, $25 door, (319) -362-8133 or Penguinscomedyclub.com

Dubuque: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday (2/15), Mississippi Moon Bar, Diamond Jo Casino, 301 Bell St.; $27 and $37, (563) 690-4758 or Dubuquetickets.diamondjo.com

Fairfield: 7:30 p.m. Saturday (2/16), Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, 200 N. Main St.; $23 to $32, (641) 472-2787 or Fairfieldacc.com

Artist’s website: Tomarnoldcomedy.com

Alex Trebek (left) the hose of "Jeopardy" and contestant Paul Nelson

Iowa City native Paul Nelson will be back at the button, hoping to come up with the right questions in the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions. Taping started in mid-January and the episodes begin airing Feb. 13, 2013.

Nelson, now 24, had a successful six-episode run on the venerable game show back in November, winning $54,900. (He won another $2,000 for finishing second in his final appearance.) He was a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington office at the time. He is now in the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and is in a communications blackout, according to his father, Scott Nelson of Iowa City.

Among Nelson’s opponents is Stephanie Jass, a history professor from Michigan, who is the show’s all-time highest winning female, at $147,570. They will be vying for these prizes:

• Champion: $250,000
• 1st runner-up: $100,000 (or the player’s two-day finals total, whichever is larger)
• 2nd runner-up: $50,000 (or the player’s two-day finals total, whichever is larger)
• Semifinalist: $10,000.

“Jeopardy!” airs at 11:30 a.m. weekdays on KWWL (Channel 7) in the Corridor.

Tournament of Champion contestants are:

Colby Burnett, a high school World History teacher from Chicago, $100,000

David Gard, a retail horticulturist from Jamaica Plain, Mass., $84,700

Stephanie Jass, a history professor from Milan, Mich., $147,570

Jason Keller, a tutor from Highland Park, N.J., $213,900

Dave Leach, a game merchant from Atlanta, Ga., $98,054

Dan McShane, a bartender from West Islip, N.Y., $62,001

David Menchaca, a law student from Long Beach, Calif., $115,503

Kristin Morgan, a NASA strategic analyst from Huntsville, Ala., $69,098

Paul Nelson, former senate staff aide for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) from Iowa City,  $54,900

Joel Pool, a real estate developer from Oakland, Calif., $116,800

Patrick Quinn, a high school German teacher from Chesterfield, Mo., $100,000

Jason Shore, a medical student from Plano, Texas, $85,200

Monica Thieu (college champion), a psychology student from Dallas, Texas, $100,000

Keith Whitener, a research chemist from Charlotte, N.C., $147,597

Nestled among upscale homes on one of southeast Cedar Rapids’ loveliest streets sat a diamond in the rough.

Vacant for seven years, it was home only to a growing colony of mold, a dead bird, broken pipes and some empty liquor bottles.

Matt and Amy Stoner saw past all that.

They rolled up their sleeves, enlisted the aid of skilled family members and specialty subcontractors — and now that diamond gleams again at 312 Nassau St. SE.

Guests at Amy’s recent 30th birthday party oohed and aahed over the chic, cool main floor rooms, bathed in shades of teal, cream and white. By day, the entire house is bathed in sunlight from beautiful new windows, spotlighting a mix of classic and contemporary furnishings, accented with a breezy whimsy that reflects the young couple’s artistic style.

A varied palette greets visitors upstairs, where baby Weston’s room is swaddled in a darker beige, accented with varying shades of white and off-white. A guest room sports more beachy blues, a nod to their grandparents’ East Coast homes.

Amy, a hairstylist and a leading lady at Theatre Cedar Rapids, turned a smaller bedroom into a vibrant green dressing room, featuring an antique vanity and a walk-in closet. This room opens to the master suite, painted a soothing “Lingering Lavender” around three walls of windows. It’s the room that surprised Amy the most.

“In the morning, when you wake up, it’s pretty much surrounded by trees. Especially in the summer when all the leaves are out, it’s really private and it’s kind of like we’re living up in a tree-house.”

So many aspects of this new-old-home journey have been surprising.

House-hunting

The couple, now married five years, were ready to start a family, and felt their previous home on Ridgeway Drive SE would be too small. They spent about a year house-hunting, making offers on two other homes before they found the vacant Nassau Street structure in late 2011.

With 2,900 square feet, it was made for them. Better yet, they were made for it.

Matt, 28, the controller at Shive-Hattery architecture and engineering firm in Cedar Rapids, spent his college summers doing construction work with his father, Dan Stoner of Mount Vernon. Amy’s father, Bernie Friedl of Cedar Rapids, is a carpenter by trade and previously owned the family business, Kitchens by Friedl.  He still installs residential kitchens and bathrooms, as well as commercial appliance labs.

“The bones of the house were really great,” Amy says. “What would be big things for other people to redo, like the kitchen,” were not daunting to them.

“Not that it was a piece of cake, but we felt a lot more confident doing more and knowing that we would have help with it,” she says.

The house, built in 1918, sold for $308,000 in 2005. Because it now needed so much work, Matt says they were able get it for $170,000. He declines to say how much they invested in what became a nearly total remodel, but family labor on everything from demolition to painting saved them a considerable amount of money.

The couple made their offer in late October 2011, closed on Jan. 5, 2012, started the renovation right away and moved in last May. Son Weston was born July 9.

DIY

The first order of business was getting rid of the mold in the basement that had started creeping up toward the kitchen. Trained professionals handled that task.

Next came all the tear-downs, from old radiators and a boiler to virtually everything in the kitchen. About 4 tons ended up on the scrap heap.

They worked all last winter with no heat in the house. Luckily, the winter was mild, and they were able to replace the windows in March. The house now has two furnaces and two air conditioners. Large units service the first two floors, with smaller units heating and cooling the third-floor music room, outfitted with Matt’s two drum sets and Amy’s keyboard. (Matt plays in the rock band Nothing’s Real, but it’s on hiatus, since three of the guys have new baby boys.)

“Matt’s dad did a lot of the grunt work,” Amy says, “and even ripped out the dead shrubs.”

