Events Calendar
Welcome to dsm4kids’ calendar of family events!
No matter where you live in the Des Moines metro, you can rely on our calendar to find nearby events and activities your kids will love!
To keep up to date on weekend events and activities be sure to sign up for our Weekend Fun Guide!
We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information listed on the calendar. However, you should always call ahead to confirm dates, times, location and other information before heading to an event or activity, since it may change.
Events considered for inclusion onto the dsm4kids calendar include those at local venues, including free and low-cost events, as well as special events that may require paid admission. Events are posted to the online calendar in a timely manner throughout the month.
While all submissions are considered, inclusion is based on event relevance. Events occurring outside of Central Iowa or events primarily geared toward adults will not be listed.
If you are a business or organization and would like to submit an event listing, please click on Submit Event.
We welcome dogs all season, but this is their special day!
Saturday, May 4 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m. • All activities included with General Admission
Bring your well-behaved pup to visit our farm sites, walk the trail, and tour the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
We’ll have demonstrations by Zoom Room Dog Training and Urbandale K-9. Then have your pet’s portrait taken by Arf & Wag Studio!
Dogs must be on standard non-retractable leashes and must remain outside buildings and away from livestock areas.
Explore the origins and meaning of Memorial Day!
Saturday, May 25 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
All activities included with General Admission
Memorial Day began in 1868 as a day called Decoration Day. More than 600,000 soldiers had died during the American Civil War, and their families did not want anyone to forget their sacrifice. On Decoration Day, these families went to the graveyard with flowers and flags to decorate the graves of their soldiers who had died.
Many small towns had parades. Veterans would carry flags and banners, and children walked in these parades carrying flowers. Sometimes, important men like the mayor or governor would give a speech. Bands would play music and people would sing songs about their country.
Today, we honor all fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, not just those who died in the Civil War. Families still go to cemeteries to remember family members who are gone.
You can see what Decoration Day might have looked like over 100 years ago.
Historical interpreters will act out a Decoration Day ceremony and procession at 1 p.m.
The day will end with a Historic Baseball game played by 1876 rules at 3 p.m.
Explore the Black experience in Iowa’s history!
June 8 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
All presentations, activities, and exhibits included with General Admission
Gain a better understanding of the legacy and hope of emancipation and explore the Black experience in Iowa from early farmsteads through the fight for civil rights.
The day will end with a Historic Baseball game played by 1876 rules.
You are cordially invited …
Saturday, June 22
11:30 a.m. at the 1850 Pioneer Farm
Please allow at least a half-hour for the tractor cart ride from the Visitor Center to the farm site
Included with General Admission
Living History Farms invites you to a wedding! The 1850 Pioneer Farm interpreters will recreate a pioneer wedding ceremony. Come and compare the modern process to the necessities of life in 19th-century Iowa, when courtship and weddings were usually simple affairs. After the ceremony, help the “newlyweds” pack a Conestoga wagon and send them off to their married life.
Celebrate July 4th the old-fashioned way!
Thursday, July 4 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
WE’RE OPEN RAIN OR SHINE!
All activities included with General Admission • Advance tickets recommended
Celebrate a historic Independence Day in the town of Walnut Hill. 1876 marks the first centennial of the United States, and Living History Farms’ Independence Day activities truly show what this day meant to those in the 19th century—a day of family fun and games!
Special activities include:
- Independence Day program at Church of the Land
- Medicine Show behind Flynn Mansion
- Parade from Gazebo to Baseball Field
- Walnut Hill Bluestockings game at the Baseball Field, 3 p.m.
- Games (stilts, water brigade, sack races), all day
- Printing of the Declaration of Independence at the Print Shop, all day
Advance tickets recommended but not required. Your ticket is for your arrival time. Once here, you may stay as long as you like. Last tractor cart to the farm sites leaves at 2:30 p.m.
Help us bring in this year’s harvest!
Saturday, August 3 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
All activities included with General Admission
Living History Farms’ original community event! Get your hands dirty and help our historic interpreters thresh grain using methods from centuries past.
At 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., take in a performance by Dr. Savage’s traveling medicine show, behind the Flynn Mansion. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes; seating and shade available.
Everything’s coming up … apples!
Saturday, September 14 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
All activities included with General Admission • Advance tickets recommended
Join us for a day of family fun celebrating apple harvest season! Visit our historic sites to see how past cooks would prepare and serve apple treats, such as apple butter, cake or pie, and cider. Print an apple recipe in the Print Shop, and purchase apple goodies and tasty treats from local food vendors.
Your ticket is for your arrival time. Once here, you may stay as long as you like. Last tractor cart to the farm sites leaves at 2 p.m.
At 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., take in a performance by Dr. Savage’s traveling medicine show, at the Schoolhouse. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes; seating and shade available.
Absent but dear…
Saturday, October 5 • 1 p.m.
All activities included with General Admission
In 1876, the funeral was a pageant of honored traditions. Families gathered to find joy in a public celebration of a life well-lived. Join our historic interpreters as they celebrate the life and honor the death of a fictional Walnut Hill resident with a re-created funeral.
In the morning, visit the Tangen Home, prepared with a period-style coffin and funeral drapery. The funeral begins at 1 p.m. in the side yard of the Tangen Home, then continues with a procession of the horse-drawn hearse through town to New Hope Cemetery, where there the ceremony will conclude.
In case of rain, the entire ceremony will be at the Tangen Home.
Explore the early cultures that shaped our state
Saturday, October 12 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
All activities included with General Admission
Our Ioway Farm represents the Indigenous People who lived in 1700 on the land that would eventually become the state of Iowa. Today we dig deeper into how the Ioway lived, along with other Indigenous Peoples who have inhabited—and still inhabit—this land. Take part in hands-on demonstrations, crafts, and presentations all day long.
Note as you plan your day: You must ride the tractor cart to reach the 1700 Ioway Farm. Carts depart roughly every 20 minutes, and the ride to the 1700 site takes about 20 minutes.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
A townful of treats for your little tricksters!
October 18-20 & 25-27
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Take part in the annual Living History Farms Family Halloween!
- Trick-or-treat at storefronts in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill.
- Hear storytellers in the Gothic church.
- Have your silly fortune told in the Millinery.
- Watch demonstrations at the Print Shop, Drug Store, and Blacksmith.
- Play games and do crafts in the 150-year-old barn.
- Take a horse-drawn wagon ride!
Dates and times:
- Friday, October 18, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 19, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 20, 4-7 p.m.
- Friday, October 25, 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 26, 5-8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 27, 4-7 p.m.
Join us for old-fashioned holiday fun!
Saturday, December 7 • Noon-3 p.m.
$9 for ages 2 and up ($8 for members; 1 and under free)
Buildings are heated. Bundle up for wagon rides!
Hear the sounds, see the sights, and smell the smells of a 19th-century Christmas.
Listen to the jingling bells as you take a horse-drawn wagon ride.*
Chime in with the carolers at the historic Flynn Mansion.
Watch demonstrations of old-fashioned letterpress printing and the Victorian “language of the fan.”
Make an orange-clove pomander and sniff to identify spices at the Drug Store.
Take a whiff of the traditional goodies in the wood-fired oven at the Tangen Home.
Make crafts and decorate cookies to take home.
Hear stories and help us trim our tree.
And don’t forget a visit with good old St. Nick!