Urbandale, Iowa
Upcoming Events in Urbandale Iowa
April
| 6 |
Family Easter
- Welcome Spring with a day of fun for the whole family! The 1875 town of Walnut Hill comes together to celebrate Easter with ongoing egg and toy hunts (divided by age), horse-drawn wagon rides, egg rolling, pancake flipping, a visit from the Easter bunny, and more. Living History Farms’ Family Easter is full of traditional holiday activities with a small-town twist. Enjoy free pop and popcorn for all and free breakfast wraps for the first 500 visitors. 9:00 am - 12:00 pm We will once again offer an allergy-free egg hunt (ongoing throughout the event) that will be safe for those with food allergies. Address: Living History Farms, Flynn Home , Urbandale, Iowa |
May
| 25 |
Decoration Day & Historic Baseball
- Be a part of America’s early Memorial Day traditions! Enjoy a rousing patriotic concert at noon, then at 1 pm march in a procession to the town cemetery for a moving pageant of Victorian speech and song, honoring the Union’s fallen heroes. After the ceremony, watch the Walnut Hill Bluestockings compete in a 1870s-rules baseball game at 1:30. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 25 |
Historic Baseball Game
- Watch the origins of "America's Greatest Pastime" by catching a Walnut Hill Bluestockings 1875-rules baseball game. The team, made up of LHF volunteers, follow Gentleman's rules, which include: no mitts allowed; the batter, or "striker", gets to call the pitch; and no cussin' or spittin'. Kids in the crowd will have a chance to bat around at the end of the game! Arrive early to tour the rest of the museum before the game in the afternoon. Game is included with regular admission to Living History Farms. 1:30pm. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
June
| 8 |
Emancipation Day
- Gain a better understanding of the legacy and hope of emancipation and explore the Black experience in Iowa's history from early farmsteads through the 20th-century fight for civil rights. Expert presenters include Dr. Valerie Grim (Indiana University) on the hope Iowa offered and the reality it presented in the years following emancipation, author David Connon on the Underground Railroad in Iowa, Judge Odell McGhee on the National Bar Association (begun in Des Moines when Black attorneys were barred from the American Bar Association), and retired Iowa Supreme Court Justice Michael Streit on Iowa’s landmark anti-slavery decision "In the Matter of Ralph." We will also present dramatic performances by the Langston Hughes Players and music by the Corinthian Baptist Church Praise Team. Our historic sites will offer hands-on activities tied to the day's theme. A traveling exhibit from Iowa State University, Towards a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All, will be on display in our Visitor Center. The day will open with a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and close with a pie and ice cream social, giving guests a chance to meet the presenters. All activities included with General Admission. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 8 |
Election Day
- Enjoy politicking in 19th-century style, as Walnut Hill gets ready to elect a new mayor. Hear townspeople argue the issues, campaign with the local “candidates,” and then cast your vote for the next town leader at the Walnut Hill Schoolhouse. 1876 voting rules will apply, and the Walnut Hill Ladies Suffrage Committee is sure to voice their opinions on those rules as well! All activities included with General Admission. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 15 |
Historic Baseball Game
- Watch the origins of "America's Greatest Pastime" by catching a Walnut Hill Bluestockings 1875-rules baseball game. The team, made up of LHF volunteers, follow Gentleman's rules, which include: no mitts allowed; the batter, or "striker", gets to call the pitch; and no cussin' or spittin'. Kids in the crowd will have a chance to bat around at the end of the game! Arrive early to tour the rest of the museum before the game in the afternoon. Game is included with regular admission to Living History Farms. Address: Living History Farms , Urbandale, Iowa |
July
| 29 |
Historic Baseball Game
- Watch the home team compete in 1870s-rules baseball game. Early rules include no bunting, sliding, leading off, spitting, stealing, arguing or running outside the baseline. 2:30pm. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 4 |
Independence Day and Historic Baseball
- Accept the challenge in contests such as pie-eating, watermelon seed-spitting, and gunny sack races. Try your luck at stilt walking, hoops and sticks, a spelling bee, an arithmetic bee, the penny scramble, and horseshoe pitching. Watch a medicine show and enjoy patriotic tunes. Vintage 1875 parade and 1875-rules baseball game. 9 am to 4 pm. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 13 |
A Pioneer Wedding Celebration