“We joked that Dad was the demolition crew so Bernie could come in and make it look good,” Matt says. His mother, Cathy Stoner, did nearly all the painting.

Amy, pregnant throughout the process, was in charge of the decorating, working with a pro for color schemes, paint and the gorgeous teal-on-white textured wallpaper that adds a touch of shimmer to the formal dining room.

“It almost looks painted on top of it,” Amy says of the floral vining wallpaper. “It cost more than Weston’s first year of college, so I got in big trouble for that one,” she adds with a laugh.

Most of the floors have been restored to their original wood warmth, but in the kitchen, tile was ripped up and new wood was laid down.

The biggest flooring surprise came in the master bedroom, where tearing up old carpet revealed wood that Amy describes as “black and really gross,” not matching the rest of the house.

What the refinishing pros saw, however, was highly prized fir boards that command big prices in new-home construction. After careful sanding and clear-coat varnish, the couple now have “pristine” floors that add warmth and character to their bedroom.

Another surprise came from a resale store in Spirit Lake, where Amy’s dad found vintage French doors that fit on the door jamb leading from the living room to the sunroom. He hauled them back to Cedar Rapids, refinished them and installed them. They actually were an inch short on the bottom, so he fixed that, as well.

His woodworking skills also turned all of the old radiator nooks into storage spaces. In the living room, the new storage has created an entertainment center around the fireplace focal point.

Not surprisingly, the couple’s favorite room is the kitchen, completely stripped to the studs and renovated into a modern marvel that retains historic charm. Amy had fallen in love with a steely-blue beadboard ceiling she saw in a housing magazine, so her dad indulged her whim and added that to her kitchen ceiling, under the island and along the walls. A computer center allows the couple to gather and work in the kitchen when they get home from their day jobs.

Exterior

Outdoors, the formerly white brick and stucco finishes have been painted two shades of beige.

“We looked at sandblasting it, but the mortar was too old, so it would have destroyed that, and maybe the brick, too,” Amy says.

A long porch spanning the front was added at some point after the house was built, and a second front door opens into the sunroom.

The backyard features a patio and a detached 2 1/2-stall garage. And another surprise.

When Matt was raking the backyard, he uncovered a “huge” flagstone patio that had been covered up by years of leaves.

Amy calls the house “a work in progress,” with indoor draperies and outdoor landscaping being the next projects on their “to-do” list.

Past and present

All of the hard work — including extra inspections before the water, gas and electric could be turned on — has been worth it.

“When I look back at the pictures, I can’t believe we bought it,” Amy says. “And also because I was pregnant, we must have been crazy, but we just fell in love with it for some reason. It was just really, really dark and depressing in here, because it was October when we came to look at it. Every time we came, it was dark and dingy and it reeked of mold.

“Now when I look back at the pictures, it doesn’t seem like same house at all, thank God.”

The diamond in the rough is now their beautiful home.

“We don’t plan on moving anytime soon,” Amy says. “This is our third house, and we’re staying here a long time.”

Alisabeth Von Presley of Cedar Rapids also won over the celebrity judges in Chicago, but her audition wasn’t aired on Thursday night’s episode.

Like Gabe Brown of Marion, whose audition was shown on TV, Von Presley caught producers’ attention at last August’s Small Town Bus Tour stop in Iowa City. Brown and Von Presley were then invited to come to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago to sing for judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.

Brown is a member of the Eastern Iowa-based band known as Helforstout, which is playing Friday night (tonight) at Rumors Bar and Grill in Cedar Rapids.

Brown and Von Presley are among 46 Windy City auditioners who advanced to the Hollywood rounds, which will air later this winter on the popular Fox television talent show.

Past “Idol” winners and finalists have gone on to stellar careers as recording artists and actors, including Kelly Clarkson, Carried Underwood, Jennifer Hudson  and Chris Daughtry. The competition is open to singers ages 15 to 28.

This shot, made by itinerant photographers, gives today’s viewers a glimpse into an operating room at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque in 1912. It is included in “A City at Work: 1912 and 2012,” on display through March 17 at the Dubuque Museum of Art.

DUBUQUE — Armed with a 1900 camera his mother found at a yard sale in the ’80s, artist Tim Olson went back to the future to create “A City at Work.”

The photographic exhibition, on view through March 17 at the Dubuque Museum of Art, creates a then-and-now snapshot of Dubuque businesses, buildings and the people who inhabited them in 1912 and 2012. Some scenes have changed dramatically, others have not. Some prints are juxtaposed to show their then-and-now relationship, others offer a more subtle connection between past and present.

Artist Tim Olson of Dubuque used a 1900 vintage camera to create his 2012 views of Dubuqe businesses, buildings and people for his exhibtion, "A City at Work: 1912 and 2012."

The 45 framed prints went on display Dec. 7 in the museum’s main gallery.

Public reaction has been “phenomenal,” said Mark Wahlert, director of the Dubuque Museum of Art. “Our attendance in general has been through the roof ever since this opened. People are really engaging the exhibit … seeing those tunnels through time that Tim creates with some of the creative spins he puts on it.”

Olson, 50, bridged the 100-year gap by employing equipment and techniques from 1912, when two traveling photographers spent three weeks photographing commercial Dubuque. They were just trying to make a few bucks, but the 440 glass plate negatives they left behind provide a priceless legacy.

Peter Klauer, president of Klauer Manufacturing at the time, purchased the negatives. They sat in storage until the 1980s, when his descendants gave them to the Center for Dubuque History at Loras College. Now known as the Klauer Collection, the remaining 330 negatives paint a vivid portrait of life in the river city at the turn of the 20th century, which Olson sought to re-explore and recapture 100 years later.

• What: “A City at Work: 1912 and 2012”
• Where: Dubuque Museum of Art, 701 Locust St.
• When: Through March 17; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (closed New Year’s Day)
• Admission: Free through 2012; regular fees follow: $6 adults, $5 ages 65 and older, $3 college students, free up to age 18; free to all ages on Thursdays
• Information: dbqart.com and acityatwork.com

The project has been developing since 2005, when Olson saw about 80 of the 1912 photos in a city history book his wife brought home. The freelance graphic designer, painter and photographer said he was intrigued by the documentary look of the photos.

