Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program
The Des Moines Arts Festival and Co-Sponsor Prairie Meadows team up to present the Prairie Meadows Community outreach Program. The program takes center stage at the Festival's Creative Kid's Zone where 24 area non-profit organizations present interactive arts-related activities for kids of all ages to enjoy. See below.
 

GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural  
Join GuideOne Insurance and the Des Moines Art Center to help create an all-new billboard-sized interactive mural featuring a Des Moines skyline created specifically for this project by local artist Rob Reeves! Thousands of guests can contribute their personal touch to recreating this unique view of Des Moines on our biggest canvas yet, 50-feet by 20-feet! This unique interactive arts activity will take place at the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural tent off 13th St. next to the University of Iowa John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center.

Here is how it works: A poster-sized version of Reeves’ final piece of art is divided evenly on a graph and enlarged by guests onto panels using the grid method of transferring one small image into a larger image. Guests entering the art activity area at the Festival receive one of these small squares of the original painting, a blank 12-inch by 12-inch prepared masonite panel, and an invitation to transfer their interpretation of the small square onto the larger panel. Then these masonite panels are affixed in a giant frame.

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build
The Des Moines Arts Festival has partnered with Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity to build a house for a family in need on the event site! During the three-day weekend of the Festival, Habitat will host a Blitz Build on Locust St. By Sunday, the exterior of the house will be complete and guests will be able to tour the inside of the house before it is hooked up to a truck and driven to its permanent location at 1317 College St. in Des Moines.

See the action as it begins at the Festival building site with an official wall raising at Noon on Friday, June 26. The house will be 1,100-square-feet and include three bedrooms and a front porch.

Festival guests can get involved in the action by helping to paint Doors to a Brighter Future at the building site. Doors, purchased from Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, will feature a unique paint-by-number design that will be completed by guests at the activity. Eight of these completed works of art will be installed as interior doors in the finished house.

Guests will also be able to get creative and add their own special touch to a picket fence that will be assembled around the house as the weekend goes by.

Tiny Circus
Come work collaboratively with Tiny Circus artists to make a short stop-motion animation based on the theme The Other Histories of the World during the Festival. Stick around for the evening performances on Friday and Saturday when animations will be projected on the big screen! Just look for the fantastic shimmering Airstream trailer that houses Tiny Circus!

During daylight hours, artists from Tiny Circus will guide guests in the creation of sets and characters made from cardboard, clay, construction paper, and other easy-to-work-with materials. These creations will be the stars of an animation created on the spot during the span of the Festival! Attendees can also take turns learning to shoot a stop-motion animation inside Tiny Circus’ studio on wheels.

Award Ribbons
Description: Decorate award ribbons with Special Olympics Iowa.

Bandanas-Orange
Description: Decorate orange bandanas for the riders of Bike for Multiple Sclerosis with National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Batik and Tie-Dyed Pictures
Description: Make batik and tie-dyed pictures as done in Africa with Medicine for Mali.

Buttons and Action Figure Cutouts
Description: Customize your own button. Also take pictures as the action figure cutouts of Commander Alex and Princess Kelsey with Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Dance
Description: Experience America's folk dance by participating in dance lessons with Swing Des Moines.

Farm Animal Buttons
Description: Make a farm animal button with Living History Farms.

Head Bobbers
Description: Decorate a head bobber with a beach theme. And get a temporary tattoo with Mentor Iowa.

Iowa Parks Foundation
Description: Create paper mosaic interpretations of natural wonders and "Places of Quiet Beauty” with Iowa Parks Foundation.

Jewelry
Description: Create stylish scientific jewelry with Ultraviolet Detecting Beads with Science Center of Iowa. 

Memory Books
Description: Create memory books and decorate with favorite memories with Hospice of Central Iowa.

Mini Guitar & Egg Shakers
Description: Create a mini guitar from a paper cup and rubber bands while learning about sound by "tuning the strings." Or create an egg shaker filled with dry rice or beans with Des Moines Symphony Academy.

Musical Instruments
Description: Decorate and assemble a take-home musical instrument (drum, chimes or other percussion instrument) with Civic Music Association.

Origami Paper Fortune Teller
Description: Create a Paper Fortune Teller with questions/answers on the inside and origami with Des Moines Parks and Recreation. 

Paper Caterpillar
Description: Construct a paper caterpillar and decorate with Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Paper Chalkboard
Description: Make a paper chalkboard with your own unique picture with The DownTown Church.

Paper Flowers
Description: Create colorful tissue paper flowers with Metro Arts Alliance.

Paper Masks & Origami
Description: Make cat, rabbit, and dog masks, and origami with Animal Rescue League.

Paper Plate Fish
Description: To introduce the new African colorful fish exhibit, kids can create a paper plate fish with Blank Park Zoo. 

Pinwheel
Description: Create a pinwheel with Prevent Child Abuse Iowa.

Planting Seeds
Description: Plant a seed in a cup and decorate the cup with Greater East Side Development.

Puppets, Magnets, Mobiles
Description: Create hand puppets, refrigerator magnets, hanging mobiles with Iowa Lions.

Sprial Notebook
Description: Decorate a mini spiral notebook with Susan G. Komen with Ride for the Cure.

Windsocks
Description: Create wind socks with patriotic themes in preparation for the 4th of July with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Iowa.

Spin Art
Stop by the Prairie Meadows tent on the Meredith Corporation lawn to create spin art.

Origami Hat
Get the edge on origami by creating a Principal Financial Group® origami hat. Fold and decorate to wear around the Festival!

Face Painting
Get your face painted by an amazing artist at the Bank of the West tent on Grand Ave.

KidFind Bracelet
Star 102.5 will help keep families safe and together at the Des Moines Arts Festival, so stop by the Star booth at the West Locust St. entrance to get your Allied KidFind bracelet.

Japanese Fish Art
Try your hand at gyotaku, Japanese fish art, at the KIOA/Lite booth at the corner of 16th and Locust St. Paint a rubber fish and then put a stamp of it on rice paper.

Bubble Art
Stop by the U.S. Cellular booth and show off your creative roots by crafting your very own bubble art! Throughout the weekend, Cellby will be visiting the booth to entertain you as well. While you are there, be sure to see where you stack up in our Speed Text Tournament for your chance to win $10,000! It's sure to be a great time for everyone right next to the U.S. Cellular Stage! 

WHO-TV 13 Balloon
Stop by the WHO-TV 13 booth on the Meredith Corporation lawn to meet on-air personalities and get a balloon.

Texting Treasure Hunt
Get into the hunt! Join the “I believe” partners in a texting treasure hunt for a chance to win $100 and a piece of art from the Festival. Look for signs on-site for your texting clues and tell us what you believe about Greater Des Moines for a chance to win. It’s so easy your kids could do it!

Skyline Silhouette
Des Moines Art Center invites participants of all ages to create their own stunning skyline artwork inspired by the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural. Guests will design a dramatic sky background using ink pads and stamps, then create a silhouette from black construction paper to place in the foreground of the sky.