- Meet LHF's own June bride as you join the 1850 farm staff for a recreated pioneer wedding celebration, including a wedding ceremony and cake for the guests! Weddings brought the pioneer community together for traditional foods and fun. Discover the most popular gifts for a pioneer bride and watch the groomsmen ride the groom on a rail to celebrate his new good fortune. Help in the "shivaree" and play a good-natured, very noisy prank on the wedding couple. LHF visitors will become part of the day's fun, with ceremonies at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. Address: Living History Farms , Urbandale, Iowa |
August
| 3 |
Grain Harvest
- Experience the many methods used to harvest oats and wheat from 1850 to the present and help bring in the harvest that will feed our animals throughout the winter. From hand power to horsepower, witness it all as you hear the smash of the flail, the roar of the steam-powered thresher. Demonstrations will be weather dependent. In the town of Walnut Hill from 11-4, enjoy children's crafts, free popcorn and lemonade. Address: Living History Farms, 1900 Barn , Urbandale, Iowa |
September
| 6 |
Annual Fall Homeschool Day
- Living History Farms welcomes homeschoolers on this day! Explore through hands-on activities how tools and technology changed in the past and how those changes affected daily life. Use simple machines for chores. Discover the science behind making bread and butter. Learn how germs became more than a theory! Preregister for discounted admission. Address: Living History Farms , Urbandale, Iowa |
| 21 |
Indigenous Iowans Day
- The Ioway nation were some of Iowa's first farmers! Explore the tools and technology of this Native American culture which gave Iowa its name. Hands-on activities and guest presenters offer visitors an opportunity to experience the ways the Ioway built their homes, prepared food, and farmed. Taste buffalo jerky, play an Ioway game and try using hand-made tools! Learn a phrase in the Ioway language and listen to some of the cultural stories passed down to Ioway descendants. 9:00 AM ~ 4:00 PM. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 27 |
Farmstasia
- Join Living History Farms' crafters and farmers for a celebration of Iowa's rich fall folk life traditions! Watch specialty craftsmen such as blacksmiths and broom makers create their wares. Discover unique historic skills, such as wood-stove cooking, handcrafts, and working with draft animals. Visit with guest demonstrators sharing their talents in traditional arts and crafts. Cheer on the Walnut Hill Bluestockings baseball team in their final match of the season at 1:30pm. Kitchens, barn yards, and workshops across the museum will bustle with activities and fun. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Event activities are included in regular admission to Living History Farms. Address: Living History Farms , Urbandale, Iowa |
October
| 28 |
Applefest and Historic Baseball
- The smell of apple fills the air in the town of Walnut Hill. Tour the Farm sites in the morning, and spend the afternoon in our 1875 town celebrating the coming of fall fruit! Try your hand at stirring the copper kettle of apple butter and take your turn cranking the cider press. Children’s games and crafts round out the fun. Fresh local apples and other goodies will be on sale in the Visitor Center. 11:00 AM ~ 4:00 PM. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 5 |
A Victorian Funeral
- In 1875, the funeral was a pageant of honored traditions. Families gathered to find joy in a public celebration of a life well lived. At 1:00, join with historic interpreters as they celebrate the life and honor the death of a fictional 1875 Civil War Veteran with a re-created funeral. Visit the Tangen House, prepared with a period style coffin and funeral drapery. Walk in the funeral procession led by a horse-drawn hearse to New Hope Cemetery for a Veterans Memorial and period hymns sung by the Walnut Hill Choral Society. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
| 12 - 26 |
Family Halloween
- Safe family activity at Living History Farms. Horse-drawn wagon rides, marshmallow roasts, storytellers, scarecrow and jack-o-lantern displays delight all during this non-scary family event. Children aged 12 and under can trick or treat through town, and we'll have free pop and popcorn for all! Two weekends, Thurs-Sun, 5:30 PM ~ 8:30 PM. Ph: 515-278-5286 (Always call and confirm events) |
December
| 30 |
A Flynn Family Christmas
- Celebrate as the Flynn family would have, with a Victorian holiday open house filled with Christmas cheer! Enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride up the hill to the Flynn Mansion. Decorate a greeting card, make a Victorian holiday ornament, frost cookies in the kitchen, and help trim the tree while music fills the parlor. Then stroll to the Church of the Land for an old fashioned holiday social with music and dancing. Santa will be here too! And we'll have children's crafts, taffy pulls, and shopping in the Visitor Center. 12:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM. Address: Living History Farms , Urbandale, Iowa |