“My first interest was just making better prints of these Klauer Collection negatives,” he said. Made with an 8 by 10 camera, “they are large negatives, and I know from the other printing that I’ve done, that you can get amazing detail.”

A native of tiny Marathon in northwest Iowa, Olson had created prints from glass negatives while working in Chicago, before moving to Dubuque 10 years ago. But unlike the itinerant photographers of 1912, Olson spent six months traveling to about 350 locations. Some were eager to give him access, he said, while others were skeptical of his intended use and some turned him down.

He forged on.

One concession to modern-day photography came with scanning the negatives into his home computer to make all the prints.

Hos Tavern 1912 and Paul's Tap 2012 are two of the businesses featured in "A City at Work: 1912 and 2012," on display through March 17 at the Dubuque Museum of Art. The 45 prints in the photopraghy exhibit show businesses throughout the city, taken 100 years apart, using the same kind of equipment and processes.

“I’d spend the morning shooting, then spend the afternoon processing film,” he said, using the darkroom at the Loras facility. “Early on I realized I wasn’t going to be able to print the glass plate negatives, just because (on) a lot of them the emulsion was flaky and some of them were cracked, so I needed to do scans and then digital prints of those, and I wanted the new ones to be done exactly the same.

“The prints are really amazing…. With the detail in these, it’s the closest we can come to just walking into a room 100 years ago.”

The project cost about $40,000, funded through local, state and national grants, and both Olson and Wahlert would like to see it tour throughout the state, citing the widespread “everyman” appeal beyond Dubuque.

“You realize, especially when you’re looking at faces, some things have changed a lot,” Olson said, “but you (also) realize just how connected you are to these people a hundred years ago.”

No one's prouder or more anxious for Jungle Mama Denise Stapley than her mother, Lois McCormick Shindoll (center) and step-father Arden Shindoll of Marion. About 40 family members gathered at the Vet's Club in Waukon to watch the "Survivor: Philippines" finale Dec. 16, 2012. (Diana Nollen/The Gazette)

WAUKON – “She’s always been a survivor,” mom Lois McCormick Shindoll of Marion said as her daughter survived to the end, the million dollar-winner on “Survivor: Philippines.”

Denise Stapley, 41, a mental health counselor and sex therapist from Cedar Rapids, survived every Tribal Council she went to – including Sunday’s live reading of the jury vote — on the popular CBS television test of physical, psychological and social endurance.

“I’m excited; I’m sick to my stomach,” McCormick Shindoll said as her daughter won a trip to the final Tribal Council in Sunday night’s 25th season finale. Afterward, she added: “It’s too bad we don’t exchange Christmas gifts.”

McCormick Shindoll and nearly 40 other family members in Team Jungle Mama gathered at the Vet’s Club in Waukon to cheer on their favorite Jungle Mama castaway. They literally went wild as Stapley was crowned the winner.

On Day 38, Stapley outlasted lead contender Malcolm Freberg, 25, a bartender from Hermosa Beach, Calif., in a surprising shift of alliances when the Final Four pared it down to the Final Three in the Day 38 vote.

During the finale, a chorus of “Drop it! Drop it! Yea!” rang out as Freberg dropped the ball in the game’s final Immunity Challenge leading up to the Final Four vote early in the finale.

The cheers quickly changed to groans as Stapley dropped her ball next.

Michael Skupin won that challenge, assuring him a place in the Finale Three. Skupin, 50, a professional speaker, author and coach from White Lake, Mich., is a returning player. He was airlifted out of the show’s second season, “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” after falling into a fire and suffering severe burns.

The other member of the final Three was Lisa Whelchel, 49, a former TV teen actress from Dallas, Texas.

McCormick Shindoll, who spent most of the final episode with her head on husband Arden Shindoll’s shoulder, wasn’t surprised her daughter did so well all season.

“The way she sits back and thinks and listens to what people say – that’s her job as a therapist.”

Denise Stapley (Nate Beckett/Splash News Online)

Story Winekauf of Tipton starts the movie at the Hardacre Theater on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, in Tipton. The Hardacre Theater has been in continuous use in the early 1900s and still projects 35mm film. A group on local residents has formed the Hardacre Theater Preservation Association to purchase the theater and make the switch to digital projection. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

With real life encroaching on reel life, small-town movie theaters are scrambling to keep their screens from going dark.

The digital age is threatening the future of century-old movie houses like Tipton’s Hardacre Theater, which keep entertainment and dining dollars at home, instead of funneling them into nearby cities and multiplexes.

Tipton residents are rallying at home and abroad to raise as much as $300,000 to $400,000 to buy the 1916 Hardacre building, renovate its interior and pull it into the new century by getting rid of 35mm films and buying a digital projection system. A purchase agreement of $96,100 is in place to buy the privately owned building from the local Virginia Cook family.

A new seven-member, all-volunteer Hardacre Theater Preservation Association is hard at work raising funds and meeting with an architect to firm up plans.

“If things go well, we should have everything ready to go on or before Oct. 1,” said Greg Brown of Tipton, president of the preservation group, which is applying for non-profit status.

“We’ve got a long road ahead, in terms of purchasing the theater, but digital equipment is a very, very important first step,” said board member Will Valet of Tipton.

Valet is the director of the annual Hardacre Film Festival, which puts the venue and the town in the national and international spotlight. He also serves as communications director for the preservation association and is hoping to appeal for financial support from the independent film community that has been flocking to Iowa’s oldest film festival the past 15 years.

“It’s gonna be full-steam-ahead for the next 10 months,” Valet said.

Fundraising already has started on the local level. Even before the sale was planned, Valet said Tipton middle schoolers sold T-shirts and raised about $1,000 toward renovations.

“It’s an example of all levels of the community coming together to make this happen,” Valet said.

Many other avenues are being explored, including grants and donations. The building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, which brings subsequent funding opportunities, and donations can be made right now through the preservation group’s new website.

