Event Briefs for the week of Wednesday, March 12

Legislative Coffees planned

State Rep. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen’s office announced he will be at legislative coffees that are upcoming across the area during the 2025 legislative session.

Coffees currently scheduled are as follows:

• 10 a.m. April 4 at The Dugout Cafe in Orient

Another legislative coffee or two may be scheduled at a later time. The newspaper will do its best to print the time, date and location of those events when they are announced.

Bridgewater church dinner March 16

Trinity Christian Church invites the public to their annual outreach dinner 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, March 16. On the menu will be pulled pork sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, green beans, homemade pies and a drink.

Free will donations will go to the church’s community outreach fund.

Irish Session coming March 17 to WCC

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the Warren Cultural Center with Des Moines Irish Session 7 p.m. Monday, March 17. This group has performed traditional Irish music continuously for over thirty years, meeting for an informal, traditional seisiún every Tuesday at various Des Moines area venues.

A traditional Irish seisiún is defined as “a gathering of Irish traditional musicians for the purpose of celebrating their common interest in the music by playing it together in a relaxed, informal setting, while in the process generally beefing up the mystical cultural mantra that hums along uninterruptedly beneath all manifestations of Irishness worldwide.” -- From Barry Foy’s “Field Guide to the Irish Music Session”

Des Moines Irish Session participants vary from week to week, as is customary with this art form. The larger DMIS group includes about 20 people. Band members for this performance include Ed Fallon, Anna English, Mark Bro, Kathy “Murph” Revell and Jon Duvick. DMIS was selected as one of four groups to participate in the prestigious Battle of the Iowa Irish Bands at the 2022 Iowa Irish Festival in Waterloo.

Because of a generous donation from the JEH Trust, this event is free to all, with donations accepted at the door.

American Legion Fish Fry

The Head-Endres American Legion Post 265 welcomes the public to their annual Fish Fry 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 28 at The Gathering Place, 102 SW Kent, Greenfield.

Come for the fish fry, stay for the desserts! Cost is $10 per plate.

Montag to play at WCC

Carol Montag first began singing and performing music at an early age at her hometown church in Ames. She will perform Saturday, March 29 on the Warren Cultural Center stage, the fifth show of WCC’s 2024-25 “All Iowa Series”.

Montag studied piano and flute while in school and learned to play the guitar by ear while listening to such folk music masters as Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Carole King. She graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor of arts degree in graphic design but never left behind her love of music.

Shortly after college, Montag began writing songs and performing at coffeehouses, colleges, music festivals and churches throughout the Midwest and Canada. She has received numerous awards for her songwriting and has been commissioned to write music. She is currently working on her eighth album.

Montag’s original compositions deal with a diverse range of subjects that listeners of all ages can relate to — from silly to serious with songs about man-in-the-moon nights, love and longing, babies and dishes, fathers, families, little boys and Barbie dolls. Concerts include originals, traditional and contemporary folk, classic songs from The Great American Songbook and gospel. Montag has a boundless, expressive voice, a luminous stage presence, supported and reinforced by a strong guitar style. Her songwriting style is reflective of her refreshing musical curiosity.

Montag has opened for or shared the stage with the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Greg Brown, Michael Johnson, Tom Paxton and Three Dog Night.

Tickets are $20 for adults with free admission for students high school and younger. Order tickets at warrenculturalcenter.com or buy them at the door.