Landlocked Film Festival is here! (what a great name...)

Landlocked Film Festival, Thursday, August 26 - Sunday, August 29
 Landlocked Film Festival presents independently made documentaries and narrative films and videos of lengths ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours. You'll find animation, art films, outrageous comedy, sweet stories, action and adventure, heartwarming and heartbreaking drama, hard-hitting documentaries and even some zombies and aliens. An added bonus is that many of the directors, actors and film artists who made the movies will be at the festival.

Select Movies have a $5 fee, most are FREE for screening.  Please visit the Landlocked website for more information and to obtain tickets.


FILM SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010

Englert: 
1:15 pm Love & Valor; 
3:15 pm Can't Go Native; 
5:00 pm From the Badlands to Alcatraz; 
7:30 pm Is It Just Me?
; 9:45 pm earthwork

Iowa City Public Library: 
3:00 pm Not Evil Just Wrong; 
5:00 pm Shorts Program #1
; 7:00 pm Ballhawks

Sheraton/Hotel Vetro
: 3:00 pm Shorts Program #5 Comedy; 
6:30 pm Documentary Short Films; 
9:00 pm Shorts Program #4 Comedy

Bijou: 
6:00 pm Voices Unveiled
; 8:00 pm Shorts Program #3 Drama

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010

Englert
: 12:15 pm Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead; 
4:00 pm Play On; 
7:00 pm Ashley's Ashes; 
9:30 pm Splatter: Love, Honor and Paintball

Iowa City Public Library: 
11:00 am Kid-Friendly Under 10
; 12:00 pm (noon) Kid-Friendly Over 10; 
1:15 pm Music Videos
; 2:45 pm Shorts Program #5 Comedy

Sheraton/Hotel Vetro:
12:00 pm (noon) Not Evil Just Wrong
; 1:45 pm Dumb Dumb; 
3:15 pm Shorts Program #1
5; then From the Badlands to Alcatraz
; 7:00 pm Roll Out, Cowboy; 
9:00 pm Scrappers

Bijou
: 2:00 pm Student Program at the Bijou; 
11:30 pm Endure

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010
Englert: 
12:00 pm (Noon) Ballhawks
; 1:45 pm First Stop, Iowa
; 4:00 pm Shorts Program #2 Drama; 
7:00 pm Broken Dreams
; 9:00 pm Landlocked Awards Ceremony

Iowa City Public Library: 
12:00 pm (Noon) Kid-Friendly Under 10; 
1:00 pm Kid-Friendly Over 10
; 2:15 pm Shorts Program #3 Drama

Sheraton/Hotel Vetro: 
2:30 pm Music Videos; 
4:00 pm Vivir de Pie; 
6:00 pm Home/Land*; 
6:30 pm Shorts Program #4 Comedy
*Home/Land is a 30-minute documentary made by a former scholar in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa (IWP). The film will be followed immediately by a panel of current IWP scholars and faculty.

Get Ready for the Taste! Wednesday 4-8, 40 downtown restaurants

The third annual Taste of Iowa City returns on August 25, 2010 from 4:00p - 8:00p. Enjoy the unique and vibrant culinary atmosphere spanning the Pedestrian Plaza through the historic Northside Marketplace. Approximately 40 participating restaurants will serve sample portions of their favorite menu items and guests will be entertained with live music, entertainment and a festive street-fair environment. Taste of Iowa City allows the Downtown Association of Iowa City to introduce the varied culinary delights available in Downtown to new and returning University of Iowa students and reintroduce patrons from the community to the dishes they may have forgotten.

Food tickets will be available at locations in the Pedestrian Plaza and Northside Marketplace. All tickets are $1.00 and participating restaurants typically charge between one and three tickets per dish. Mark your calendar now for the "foodie" event of the summer!

Sand in the City time! Friday-Sunday, August 20-22

Last year, I stumbled upon Sand in the City (pictures included) and it's really fun, not to be missed. Great for families. Find your beach experience!  

Hours are Friday 9am - 9pm; Saturday 10am - 8pm; and Sunday 10am - 4pm. See below for details about food, music and other activities associated with the event.


Here's basic information from the
Summer of the Arts website  (SOTA):
Sand in the City, presented by Bank of the West, is a wonderful late-summer event to bring out family and friends to downtown Iowa City for a weekend of free entertainment.  Giant sandboxes filled with fantastical sand sculptures will line Iowa Avenue (from Clinton Street to Linn Street) as well as our FUN Zone, Kids Sandbox, Artist booths and Culinary Row along parts of Dubuque St. and Iowa Avenue.