Single-screen cinemas in Mount Vernon and Vinton and the five-screen Collins Road Theatres in Cedar Rapid already have made the digital leap, at considerable expense. The going rate is between $80,000 and $100,000 to purchase and install the equipment that brings crisper sound and cleaner pictures to the screens.

Vinton’s community-owned Palace Theatre, which opened with silent movies in 1915, converted to digital projections in 2010. Manager Marcy Horst of Vinton said they paid $80,000 for the equipment, screen and sound upgrades, with an additional $40,000 for the gear to lift the screen to accommodate plays staged there. Other recent improvements include a lobby redesign, new seats and remodeled premium seating in the balcony.

Collins Road Theatres in Cedar Rapids went digital this year. Owner Bruce Taylor of Cedar Rapids declined to say how much he paid to flip the switch in May, but said he was able to save some money by purchasing used equipment. In addition to buying five projectors, he also bought two screens to handle 3-D films.

“Most people don’t even notice the difference,” he said, “but some people who are moviephiles have noticed that the picture is nice and clear and sharp, with no scratches or dirt.”

Beyond aesthetics, digital projection is becoming a necessity, not a luxury.

“More and more movie theaters are going digital. The number of prints being made is decreasing,” said Jerry Sheehy, who has owned the Bijou Movie Theater in Mount Vernon with his wife, Cheryl, for 10 years. They went digital in February.

“By last October (2011), we had a lot of trouble finding a movie to play. Every week it was a mad scramble. … We only do G, PG and PG-13 movies at our place — we don’t do any of the rated-R movies — so the pickings were a little slim. We had to change. (So) we went over to the Palace Theatre in Vinton, because they have a very nice digital system.

“I had seen digital before and wasn’t impressed,” Sheehy said. “The second-generation projectors are very nice — very bright, very clean, and have good color contrast and sound system. I said, ‘I’ve seen what I needed to see — that’s a great picture, great sound.’ The technology has evolved to the point where that’s now an acceptable picture. And it was time to do it.”

Sheehy, a senior marketing manager at Rockwell Collins, takes his side business seriously.

“I did my MBA on this,” he said. “There were about 43 movie theaters in small towns in Iowa back around 2003. I’m certain it’s fewer today — I know three or four that closed because they didn’t want to invest in this. It’s one of those things where you’ve gotta make that decision, do you want to be in the business or not?”

He said he’s pleased with his investment, which cost “just shy” of $80,000.

“Audiences love it,” he said. “When we first converted to digital, I had customers come by and the expression was always, ‘Wow.’ It’s a better picture with digital. We also upgraded to a 12-speaker Dolby surround sound system. That was well-received, too. It really does add to the experience.”

He financed privately through a bank, and gets some help from the Virtual Print Fees program, which pays him a fee every time he shows a first-run film. It’s much cheaper for distributors to produce and ship digital versions, which theaters then upload and send back, than to make 35mm films for every theater, he said.

“I’ve been very happy with it, all in all,” Sheehy said. “Obviously, I wish the studios would have helped us a little bit more on this — but it helps us make that payment every month.”

He had to change his business model to enroll in the Virtual Print Fees program that applies to first-run films.

Previously, the Bijou showed second-run movies, with a couple of new titles each year. Now it shows about a dozen first-run films, with the others being just three or four weeks old.

“Every operator has to make that decision. … There’s still plenty of (35mm) prints being struck, but there are a lot of rumors in the industry as to how much longer they’re going to make prints,” he said. “There’s some scare tactics are going on, but so far it’s been good for us. We’ve had very positive responses from our customers — they like the picture, like the sound.

“It was a good move for us. Business has been good,” Sheehy said. “Because we’re opening more movies, we’re getting more attendance. We’re doing well enough.”

He’s willing to offer advice and a voice of experience to other operators weighing the digital dilemma.

“If there’s anything I can do and answer some questions, I’m happy to talk to anybody,” he said.

Artists gather at Stone City in 1932. Featured in photo (back row) are Marvin Cone (at easel) and Adrian Dornbush. Seated between them is Marjorie Nuhn. Credit: Grant Wood Art Gallery, Anamosa, IA.

Marvin Cone just took a giant step out from Grant Wood’s shadow.

Cone’s 1936 oil painting, “Stone City Landscape,” has sold at auction for $752,500 — a record for the Cedar Rapids native who has not enjoyed the worldwide fame of his lifelong friend, colleague and collaborator in the Stone City Art Colony of 1932 and ’33.

Sotheby’s New York sold the Cone work Nov. 29 during its American Art Auction, which tallied $27.6 million, exceeding expected sales of $24.2 million. The Cone piece, privately held for 25 years, far exceeded its expected selling range of $120,000 to $180,000. Multiple bidders drove up the price, but Sotheby’s officials said they cannot divulge the buyer’s identity.

“It’s wonderful,” Sean Ulmer, curator at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, said of the sale. “Marvin Cone has been an undervalued and under-recognized artist in the broader scene in American art.

“It seems as if collectors are paying more attention to his work. This sale price is phenomenal. He’s had other strong sales in the past, but this piece is particularly stunning,” Ulmer said. “It comes from an important period in his life — the 1930s, when he was making some of his best landscapes, so the buyer chose well.”

Sotheby’s also sold Cone’s “The Appointed Room” for $80, 500 on Sept. 28. Other recent sales range from $4,740 for “In a Paris Park” and $34,160 for “Cloud Patterns,” both in September, to $186,000 for his “Farm Silhouette,” sold at Jackson’s in 2011.

Known as a Regionalist painter, Cone (1891-1965) explored various subjects during his prolific career. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art holds more than 500 of his works, ranging from landscapes, clouds and circus scenes to architecture, doors and stairs.

Ulmer said the “Stone City Landscape” is unusual, however.

Unlike his friend Wood, Cone didn’t do too many Stone City paintings, Ulmer said.

Related: American Master getting his due through massive exhibition

“The actual sketches by him done at the Art Colony are figural and very, very sketchy of that period. He was spending most of his time teaching, not making art,” Ulmer said.

