Cedar Rapids Alert: Beat the heat with special $2.00 swims on June 1 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Cherry Hill and Noelridge. Find details at https://bit.ly/3MPAfjA

Summer Reading for all ages kicks off on June 1.  Stop by the Library between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm for outdoor activities and ice cream sponsored by Hills Bank.

The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department invites residents to celebrate summer and kickoff a season of fun with community activities at the first Party in the Park of the year! This event will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Willow Creek Park, 1117 Teg Drive. The annual Party in the Park series runs each Thursday evening from June 1 through August 17.

Party in the Park: 

Party in the Park events are held at a different Iowa City park each week. In addition to a rotating musical act, Party in the Park features lawn games, STEAM and craft activities, and visits from the Iowa City Public Library’s Bookmobile and the Iowa City Fire Department. Other community partners will also facilitate learning activities throughout the season, including The RARE Group, Backyard Abundance, the Iowa Youth Writing Project, and Green Iowa AmeriCorps.

Party in the Park: June 1 

The June 1 Party in the Park will feature live music from Kalimbaman & the Fabulous Yahoo Drummers, live bird ambassadors from The RARE Group, STEAM and craft activities, and lawn games. Community members can also visit the Iowa City Public Library Bookmobile and a fire truck staffed by the Iowa City Fire Department. 

Summer Event Series:

Party in the Park is one of many summer event series hosted by the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department. Other summer series events include Family Garden Parties, Water Wednesdays, the Iowa City Farmers Market, Food Truck Fridays at the Pool, Hydrant Parties, and Yoga in the Park. The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department also partners with Summer of the Arts to host several Rec N' Roll events at Music on the Move, as well as free Movies in the Park.

For a full list of dates and locations or to find out more about Party in the Park and our other event series, be sure to visit the calendar on our website at ICGov.org/Recreation. Questions can be directed to Brad Barker at [email protected].

Coralville, Iowa — The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra returns to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 PM. Tickets cost $27–$32 each and are available online at www.CoralvilleArts.org, or by calling (319) 248-9370. Box office hours are phone only Wednesday–Friday, noon–4:00 PM, and in person one hour before show time at 1301 5^th Street in Coralville.

With its unique jazz sound, the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time! The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year all around the world. Erik Stabnau is the orchestra’s present musical director, with female vocalist Jenny Swoish. This performance is sponsored by Hills Bank.

The History

The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all dance bandleaders back in the Swing Era of the 1930s and 40s. A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts and the drawing power at theatres, hotels and dance pavilion, built and sustained the momentum of popularity.

Glenn disbanded his musical organization in 1942 at the height of its popularity to volunteer for the Army. There, he organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It went to Europe to entertain servicemen performing numerous live and radio shows. On December 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single engine plane from Europe to precede his band to France, disappearing over the English Channel, never to be seen again. The army declared him officially dead a year later.

With the release of the major motion movie “The Glenn Miller Story” featuring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in 1954, interest and popular demand led the Miller Estate to authorize the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra. On June 6, 1956, and under the direction of drummer Ray McKinley who had become the unofficial leader of the Army Air Force Band after Glenn’s disappearance, the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra performed its first concert and has been on the road ever since. Other leaders have followed Ray including clarinetists Buddy DeFranco and Peanuts Hucko, trombonists Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, Larry O’Brien and Gary Tole, and tenor saxophonist Dick Gerhart. Since January 2012, vocalist Nick Hilscher leads the band.

Today, the 18-member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound.

Now, over sixty years since the public first embraced the successful Miller Sound, both the legend and the music live on. The 18-member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound.  The band has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year around the globe to millions of fans.

Join us for a free movie night at the Library! On May 24 we are screening Some Like it Hot (1959).

When two male musicians witness the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, they flee the mob in an all-female band disguised as women. One of the musicians falls for one of the members of the band but can’t reveal his gender, and the other has a rich suitor who will not take no for an answer. Starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe.

Some Like it Hot is 2 hours long.

Tom Cruise and his ageless face welcome you back to the danger zone with a free outdoor showing of Top Gun Maverick on the patio at Brown Deer Golf Club on Saturday, May 20, presented by Summer of the Arts and Coralville Parks and Recreation.

