Arts Abound in Altoona Thanks to Commission of Volunteers

The City of Altoona in eastern Polk County is no stranger to visitors, welcoming around 4 million of them to the community each year thanks to the entertainment attractions, businesses and events that call Altoona home. The city is also growing, with more than 22,000 residents living in the city with more arriving every week. Of these residents, a small group of volunteers dedicate their time to serving their community on the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission, by planning and bringing cultural events and works of public art to Altoona.

About the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission

The seven volunteers who make up the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission range in age, life experience, background and career paths, but they are united in a love for their community and the desire to provide cultural draws to instill community pride across Altoona. The members live in the community and were appointed to the commission by Mayor Dean O’Connor. They meet the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, but you’ll find these dedicated volunteers hard at work, or meeting to plan new cultural draws for the community even outside of their regularly scheduled meeting hours.

The Arts and Culture Commission was created through approval of the Altoona Mayor and City Council in 2021, to establish a committee of dedicated community members to oversee and advise on public arts and cultural awareness projects for the community. The Commission itself is dedicated to enhancing the city with both physical and interactive works of art, developing both community arts and cultural initiatives to provide an impactful experience for residents and visitors.

The Summer of CORNival 2023

In spring 2023, the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission began work on its first major initiative, celebrating a major agricultural milestone by planning CORNival. CORNival celebrated the first planting of hybrid seed corn for commercial use, which just so happened to have occurred in a farming field in what is now northern Altoona. As the Arts and Culture Commission prioritized projects it wanted to undertake in 2022, Arts and Culture Commission member and Altoona Historical Society Board Member Alex Payne shared the fact with the commission. The Commission opted to celebrate the major agricultural milestone through a summer of celebratory festivities, the highlight of which was the traveling CORNvoy, 20 larger than life corn statues that were decorated by local artists and displayed around the community.

 

A call for artists was issued in early 2023, and of the applicants, 19 were selected to design a cob, with the final cob being reserved to become the golden ear representing the community and the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission. The statues were unveiled following the annual 4th of July parade on Independence Day in Altoona’s historic Haines Park. Artists were on hand at a special event to unveil their statues and meet with hundreds of members of the public in attendance. Following the event, the statues were dispersed amongst the city and moved around periodically over the summer by the Altoona Parks and Streets departments.

Other CORNival events besides the travelling CORNvoy included a CORNhole tournament sponsored by Brightside Aleworks, a historical informative talk at the Altoona Library from Liz Garst of the Garst Seeds family and visits from the Iowa Corn mobile museum. CORNival capped off in September 2023 when the Arts and Culture Commission hosted a family fall festival at Intrinsic Ag in north Altoona. The highlight of this event was the more than nine-acre corn maze for visitors to travel through, designed by Intrinsic and city staff, and installed and maintained by Intrinsic Ag. What made this maze even more special was that it was set in a field which would have been on the farm where the historic acre would have been originally planted over 100 years ago.

While the summer of CORNival came to an end, the fun continues to this day as the CORNvoy has become a permanent piece of the community. Residents and visitors are encouraged to partake in a self-guided scavenger hunt around Altoona to see how many of the cobs they can spy. A full list of corn cobs on display and their locations are available online at visitaltoona.com/CORNival.

Showcasing Altoona’s Past, Present and Future Through New Mural

The next large project that the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission is undertaking, is working to develop a now vacant lot in the historic Olde Town neighborhood, into a showpiece of community history and civic pride. This lot next to the Borseth Law Office (111 2nd St. SE, Altoona) is transforming in summer 2024 into a walk-through pocket park, tying the nearby Vern Willey II bike trail access directly into the historic neighborhood. The main focus of this pocket park will be the mural covering the wall of the Borseth Law Office that frames the pocket park.

 

In early 2024, the Altoona Arts and Culture Commission released a call for artists for the project, and ideas for the mural were submitted from 66 artists located from Iowa, from across the United States and North America and from several other countries around the world. From these submissions, a selection committee made up of local leaders, business owners, members of the Arts and Culture Commission and City Staff narrowed the applicants down until they had made their top selection. Altoona’s Mayor and City Council approved the committee’s choice of Artist Mila Sketch, who is based out of Austin, Texas and awarded the chance to create the mural for Olde Town in May. She will be in Altoona beginning in mid-July 2024 to bring her unique and vibrant design to life. Mila’s art will highlight the historic past of Olde Town and Altoona, while showing glimpses into the promises of the future for the region.

Focusing on Fun for the Whole Family and Highlighting Local Artists

The Altoona Arts and Culture Commission is hard at work on several projects, including plans to once again partner with the Altoona Historical Society to provide family-friendly entertainment for the community to enjoy following the annual 4th of July Parade. Once the parade ends, visitors and residents are invited to Haines Park where there will be food to purchase from local vendors and the annual Historical Society free-will donation ice cream social. There will be inflatables and live music in the park provided courtesy of the Arts and Culture Commission, along with all the amenities the park provides including the new corn hole boards (players must bring their own bags) and the newly opened Splash Pad, and the family favorite playgrounds, pickleball/tennis courts and green space.

Also, in the works are plans to bring a rotating art display to Altoona Public Library. This program is expected to begin in fall 2024 and will highlight local central Iowa artists quarterly, with a meet-the-artist reception planned at the opening of each new exhibit rotation.

The Altoona Arts and Culture Commission posts about its upcoming projects and activities on its Instagram and Facebook pages, as well as on its page, found under the Government tab on the city’s website at altoona-iowa.com. Information about upcoming meetings which are open to the public, and volunteer opportunities available for residents through the commission can both be found on the commission’s webpage.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses, including Chamber luncheons, roundtables and ribbon cuttings. You can also find live music happening each week thanks to the “Live Music This Week in DSM” blog series.