Also, while Cone’s landscapes often reflected his home state, he changed certain aesthetic aspects, making them more generalized.

“This one is more secure in identification, because we have the Stone City cliffs that make it very specific,” Ulmer said. “He was not interested in painting what a camera would shoot.”

Visitors to the museum and its online gallery — crma.org/Gallery/Marvin-Cone.aspx — will see similarities between Cone’s other landscapes and this “singular, stellar piece,” Ulmer said.

And now the art community’s spotlight will rightfully shine on a man who preferred to live a quiet life, painting at home and abroad, and teaching for more than four decades at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.

Review: Marvin Cone exhibition is visual revelation

“More people will be paying attention to work of Marvin Cone because of this particular sale,” Ulmer said. “More people will say, ‘Who is this person? I should get to know this person’s work better.’

“The whole point of our exhibition is to increase his visibility, which is long overdue. This phenomenal sale will help in our cause to make him a much better-known artist,” Ulmer said.

“The quality was always there. He was fairly well known during his lifetime but people across the country have kind of forgotten how good an artist he was. Our exhibition and a sale like this will go a long way in resurrecting his reputation.”

CEDAR RAPIDS — “I don’t think kids can do that.”

That’s the wrong thing to say to Lynne Waggoner-Patton, but also the right thing.

From that challenge sprang The Silhouettes, coming to the Paramount Theatre in Waggoner-Patton’s hometown Tuesday night, Nov. 20.

A Denver company wanted her to create a show using photographs, shadows, imagery and dance for the opening ceremony of the March 2009 SportAccord. The organizers needed something that would make Denver stick in the minds of 1,500 audience members from the Olympic Committee and international sports federations and event presenters.

They didn’t think her shadow-dance idea would work, but at her urging, were willing to let her try.

The event was, indeed, memorable, as the young dancers formed their bodies into the shape of iconic Colorado images and monuments.

The Silhouettes stepped out of the shadows and onto the world stage, capturing second place last year on the popular television competition, “America’s Got Talent.”

Cedar Rapids native Lynne Waggoner-Patton and her troupe, The Silhouettes will perform at the Paramount Theater on November 20th, 2012. (Justin Torner/Freelance)

It’s been a whirlwind ride for the young Denver-area dancers and their founder, a 1983 Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School graduate.

“I’ve learned more in the last two years than I’ve learned in a really long time,” Waggoner-Patton, 47, of Erie, Colo., says during a recent trip home to pave the way for the Cedar Rapids show.

She established her dance studio in the Denver area 21 years ago as Lynne’s School of Dance, but as it grew, she thought it needed a name reflecting its larger scope and location. So in 2000 she changed it to A Rocky Mountain School of Dance & Performing Arts.

“America’s Got Talent” fame opened her eyes to opportunities — and harsh realities.

“I’ve learned things I didn’t even know that I needed to learn: music editing, video editing, coming up with choreography in a van while there’s no time to do it; working with different corporate clients; learning to train new dancers to be Silhouettes,” she says.

“But more than that, just learning about what’s important. We were on the cusp of signing with a huge, huge, huge agency and managers and agents. We were going to be big. Our publicist was Brad Pitt’s publicist — and it just felt wrong. It felt like it was exploiting kids to make millions. I was promised Broadway, everything, and it just didn’t feel right.

“I tried to explain to them, ‘I’m from Cedar Rapids. We have humble roots. We have humble means.’ I don’t need fame. I don’t need fortune, I don’t need anything. But I do need to feel good in my heart when I’m teaching these kids. So I kinda put the brakes on,” she says.

Young Cedar Rapids-area singers and dancers will open the show with “Me and My Shadow.” (Waggoner-Patton)

“Those (offers) are still sitting out there, waiting, but I wanted to have more control over what the kids were signing up for and what they weren’t. I wanted them to able to be with their families and still be children, still have birthdays, still be able to go on family vacations — not sign their life away for a year and never know what they’re gonna get. So I changed where it was headed and moved it back. … I’m putting this show on in Cedar Rapids myself. It’s safer that way, I think.”

Bringing the show home was her dream when the troupe rocketed to fame last year.

It’s not an easy or inexpensive process to bring 50 dancers ages 5 to 24, 13 parent-chaperones, a two-person professional production crew, their equipment and a giant screen from Denver to Cedar Rapids. Waggoner-Patton and her family have been pounding the pavement to find corporate sponsorships and donations to defray the $50,000 needed for everything from transportation, food and lodging to facility fees and equipment rental.

But it’s something she wanted to do. She says local audiences will see “a magical experience” in a show the troupe developed last January, reflecting the values Waggoner-Patton strives to instill in her dancers.

The details

• The Silhouettes present “Homecoming”
• 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (11/20)
• Paramount Theatre, 123 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids
• $25 and $35 at Orchestra Iowa Box Office, (319) 366-8203, 1-(800) 369-8863 or Paramounttheatrecr.com
• Artist’s website: rmsdance.com

The Silhouettes dance troupe, founded in 2009 by Cedar Rapids native Lynne Waggoner-Patton, holds tight to its goal to "spread love and change lives through positive messaging."

“It’s a story about love, hope, compassion, joy. About believing in yourself, about inspiration, courage, strength,” she says. “It’s a journey of two characters — Annie and Johnny. They start out as young children and grow up. I don’t want to say anything more than that and give it all away.”

It’s a family-friendly show with music ranging from epic to endearing, with touches of Hollywood and Broadway. Twenty percent of the show’s proceeds will go to Tanager Place in Cedar Rapids, which offers outpatient and residential treatment for children with emotional, mental and psychological challenges.

From the audience point of view, it’s all about meticulous choreography as the young dancers move into positions to spell words and build intricate shapes, turning pint-size people into giant-sized figures as they move closer to the light.

Backstage, it’s another picture, she says with a laugh.

“It’s the best game of Twister you’ve ever seen, set to music,” she says. “Everybody’s running and jumping over everybody else, twisting their bodies and morphing. It’s really crazy. The dancers learned a whole new part of their brain they didn’t even know they had, which has enhanced all of their other dancing.”

