Cedar Falls and Iowa Events, When and Where: Oktoberfest, Ringling Bros. Circus, Les Miserables, Norah Jones

There’s plenty to do in Cedar Falls in the days ahead, and if you want to travel to Des Moines, there’s plenty to do there, too.

Here are some selected events, with a full list of Des Moines metro events available here.

This Weekend

Cedar Falls Events:

BarCamp Cedar Valley:

Bar­Camp has been all over the world, and now it’s the Cedar Valley’s turn. Bar­Camp is an ad-hoc, attendee-generated un-conference  where par­tic­i­pants set the agenda…in other words, a not-to-be-missed oppor­tu­nity for cre­ative peo­ple of all types to exchange ideas. $5 and you're in.

8120 Jennings Drive

Saturday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Cedar Falls LIONS Club Kids Safety Day:

The event will feature free eye screenings for children one to four years old. The Cedar Falls Police will offer fingerprinting for the children; The Cedar Falls Fire Department will have a fire truck on display and a smoke house for the kids to learn how to escape from a burning building. There will be kids’ games, bouncy house, face painting, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin painting and pumpkin carving.

Earl May Nursery & Garden Center, 2501 Melrose Drive

Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Moonlight and Mischief in Morocco: Enter a world of enchantment and laughter as you enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of a distant land in this unique dinner-theatre experience. A family of colorful characters serves you authentic Moroccan food while entertaining you with comedy, dance, and music. Join us for the latest original production from Lampost Theatre Co.!

Tickets-$25 (include both dinner and show). Info/tickets: (319) 277-8034, www.lampost.com/Tickets

Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 28-Oct. 20 6:30 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.

The Lampost, 204 W Seerley Blvd.

Oktoberfest: The second annual Oktoberfest, featuring all things German.

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5 and 6, Gateway Park

Lysitrata: "Lysistrata" is a fast-paced comedy inspired by the Aristophanes play. The story follows Lysistrata, an Athenian housewife, who calls for the women of Greece to help end the Peloponnesian War. She proposes a radical plan: all Greek women must refuse to engage in lovemaking until the men see reason, lay down their arms, and come home to lay down with their wives in peace. The women agree to make the sacrifice and pandemonium ensues as men wander the country in an agony of unsatisfied lust. Will Lysistrata and her crew accomplish what the politicians could not?

Tickets are $16 for adults and free for UNI students with their student ID. Tickets can be purchased from the Strayer-Wood Theatre lobby box office between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The box office will also be open one hour before curtain time.

Strayer-Wood Theatre on the University of Northern Iowa campus. 7:30 p.m., Oct. 4 to 6 and Oct. 11 to 13, and at 2 p.m., Oct. 7 and 14

Des Moines-area Events:

Les Miserables: Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schö's legendary musical, LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.
The Civic Center, Des Moines.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: The fun begins as soon as the audience enters Ringling Bros. Presents BARNUM BASH with a rockin’ Pre-show party happening directly on the arena floor. Party goers can learn fresh dance moves from Ringling Bros. clown DJ Dean, style in glitzy costumes, learn balancing and juggling skills, meet and take photos with circus stars, and even step behind the curtain for an exclusive backstage experience which includes an up-close look at the most exotic animal menagerie only at BARNUM BASH.
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines.
Thursday, Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets.

American Quilter’s Society National Show: More than 1,000 quilts, a huge Merchant Mall with new and antique quilts, the newest quilt-making supplies, and jewelry and other gifts that are quilt related.
Iowa Events Center, Des Moines.
Thursday, Friday, 9 am. - 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tickets.

Cityview Martinifest: Sample the metro's finest martinis at this year's Martini Fest! Try specialty martinis from all of your favorite West Glen retailers. For all beer lovers, for the first time there will also be a Summit Beer Garden at Cabaret.
West Glen Town Center, West Des Moines.
Friday, 5 pm. - 9 p.m.
Tickets.

Upcoming

Norah Jones: Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones just released her fifth studio album, Little Broken Hearts. Since coming on the scene in 2002, Jones has sold over 36 million albums worldwide. Her three studio albums have each topped the Billboard top 200 album charts in the U.S. and gone to No. 1 around the world.
The Civic Center, Des Moines.
Thursday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.
Tickets.

Bill Maher: For the past 17 years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last eight years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-six Emmy nominations.
The Civic Center, Des Moines.
Saturday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets.

Celtic Thunder: Surpassing sales of one million units combined, the musical phenomenon that is Celtic Thunder has been hailed as BILLBOARD’s Top World Music Artist, along with Top World Music Imprint and Top World Album of 2011 for their most current disc, Heritage.
The Civic Center, Des Moines
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets.