Fool for the Cities, vol. 2
Secret access to the Figge after it's closed! (Plus, some great reader responses!)
It’s going to be super tempting to make a Night at the Museum pun in this post, but I’m not going to do it! I’m not! [sits on hands]
Recently, I shared the first entry in a new series featuring favorite people, places and things in the Quad Cities. I’m apparently all about ripping off (or paying tribute to) classic rock, so I’m calling it Fool for the Cities.
But
my kickoff post didn’t get sent out to my subscribers, so may I request that you read that introductory one (linked at the bottom of this post) when you reach the end page? Great, thanks! I’ll buy you something from the featured business (in my mind).
Then, even better, last week I accidentally hit “publish” on a mish-mash of potential future posts and half-thoughts that were supposed to be stashed away in my Drafts tab. (Three people still kindly commented on it, though! Maybe their polite way of pointing out what they’d received, (akin to “you’ve got spinach on your front tooth but I don’t wanna say anything”?)
I appreciate those of you who take the time to read my work, (even when it’s IN DRAFT MODE and almost intelligible!) I am lucky and honored.
And: while I’m on the subject of reader response, I have some updates I’ve been meaning to share!
Reader response to ‘Polar Vortex’ author interview
Some really cool things have happened in response to my author interview with cartoonist and illustrator Denise Dorrance.
Cameos: I heard from a childhood friend of the author’s—and learned that she appears (disguised, slightly) as a character in the book!
New readers taking a leap: A few people (in the comments, or in person) shared that they’d never read a graphic novel before, (or considered doing so), but now they might. (And this, after I’d fretted about whether or not to cut the intro from my post, where I’d written about my own “discovery” of the genre!). I’m so glad they let me know!
Some business for a local bookstore: A couple of people told me that they not only took my suggestion to read it, but also to ordered it from the local indie I highlighted! I was totally sincere when I threw that suggestion into the end of the post, but still, I got a small thrill of pleasant surprise to know that people did this!
Book club discussion? A local yoga instructor and reiki practitioner who is also a certified death doula (more on her below!) is considering an event focused on the graphic memoir, which depicts Cedar Rapids native Dorrance’s return home to care for her mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Dorrance and the book just received another accolade, (which, while not something I can claim is related to my post, it is tied to libraries, so… points!) Here’s the announcement from her Instagram page:
and now….
FOOL FOR THE CITIES, vol. 2:
Secret* after-hours access to the Figge!
Last week, I told you about how I’m choosing to focus on certain bright spots about life in Iowa (and Illinois, because bistate). I randomly selected a downtown-Davenport shop to kick things off. (Have I mentioned I’m not going in any particular order?)
This week, for the second installment, let me start with a question:
Did you know that on certain Sunday nights, you can visit the Figge, which is not only closed at that time, but also serves in that moment as … a special kind of sanctuary?
For any out-of-towners who might be reading, the Figge Art Museum is an absolutely amazing source of culture, (not to mention impressive physical structure), in downtown Davenport, with honest-to-goodness world class collections, plus views overlooking the Mississippi.
It’s no secret that the Figge offers a full list of programming for kids and adults each month, ranging from pottery making classes to Day of the Dead celebrations to film showings in the auditorium. There’s even free yoga on some Saturday mornings—which I’ve never attended, because that would mean getting up and leaving the house on time, during prime coffee-drinking-at-the-kitchen-table hours—I have for the last couple of years been a regular(ish) participant in these Sunday-night Cultivating Mindfulness events held once a month.
Here’s some information on what typically happens in sessions, led by the amazing Becky Nakashima Brooke.
Join us to cultivate mindfulness through art, qigong*, meditation, and sound healing in the Figge galleries. Practitioners will be guided to explore ways to meditate by being open, relaxed, and receptive […] guided by Becky Nakashima Brooke, a yoga and qigong teacher and sound healer. All are welcome. No experience necessary.
So, listen, these events are not really secret—sorry, I lied—but… it feels like it!
When you arrive (and btw, these classes must be booked ahead of time, see links below), you approach a door set apart from the main entrance, click a button, and wait to hear the clunk signaling that Security has let you in.
While these events are not designed for time to peruse the museum (or nab a cool pair of earrings, which I’m always tempted to do in any museum gift shop anywhere), they are, in fact, held right in the galleries.
Each month, you get to experience the meditative class in a different one, surrounded by the artwork. Earlier this winter, we got to lie there soaking up sound vibrations from singing bowls while flowy, neon-lit screens morphed and changed around us, almost as if the two were in synch. Once, the featured work was a tower constructed entirely of cardboard boxes, the exact kind you’re always on the hunt for when you have to pack up and move. I’ll never forget the sound and sensation of the box flaps rattling (stirred by an internal fan?) while we did our 20 minutes of meditation.
Oh yeah, and about that:
The class is usually structured with 20 minutes of qigong to start off, then 20 minutes of seated or lying-down meditation, and closes with 20 minutes of sound healing, where your literal only job is to lie back, listen, and relax. (And don’t worry if you’re not a practiced meditator and the thought of 20 minutes sounds like ….living hell? You can still just sit there and admire the artwork. In this day and age, even just being off our phones for a while is a form of mindfulness, amiright?)
The gallery last time displayed work by Haitian artist Myrlande Constant.
As I was in the midst of putting together this week’s Fool highlighting these wonderful classes—which are only $10, ($5 if you’re a Figge member), get this—I discovered that the next one (this Saturday) is a special-event version which DOES play on the movie title, and will include time to roam! (It’s almost like I’m causing these things to happen. Drafting is… magic? Okay… next draft…headline: ‘ALISON WINS SIZEABLE CHUNK OF CASH IN IOWA LOTTERY - EVEN THOUGH SHE DOESN’T PLAY’).
You can learn more about this upcoming Night of Mindfulness at the Museum on the Facebook event page, or on the instructor’s website. And here’s Becky describing qigong.
And if you end up joining this “secret” gathering, don’t tell anyone I gave it away.
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Thank you Alison! I am so grateful that you wrote about the class and thank you for the recommendation of Polar Vortex!
Love the title! You're on a (Rock &) Roll! Thank you for your determination to forge positively ahead by featuring and highlighting local sources of joy and inspiration. We need your voice now more than ever!