The Silhouettes from the Denver area have a special message for their Cedar Rapids audiences.

Local dancers are learning what it takes to be a Silhouette, too. Before the Denver troupe takes the stage, the spotlight will turn on 29 young dancers from five Cedar Rapids-area studios — Cherie’s Dance Studio, Dance Nation, The Dancer’s Edge, Donna’s Dance Place and Studio Dance — performing while 60 members of the Discovery Chorus sing “Me and My Shadow.”

Amy Hanisch of Walford, Waggoner-Patton’s longtime friend and collaborator from their Kirkwood Community College days, directs the Orchestra Iowa School’s youth chorus for area singers in grades four to six. She’s equally excited that her daughters Emily, 10, and Alaina, 9, will be dancing onstage for “Aunt Lynne.”

Hanisch was amazed by the way the number came together with just three hours of rehearsal over a recent two-day workshop.

They displayed what Waggoner-Patton calls that “Cedar Rapids spirit of politeness, humbleness, kindness and willingness to learn” that she’s always drilling into her Denver students. It’s a spirit she can’t wait for the Colorado kids to experience firsthand.

“I keep telling them they’re going to feel so much love from the audience — they’re going to feel that Iowa, Cedar Rapids spirit, and they’re really excited about that,” Waggoner-Patton says. “It’s me sharing part of my home with them.”

[View with PicLens]

Related:

Silhouettes find their spotlight

Silhouettes runners-up on ‘America’s Got Talent’

C.R. native’s dance troupe again wows ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges

'Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek (right), joins Iowa City native Paul Nelson in the winners circle on the television game show. Nelson's two-day earnings total $29,200. (Jeopardy Productions Inc. photo)

Update:

Third time is still a charm for Iowa City native Paul Nelson, as his “Jeopardy!” winnings climbed to $45,400 Tuesday morning (11/6/12).

He’ll have a two-week break while the popular answer-and-question game show goes into its Teachers’ Tournament. After that, Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington office, will be back to defend his crown.

He jumped to a huge lead Tuesday, racking up $4,800 by the first commercial break. He amassed $7,400 by the end of the first round and took $18,100 into Final Jeopardy.

It seemed like a given that he’d clean up in the Final round, with the category Cabinet Departments. He tripped, however, on which department launched a Spanish-language television campaign. He guessed the Department of Commerce, but the answer was the Department of Homeland Security.

No worries, with a conservative wager, his total fell to $16,200 — enough to remain Jeopardy champion.

Post from Nov. 5

Iowa City native Paul Nelson did it again.

He defended his “Jeopardy!” crown in an episode that aired at 11:30 a.m. Monday (11/5/12) in Eastern Iowa. With a $15,200 win, his two-day total jumped to $29,200.

Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington, D.C., office, again knew most of the questions to political answers in the long-running game show where contestants supply their replies in question form.

He was in the lead with $18,600 going into the Final Jeopardy category:  Broadway Musicals. With a conservative wager, he managed to pull out a $15,200 win even though he erred by writing down “Les Miserables” instead of “Chicago” for the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

His formidable opponents were law school student Shari Dwoskin of Montreal and retired paralegal Bobbi Hiltibidal of Topeka, Kan.

To see how Nelson fares on Election Day, tune in to “Jeopardy!” at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday (11/6) on KWWL Channel 7.

Original post from Nov. 2:

Iowa City native Paul Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington, D.C., office, became the new “Jeopardy!” champion Friday (11/2/12), with a wave to his parents, Scott and Tracy Nelson of Iowa City.

Clueless on the Final Jeopardy category, he wagered nothing and wrote “thanks Mom and Dad” for his answer, preserving his $14,000 earnings. He snatched the crown from previous “Jeopardy!” champ Keith Whitener of Charlotte, N.C., who until Friday, had amassed $147,597 in winnings — plus another $1,000 for his third-place finish that day.

In a weird twist, second-place finisher Ariane Helous of Santa Cruz, Calif., also wagered nothing, but did know the answer in the final category: College Football Team Nicknames. The answer: The team known as these since 1895, plays its home games on top of Hayward Seismic Fault. The question: Who are the California Golden Bears. (Just happened to be Helous’ alma mater.) Whitener guessed Trojans, wagered $11,700 and plunged into third place.

Nelson jumped to an early lead, grabbing a Daily Double win with a $5,000 wager in the science category. Correct question: What is chlorophyll? That brought his earnings up to $16,400. He lead through the final stretch, missed an answer or two, then Whitener passed him by $2,300 with a correct Daily Double question, before losing in the end.

Nelson was practically unstoppable on history and political categories. That’s a natural for the homeschooled student who majored in political science at Wheaton College in Illinois and graduated summa cum laude in 2011.

Sounds like he has a lot for which to thank Mom and Dad.

Tune in Monday, Nov. 5, to see how he fares against two new competitors. “Jeopardy!” airs at 11:30 a.m. on KWWL Channel 7.

Paul Nelson. (image from Web site for Jeopardy! TV show)

Iowa City native Paul Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington, D.C., office, became the new “Jeopardy!” champion Friday with a wave to his parents, Scott and Tracy Nelson of Iowa City.

Clueless on the Final Jeopardy category, he wagered nothing and wrote “thanks Mom and Dad” for his answer, preserving his $14,000 earnings. He snatched the crown from previous “Jeopardy!” champ Keith Whitener of Charlotte, N.C., who until Friday, had amassed $147,597 in winnings — plus another $1,000 for his third-place finish that day.

In a weird twist, second-place finisher Ariane Helous of Santa Cruz, Calif., also wagered nothing, but did know the answer in the final category: College Football Team Nicknames. The answer: The team known as these since 1895, plays its home games on top of Hayward Seismic Fault. The question: Who are the California Golden Bears. (Just happened to be Helous’ alma mater). Whitener guessed Trojans, wagered $11,700 and plunged into third place.