The movie is free and open to the public.  Arrive early to place an order for dinner or appetizers at Bunkers Bar & Grill. The restaurant and bar will also stay open during the show. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair for maximum comfort. If there is inclement weather, the movie will move inside to the clubhouse.

Movie begins at dark; approximately 8:45 p.m.  No outside food and beverage allowed. Dogs are allowed on the patio and must be on a leash.  Brown Deer Golf Club is located at 1900 Country Club Drive in Coralville.

The City’s Climate Action Office is excited to announce its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at our Spot the Hot Kickoff Event, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Mercer Park. 

Spot the Hot is part of NOAA's Urban Heat Island mapping campaign, where residents across the country collect data on areas within their communities where a lack of tree cover and other factors result in higher temperatures than in the surrounding area. Such areas are known as heat islands.

Information gathered to help map these areas can help local decision-makers better address the health impacts of extreme heat.

Come learn how you can be a part of this important project to help us better understand climate impacts in our community.

Fun games and activities for the entire family will be featured as part of the day’s programming thanks to our Parks and Recreation Department. Visitors can pick up free climate resilience kits, register to sign-up as Spot the Hot volunteer, learn more about avoiding heat exhaustion from Johnson County Public Health, participate in a DIY air conditioning craft project, and more!

The event will introduce the Spot the Hot initiative to Iowa City residents, while also starting the push for volunteers to help us collect temperature data in the hottest spots of town later this summer.

Iowa City also has partnered with the City of Cedar Rapids as part of this exciting program, which will be hosting an event on June 3, 2023 to recruit community volunteers to help map heat islands in Cedar Rapids as well. More information on that event can be found on the City of Cedar Rapids website.

Help us identify key Iowa City locations

Residents can also help by adding a pin to this interactive map to help identify places that they would avoid on the hottest days. These locations will be used to help configure the routes volunteers will follow to gather temperature information. 

CORALVILLE -- Novel Conversations is a book group that alternates between classic novels and more recent works of fiction and nonfiction. Participants are welcome to come to all the meetings or just those that sound interesting.  Multiple copies of each book are available for checkout in the Coralville Public Library and are, whenever possible, made available in large print, audiobook, and ebook editions.

Novel Conversations meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm on Zoom.  Email [email protected] for the Zoom link.

In May join us for:

Our Missing Hearts
by Celeste Ng

“Known for focusing on families, race, and relationships, Ng raises the bar another notch in a story intensified by reference to such police violence, political protest, book banning, and discrimination against people of color. As with her previous novels, her storytelling will not disappoint” (Library Journal).

2023 Novel Conversations book list

City of Iowa City administrative offices and other facilities will be closed on Monday, May 29, 2023, in observance of Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day closures and schedule adjustments:

Airport: Office closed. Jet Air (FBO) will operate regular hours. Details at jetairinc.com/fbo/.

Animal Care and Adoption Center: Closed.

Landfill and Recycling Center: Closed.

Library: Closed. 

Library Bookmobile: Not in service. 

Oakland Cemetery: Office closed. Decorations can be placed on gravesides on or after Thursday, May 25, 2023. All decorations must be picked up by Sunday, June 3, 2023. 

Memorial Day ceremonies will return to Oakland Cemetery on May 29, 2023. The first part will be at 8:30 a.m. at Park Road Bridge, 9:30 a.m. at Oakland Cemetery, and then 11 a.m. at Memory Gardens. 

Parking: Public parking ramps will be open, but cashier attendants will not be on duty. Fees will not be charged at ramps or street meters on Memorial Day.

Parks & Recreation:

• Administrative Offices closed.
• Mercer Park Aquatic Center: Open 6:15 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Robert A. Lee Recreation Center: Open 6:15 a.m.– 9 p.m.
• City Park Pool: Open 11 a.m.– 6 p.m.

Police: Open for normal operations. Records and administrative offices closed.

Senior Center: Closed.

Recycling & Trash: Recycling, garbage, and yard waste will be collected on Memorial Day. 

Transit: Closed. City buses will not operate on Memorial Day.

Water: Closed. In case of a water emergency, call the 24-hour emergency line at 319-356-5166.

Wastewater: Closed. For wastewater emergencies, call the 24-hour line 319-356-5177. 

Normal City operations will resume on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. For more information, contact Shannon McMahon, Communications Coordinator, at 319-356-5058.