Des Moines Holiday Events Extravaganza!

It just happened that my sister and my nephew were in town visiting this week from Boston, so what better time to fit in every Des Moines Holiday Event we could into the shortest amount of time possible.



The week started with the Ugly Sweater Run at Principal Park.  What a fun event!  Lots of gigantic Holiday inflatables for cool photo ops, candy canes and more.  Runner brought toys for Toys 4 Tots that went right to kids in our community.




If it wasn't -1 degree with the wind chill, it would have been a fabulous family friendly event.  There was a Groupon for it, so only $20 got you registration, a hat, hot chocolate along the 5k route and 2 beers or hard ciders at the end.  Fun event!  Looking forward to next year!



Next up, we hit the Jordan Creek Mall Santa and Build-a-Bear for their Holiday "Bears".  Nathan picked the Rudolph and of course we spent the ridiculous amount of money on the matching hat, scarf and sweater for Rudolph, you know, because it was too cute not to.



Our elf (Named Elephant) returned for the season which is fantastic because my kid always behaves a little bit better when he knows the creepy elf is watching him.




While at the mall, we also got to check out Live, Love, Bake which recently opened up near Banana Republic on the first floor of the mall.  They have a cupcake kiosk.  What a great idea and they have really great cupcakes!  I tried a gluten-free chocolate-chip and it was really fabulous.  It was a little more pricey than the competitors around town at $4, but it was huge!  It was moist and delicious though and worth every penny.





In the middle of all of this, we had time to meet my friend Carye for a painting class, via El Arte Uncorked, to make some festive Christmas ornament paintings.  We also got some matchy-matchy photos of the boys taken since they only see each other a couple times a year.




Continuing the fun, we had our Thanksgiving meal at Tally's in Beaverdale which was fantastic as always.  Robert's (the owner) wife has celiac disease, so there is always a ton at Tallly's that is gluten free for my family members to eat.



We don't discriminate around here and since we have all sorts of heritage going on in our family, we made time for Latkes and Hanukkah house building!  It was really for the kids, but they lost interest quickly and the grown-ups ended up doing the building...




What the kids did love was the chocolate we picked up at Beaverdale Confections! I just love this shop.  We picked up Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas themed chocolates along with fantastic gift baskets for only $10 each!  They'd make great teacher gifts!  (hint, hint...) A great stop to celebrate Small Business Saturday too.  



Once our Thankgivukkah celebrations were over (and my brief dabble in Black Friday Shopping in which I stood in line for an hour and a half for an iPad deal...not worth it),we headed to the Festival of Trees and Lights at Hy-vee Hall.  This is one of my most favorite events of the season and is for such a great cause that is very near to my heart.  Every year this events gets bigger and better is lots of kids crafts, train rides, beautiful trees including a scavenger hunt, snacks, silent auction and entertainment.  Definitely an event not to miss.


Luckily we still had time to take our annual drive through the Jolly Holiday Lights at Waterworks park where you can drive through thousands of holiday lights throughout the park for $10 (more for limos and busses and only $5 on Monday nights) to benefit Make-a-Wish foundation.  We love turning up the Christmas music, drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the lights.  They had 3D glasses available a few years ago and Nathan loves to wear them every year, they don't offer them anymore though, but that's what he's wearing in the photo.


That takes us to our road trip to The Scenic Valley Railroad and Museum in Boone for the Santa Express train ride!  This is always a hot with the kids.  You ride the train out to "The North Pole", read the Santa Express book, drink hot chocolate and eat cookies and there is of course a visit from Santa.  It was my 2 year old nephew's first train ride and he was enthralled for every minute of the hour and a half excursion.



We fit in a trip to the Science Center, which I highly recommend during the holiday to catch the Polar Express in the IMAX theater and check out the current traveling exhibit which is very cool.



Today, we end our very busy visit with family with DIsney on Ice at Wells Fargo Arena.  Many Iowans have made this a Thanksgiving week tradition every year.



Are there any Holiday events that you love to do in Des Moines (or close-by)?  We'd love to hear about them!



For me, it's back Ugly Sweater Party planning!  Our annual Contest/Party is being held soon and we can't wait!  Here's a photo of some of our friend's from last year's event!  I'm getting the fruit cakes and leg lamps ready!

PS...I almost forgot!  A new find (for me) this year is the Lincoln Place Lights this very cool house at 129 Lincoln Place Drive in Des Moines (not far from DMU).  They have a fantastic holiday lights display, that if you set your radio to 94.3, their light show is in sync with the music!  Check it out!

Adel Sweet Corn Festival

One of my favorite festivals of the summer (I think I might say that a lot since I just love summer festivals) is the Adel Sweet Corn festival.  The 2013 festival is on August 10th this year.

The event begins with a 5k at 8am and a parade from 9:30-11 and then the vendor fair with inflatables for the kids commences with a huge FREE corn feed!  Tons of the sweetest Adel sweet corn is given away and you can eat all you want until they run out.  There is a free will donation box there if you want to donate.  There is usually a long line, but as soon as the feed starts, the line goes fast.

In past years KIOA was there giving out prizes and there were live animals and sheep sheering demonstrations.  Lots of other food and product vendors are there as well selling the usual fair food like corn dogs and tenderloins.

This festival is worth the short drive to Adel for some of the most delicious corn and a fun morning.

We usually park in one of the areas where there is shuttle pick up because parking right around the festival is tough, but the shuttles run often and are are a short trip.

Who doesn't love a celebration based around corn?!

Which festival is your favorite of the summer??

National Balloon Classic - Indianola

One of my very favorite festivals of the summer is the National Balloon Classic in Indianola.  The 2013 festival runs July 26th to August 3rd.  Activities for the week include a 5k walk/run, morning balloon flights that are free, evening balloons flights that are $3 per person admission (or $10 per car load). Entrance includes the nightly entertainment, the ability to watch the night glows, which are really cool where you can go right onto the field, all of the balloons light up in the dark and it's fun to watch. And there are food vendors and kids games there nightly as well.  You can even camp at the field for $5 per night.

On Saturday the 27th at 11:00am there will be the annual Balloon Classic Parade that starts at Irving Elementary School.  You can schedule a Balloon ride in advance by contacting the official balloon ride operation for the event "On the Fly" at 1-800-690-1287.

The weekday evenings are usually less busy, plan some time to get there as there is often a line to get in to park.

Here is the 2013 Schedule on the National Balloon Classic Website.

The Color Run - Des Moines

Before

After

The Color Run is coming back to Des Moines for round 2 in just a few weeks on July 13th, 2013.  The start is at the State Capitol Building and this 5k really is one of the funnest around.  

The Color run is un-timed, so weather this is your first 5k or hundredth, you are going to be relaxed and have a good time.

There are a few things you want to remember about this race though. With the sheer number of people participating you need to get there early, really early (or I guess really late would work too) or you'll get stuck in a "wave" that doesn't begin running for a while.  They send "waves" to start every ten minutes or so and with thousands of people, your wave can maybe not start until a hour or so after the start time of the race (9am or 1pm).  Plus, finding a parking spot can be tough too, so if you can have someone drop you off that's ideal, or again get there early to find parking.

Try to wear old shoes because the color powder will stay on your stuff, even after washing sometimes.  They give some suggestions on the website about preserving your well-earned color as well.

So aside from logistics, this is seriously fun.  I was a little nervous about the color powder getting in my face at first, but I totally didn't need to worry, it was like corn starch and totally fun to get all over you!

They provide some light snacks and drink at the end and there are plenty of fun downtown places to party after the race too!

So grab some friends and sign up for the color run.  You'll be doing something fun and healthy whether you walk or run and You'll like it!