Harry Truman was right. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. That’s exactly what we did last Friday night. I offer my appreciation to all of you who joined me in attending our Summer Stir event in Historic East Village for drinks and food. It was the most well-attended Summer Stir event to date with nearly six times as many pre-sold tickets as the last event. Hundreds of thirsty folks walked the streets of East Village from 5-9 p.m. to sample 10 drinks from participating local bars and restaurants. To quote the pages of the chicken dinner news from small-town newspapers, “A good time was had by all.”
If you are still thirsty, or just curious how these events work, we are hosting another Summer Stir on Thursday, Sept. 16 in the Historic Court District in downtown Des Moines. More details to come soon, so check out www.summerstirs.com for updates.
On that same week, Des Moines will be the location for the Association of Community Publishers national conference. I serve on the board of directors for this group, and we plan annual conferences each year in various locations like Clearwater Beach, Palm Springs, Denver and Las Vegas. The satirical question was when the conference was going to be in Des Moines. Well, Des Moines is no longer a joke, and I am honored to welcome these folks from around the nation to our fine city. On a trip here a few years ago, a fellow publisher from Pennsylvania said, in what I think was a compliment, “Des Moines, it’s not that bad.”
We actually think it’s quite good, and we are going to show many of them, and those of you who join us, a great time at our Sept. 16 Summer Stir event.
In case you are wondering, yes, Sept. 16 is still summer. The official 2021 astronomical start of the autumn season is Sept. 22, so keep the sunscreen out a little longer.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.