On with the Show
What kind of shows can you expect to see in our humble, Southeast Iowa city? Well, A little bit of everything, to be honest!
“You can see everything from Broadway tours to international acrobatics acts or musicians from around the globe as well as here in Fairfield and the United States,” said Lindsay Bauer, Director of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. “We host national tours — everything from ballet to Irish dance to hip-hop dance to rap, classical music, and theatre, as well.”
The Arts & Convention Center, home to the Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts, has become a cultural focal point for Fairfield, hosting nationally recognized shows such as Chicago and Rent. The Arts & Convention Center maintains a rotation of nationally recognized plays, concerts, and shows from September through May.
“We try to host something that’s unique for this part of Iowa — and the region as well,” Bauer said. “When I program, I try to choose things that are excellent, saying something that needs to be said right now, right here by the people that I know, but also things that are surprising. I love to share something that we haven’t seen here before.”
The creativity in the performing arts you find at the Arts & Convention Center radiates throughout the entire town. At night, live music fills the air as local shops transform into mini concert venues.
Take Café Paradiso, for example. There, you’ll see a daytime coffee shop transform into a venue for folk, indie rock, jazz, and more. You can also catch the Fairfield nightlife vibe at the Depot House, whose robust calendar of events, diverse performers, and great food makes it one of Fairfield’s premier destinations.
“That really is kind of the vibe we have here, just to be able to sit outside at the corner café and then be able to hear great music and grab a great meal all in a one-block radius,” Bauer said.