Nelson jumped to an early lead, grabbing a Daily Double win with a $5,000 wager in the science category. Correct question: What is chlorophyll?  That brought his earnings up to $16,400. He lead through the final stretch, missed an answer or two, then Whitener passed him by $2,300 with a correct Daily Double question, before losing in the end.

Nelson was practically unstoppable on history and political categories. That’s a natural for the homeschooled student who majored in political science at Wheaton College in Illinois and graduated summa cum laude in 2011.

Sounds like he has a lot for which to thank Mom and Dad.

Tune in Monday, Nov. 5, to see how he fares against two new competitors. “Jeopardy!” airs at 11:30 a.m. on KWWL Channel 7.

Jim Hoffman is hoping he can “take a massive deep breath” on Nov. 4.

The driving force behind the Paramount Theatre’s $35 million renovation is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm as he sits on the edge of a new and wider deep-red seat that features a historically accurate scrollwork pattern on the backs and cushions designed to “wear like iron.”

Audience amenities topped the list of priorities in bringing the historic hall back from near-death in June 2008, when 34 feet of floodwaters filled the building, rising through the subbasement and basement, sending 8 to 10 feet of fetid waters coursing through the main floor auditorium and Hall of Mirrors, smashing the Mighty Wurlitzer’s console onto the stage.

That is history.

“Now I’m holding my breath and tying up the loose ends,” said Hoffman, a retired Alliant Energy executive who led the theater’s $7.8 million renovation in 2002-03, “only to watch it all wash down the river” five years later.

This time, he is chairman of the five-member stakeholder committee, a volunteer citizen group appointed by the City Council to seek advice and make decisions on behalf of the city, which owns the building.

The front doors opened Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, but the countdown continues for next Saturday’s sold-out gala, featuring two really big stage stars: musician/actor Harry Connick Jr. and the city’s cultural crown jewel building, restored to its 1928 splendor.

THEN AND NOW: The Paramount marquee

HISTORICAL TOUCHES

The “wows” started rolling in even before the paint was dry. Hoffman expects them to keep rolling in as more and more people enter 123 Third Ave. SE, in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids.

The lily has been gilded with sparkling gold leaf throughout the Hall of Mirrors and historically accurate touches, from the upper balcony’s dome to the lower level lounges.

“Everything from 16 feet on the main floor, all the way down, was completely torn out, and ultimately recreated,” said Jason Anderson, the Paramount’s general manager. “It’s a very, very cool process.” One that required a legion of designers, consultants, construction workers, technicians and artisans skilled in painstaking historic renovation techniques.

“In the remediation, every single inch of the building was touched. That certainly didn’t occur in the ‘76 renovation or in the 2004 renovation,” added Tammy Koolbeck, vice president of VenuWorks for Cedar Rapids, the group that manages the Paramount for the city.

THEN AND NOW: Hall of Mirrors

CONNICK EXCITED

That’s music to the ears of superstar Connick, a champion of flood recovery in his hometown of New Orleans. He can’t wait to see the Paramount renovations, mark the building’s rebirth and help restore the arts to such a historic venue.

“Now, more than ever, those places are becoming the only types of home that celebrates live performance,” Connick said by phone last week. “Hopefully, there will always be a place in the hearts of people to go and see and hear live performers of all genres of art.

“Those old halls, that’s Americana,” he said. “They were built that way for a reason. Those old halls have a great sound and a great energy when you go in there. It’s important to keep them going.”)

As the waters receded, the future of the building lay in question. Was the structure sound enough to save? Was it time to ditch the old building — designed as a movie palace — for a state-of-the-art concert hall, miles away from any river?

“Everybody in the city knew that’s not the route that they should go,” Anderson said. “There was a lot of that talk with a lot of the downtown buildings that got flooded out — maybe it would be cheaper and easier to demo it all and rebuild … I don’t think anybody really got past the ‘No, we have to bring this back.’”

THEN AND NOW: Main auditorium

THE FUNDING FACTOR

Money was a major player.

“Once everybody finally figured out that the FEMA money — which is a huge portion of what’s restoring this theater — only went with the building because it’s a National Historic Register property, everybody sort of just said, ‘Oh,’ “ Hoffman said with a laugh. “Because if we had lost 22 and a half-million dollars in FEMA funding, I don’t know where the money would have come from, if we did want to relocate it.

“From my perspective, I never supported that in the first place,” Hoffman said. “I really felt that this thing should come back. What I’m so excited about now is to show it to the community, because we absolutely made the right decision. There’s no question in my mind. And you notice that the second you walk into the Hall of Mirrors.”

A “wow factor” can be purchased anew — but not the memories even an epic surge can’t wash away.

“So many people have said to me, ‘My first time in the Paramount, I was 6 years old,’ or ‘I had my first date’ or ‘I had my first kiss in the balcony.’

“That’s the other reason why it was so important to bring this back, because it’s such an icon for the members of this community, that I’m particularly proud that it’s coming back the way it is,” Hoffman said.

“They’re gonna come in here and I guarantee their first word is gonna be ‘Wow,’ because it really is ‘Wow.’”

THEN AND NOW: Ceiling details

MIX OF OLD, NEW

Even though many of the interior pieces are original, including the welcoming chandeliers, everything looks newer and brighter and more resplendent cosmetically.

The “old” surrounds a plethora of 21st century technical upgrades, especially targeting the sound system and acoustics, as well as a deeper stage, a larger orchestra pit and a backstage that extends into the alley.

All of these improvements will not only benefit Orchestra Iowa, the venue’s primary tenant, but other local groups using the auditorium — and national touring performers.

No more scenery left in semis in the alley. No more Anna from “The King and I” having to change her hoop skirts in the alley in November, because her costumes would only fit through the back loading dock door. No more dead spots of muddied sound for the audiences. No more cramming elbows and knees into main floor and loge seats designed for smaller bodies nearly a century ago.

Robert Massey, CEO for Orchestra Iowa, which is returning to its home base after four years on the road, calls the restoration’s physical aspects “monumental in scope.”