Sand sculptures will be designed and constructed by teams representing some of the community's most beloved businesses and local organizations.  Incredible sand sculptures will come to life through the collaborative and team building efforts of our teams.

The community has an opportunity to decide their favorites by contributing "sand" dollars in the name of the team building their favorite sculpture.  Event goers will also be entertained by live music and an array of adult and kid friendly activities.  Our participating businesses contribute not only their time but also financial resources that allows us to raise funds that help to support the Summer of the Arts festivals and events throughout the year.

On August 20th, the regularly scheduled Friday Night Concert Series will be pre-empted for Sand in the City's live entertainment from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Iowa Avenue.

Celebrity Chef Rocky Barnette's in town! Join him at Iowa City Green Drinks

Celebrity Chef & Food Activist Rocky Barnette will be featured at the August Iowa City Green Drinks! Thursday, August 12, 5:30-8:00 at The Red Avocado. Chef Rocky is on tour with Food & Water Watch to promote revisions to the Farm Bill in 2012. Covering 6 states in 11 days, the Food & Water Watch road trip team is reaching out to senators and community members. Learn more about the strides that Food & Water Watch is making towards fair food policy & what you can do to help!

Visit this link for More info about Chef Rocky. Iowa City Green Drinks meets every 2nd Thursday- Anyone interested in discussing and learning about environmental issues in Iowa City is welcome to join this informal group. For more information, email Risa.

Still time to rummage...

Farmers' Market and Rummage in the Ramp were buzzing on Saturday. People everywhere. Bounty. Locally produced meats. Foods from different parts of the globe. Handspun yarns. Flowers. garden sculpture.


And household stuff, lots of it, for cheap home decor that benefits local community non-profits. Now in its last day, til 8pm this evening. Thanks to all of the diligent volunteers who helped with this.

Last Chance! You CAN win! Downtown supports the Crisis Center

Recipe for today through Sunday, August 1: 

• Bring your cans to the businesses listed below.
• Fill out one entry form per can donated.
• Be eligible for one of three gift coupon baskets worth $500 each.

Result: win win all around, and especially for the Crisis Center--- Read on:

Twenty  local businesses are joining the fight against hunger in our community by supporting the Crisis Center Food Bank’s Thanksgiving in July Event. “We're giving away the most food bags that we ever have," said Beth Ritter Ruback, communication and development director at the center." In the past 10 years, it's more than doubled. The need for food is great in our community is great- especially during the summer months as school age children are at home. Downtown Iowa City businesses want to help.

Twenty locally owned and/or operated businesses in downtown Iowa City (Discerning Eye, Textiles, RSVP, Herteen and Stocker, Hands Jewelers, Beadology, Om, Dulcinea, Lorenz, Fired Up, Technigraphics, Iowa Artisans Gallery & DJ Rinner Goldsmith, Bella Joli, Modela, Sweets and Treats, Glassando, Velvet Coat, Revival, Active Endeavors and Home Ec Workshop), have joined the fight against hunger by collecting canned goods continuing through this weekend Sunday, August 1.

These donated cans will be displayed in store windows or within in-store displays to create a visual representation of community helping community. To encourage donations, each donations will allow patrons entry into a drawing for three sizable downtown gift certificate baskets. Each basket will contain one gift certificate from each participating business-that’s 20 gift certificates in all! Patrons are encouraged to bring in as many cans as they can carry to as many businesses as they can visit to increase chances of winning. Three names will be drawn on Monday, August 2. Look for the "Small Businesses Have Big Hearts" poster displayed in your favorite stores and bring in a can or two before time runs out-The Downtown Can Drive Ends Sunday!

The economic slow down, job layoffs, termination of unemployment benefits, rising food and medical costs-the list goes on. There are many reasons for the increased requests for food assistance in Johnson County.  Thanksgiving in July is a community-wide food drive that provides assistance to the hungry, homeless and working poor.

Your Downtown shares a common commitment to community- bring in your donations and watch our store windows fill!

Parking meters- or are they?

Iowa City's Donation Stations.

There they are, in the middle of the Ped Mall, an innovative solution other cities have used to help funnel spare change directly to organizations serving the homeless and those in need of assistance. But you wouldn't know this unless you come for a close-up inspection. They ARE purple. Wendy Ford, Iowa City's Economic Development Staffer who's also involved with downtown issues, assures us that there are plans to make them artistic, to place more of them, including sponsored meters. Why not involve UAY or other organizations to paint them? A good idea. Next time you have spare change, you know what to do...