Creative Roots, the theme for this year’s Des Moines Arts Fair, will be held on the river front and on the brides over the Des Moines River this weekend, Friday June 26 through Sunday the 28th.

Gavin DeGraw and Collective Soul
will headline a FREE concert on Friday, June 26, 2009.

Juried visual art pieces will be showcased and for sale. Hours of live music, street acts, stage acts and tones of yummy food will be available to attendees. Don’t miss this annual event, considered one of the top art shows in the country.  For nearby lodging, check out the Garden and Galley B&B located in Indianola, only minutes away from the festival. www.gardenandgalley.com

The Des Moines Metro Opera opened its “09 season with Puccini’s TOSCA at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola, Iowa. This year’s other offerings are Webers DerFreischutz and Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville. The season runs through July 12th and tickets are available online at www.desmoinesmetroopera.org. A stay at the Garden and Galley B&B is the perfect pairing with an opera! View available rooms at:  www.gardenandgalley.com

The Book: Iowa Road Guide to Haunted Locations

Charlie Jane’s Bed and Breakfast is a few miles from Tedrow Cemetery! Yes, Ringgold County, in Southern Iowa, has one of Iowa’s most haunted locations.  Our guests, Lacey and Christi can contest to that! They took pictures of their experiences when they stayed with us last weekend. They wanted us to share with you their experiences and we will when we get their pictures.  If you don’t believe them check out the book “The Iowa Road Guide to Haunted Locations” and websites:  Unexpained Research.com and The Shadowlands.net.

Tedrow Cemetery, a few miles southeast of Mount Ayr is out in the country, on a dirt road, and after visiting with our guests we have decided not to venture out there on our own. We will leave the lights on for our guests instead. Visit our website, www.Charlie-janes.com, for accommodations!  (We’ll post the photos from Lacey and Christi here when we receive them, so be sure to check back here in the near future.)

This is a great recipe to serve during the Holiday Season. Guests at the Garden and Galley Bed and Breakfast in Indianola, Iowa, rave about it. (www.gardenandgalley.com) Served with bacon or ham, it’s the perfect dish to serve a crowd.

Baked Cranberry Pumpkin French Toast
8 Ingredients Include:
12 slices sour dough bread cut into 1-inch cubes
1 - 8oz-cream cheese - cubed
1 - 16oz-pkg fresh or frozen cranberries
12 large eggs
2 C milk
2 C canned pumpkin
1 T. cinnamon
4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 C. brown sugar
cinnamon-sugar for top of dish
can of Whipping cream
Crannberry sauce:
1 - 16oz -can cranberry sauce
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. water

*Method: Spray 1X15-inch cake pan with non stick cooking spray.
Arrange 1/2 bread cubes in bottom of pan. Top with cream cheese and brown sugar. Top this with cranberries. Arrange rest of bread on top of this.
Beat together eggs, milk pumpkin and spices. Pour over bread and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and press down so bread soaks up the egg mixture and refrigerate overnight.

*For sauce combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 min. (check after 25 min - if browning too quickly, cover with foil) Let stand 10 min. slice and top with whipped cream and serve with cranberry sauce.

The 46th Madrigal Dinners will be held in the Simpson College Great Hall Saturday Nov. 22nd and Sunday the 23rd. Enter to harpsichord music played by the famous Dr. Robert Larson, founder and artistic director of the Des Moines Metro Opera Co. Feast to a menu of medallions of stuffed beef, hot wassail,lentil soup, scones,vegetables. sausage stuffed apples , English pudding with lemon sauce and tea. Than revel to around 50 songs and carols performed by the Simpson College Madrigal Singers. Step back in time and enjoy all this for just $50.00. What a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit. Consider a stay at the Garden and Galley B&B , just a 2 mile drive from the Simpson College Campus. Hot drinks served by the fire place to keep you warm! www.gardenandgalley.com

Cool evenings are upon Warren and Madison Counties bringing with them a change in color. These 2 rolling, wooded counties in central Iowa abound with leaf peeping possibilities. The 2nd weekend in October is the famed Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset,(www.coveredbridgefestival.com) the county seat of Madison County. Come stay in the Garden and Galley B&B in Warren County, a short drive from Winterset, and enjoy the perfect leaf peeping views of the South River Valley from the inns walls of windows. www.gardenandgalley.com