“You are going to enjoy going to the Paramount Theatre more than you did in the past,” Massey said. “Being an audience development guy, that is just so critical to the vitality of the theater — not just the orchestra, but the arts and culture in Cedar Rapids altogether.”

From the orchestra’s standpoint, he says they’re all happy to see some of the big wish-list items put in place, from “drastic improvements” to the acoustics in the hall to an orchestra pit that will accommodate 52 players.

“We’re now able to have a really viable, vibrant venue for ballet and opera, that we never had before,” he said.

SLIDESHOW: A tour of the Paramount

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

A new partnership between VenuWorks and Orchestra Iowa allows them seek and bring in high-profile acts, instead of waiting for promoters to seek out — or bypass — Cedar Rapids.

An aggressive, diverse lineup is already filling up the building’s calendar, with everything from Orchestra Iowa, the Oak Ridge Boys, Bill Cosby and Jim Brickman’s Christmas show to Broadway touring shows, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre’s production of “La Boheme” in January, Kaplan University’s graduation and “The Nutcracker” and “Cinderella” ballets with Ballet Quad Cities.

Because of that wide range of performing styles and ticket prices, Massey isn’t worried about flooding the local entertainment market.

“I think it’s great that we offer a lot of choices and a lot of diversity,” Massey said.

“The Paramount Theatre is an entertainment destination in Eastern Iowa. It is that cultural patriarch of performing arts venues. It has a rich history and significance. You walk in the doors and you’re immediately transformed into the arts experience. You don’t get that at other theaters.

“When they were saying, ‘Oh we could build a $50 million performing arts center over on the west side for you,’ it won’t be the same. We don’t need another Gallagher-Bluedorn. We don’t need another Hancher (beyond the one planned). Those are very fine 21st century performing arts venues. You can’t replace the Paramount. They don’t build those anymore. I say that, but they just kind of did,” he says with a laugh.

“The craftsmanship — when you look at the floors, you look at the terrazzo, the hand-plastered molding on the walls, you’re experiencing the core of humanity. …

“The Paramount is a great center for our community,” he said, “because it will be where people will gather, it will be where people come together.”

Massey, who came to Cedar Rapids just days before the flood, has never attended a concert in the venerable venue, but he’s been involved in the recovery process every step of the way.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

“My mantra the last four years — we have a great respect for the historic integrity and the stories of the past, but I think our opportunity really lies in the future. I’ve never seen the Paramount as what it was. I’ve only seen the Paramount for what it can be. And even though the restoration is coming to a close and we’re about to play our first notes in there, I still have that same philosophy. What can it be? What can we do?

“Now the burden is on us as a community, on us as arts presenters, as musicians. We’re going to bring the art to the stage. What art will we bring? How will we transform audiences?

“And the bigger challenge to the community is, OK, we’ve built this. You have to come. The community wanted this back,” he said.

“My daughter is in second grade. She’s going to be going to Youth Concerts there, she’ll be singing and dancing on the stage. What will her Paramount be?”

TIMELINE: A history of The Paramount

Seats of the Paramount Theatre are seen in 2011. (The Gazette)

What: Paramount Theatre

Where: 123 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids

Renovation cost: $35 million

FEMA Reimbursement: about $21 million

I-JOBS Grant: $5 million

State and Federal Historic Tax Credits: $8.7 million

Project Timeline: Building floods June 11 to 13, 2008, causing $16 million in damages

• July 2008: Building stabilization and hazard mitigation begins

• March 2011: Building design complete

• August 2011: Construction begins

• Fall 2012: Construction complete

• Oct. 26, 2012: Ribbon-cutting ceremony

• Nov. 3, 2012: Gala reopening concert with Harry Connick Jr. (sold out)

Notable improvements: Seating; acoustics and lighting; concessions gathering spaces; expanded orchestra pit, stage house and wing space; loading area and back-of-house; exterior improvements, including refurbished marquee

Seats: 1,700, down from 1,930, to accommodate wider seat widths on main floor and in loge, and more space between rows on the main floor

Restoration goals:

• Minimize the impact of future floods

• Enhance the stage house function for all users

• Enhance the patron experience with improved seating comfort, lively acoustics and expanded gathering spaces

• Promote operational and production efficiency

• Respect the theater’s historic integrity

• Incorporate sustainable design strategies

• Find synergy between the Paramount Theatre and Orchestra Iowa building.

Sources: cedar-rapids.org, paramounttheatrecr.com

Project team

Paramount Constituents Committee: Jim Hoffman, chairman; Al Varney, Five Seasons Commission; Maura Pilcher, Linn County Historic Preservation Commission; Peggy Whitworth, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation; Vanessa Rogers, formerly with the Downtown District; Robert Massey, Orchestra Iowa; Gene Felling, VenuWorks

City of Cedar Rapids: Rob Davis, engineering manager; Sandy Pumphrey, project manager

Ryan Companies, Cedar Rapids: Construction manager

Design team

OPN Architects, Cedar Rapids: lead architect for the project, responsible for overall design and coordination of the efforts of the following consultants: Martinez & Johnson Architecture, Washington, D.C., historic restoration; Schuler Shook, Minneapolis, stage design, auditorium design, lighting, etc.;  Threshold Acoustics, Chicago, acoustical design; Jeff Weiler & Associates, Chicago, Wurlitzer organ restoration; Historic Surfaces/ Anthony Kartsonas, Chicago, specializing in historic analysis and restoration of historic paint and plaster; KJWW Engineering Consultants, Rock Island, Ill.

Prime contract holders: Miron Construction, Cedar Rapids, general contractor; Nelson Electric, Cedar Rapids, electrical contractor; Modern Piping, Cedar Rapids, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection systems; SECOA, Champlin, Minn., theater curtains, rigging, pit lifts and platforms; Olympic Companies, Minnetonka, Minn., painting and plaster; Lindstrom Environmental, Cedar Rapids, remediation; Sound Concepts, Cedar Rapids, audio visual systems; Crome Organ Co., Reno, Nev., organ restoration; St. Louis Antique Lighting Co., architectural lighting

Source: OPN Architects, uscellularcenter.com