March 28, 2024

Clarke Area Arts Council to host annual spring gala

The Clarke Area Arts Council’s spring gala and annual meeting is 5-9 p.m. May 6 at the Lakeside Casino Convention Center.

The evening consists of a social hour featuring the Clarke Area Arts Council’s 2018 Artist of the Year, Bev Roberts of Truro, and a buffet dinner, followed by the annual meeting and a show.

The show for the evening is a one-act play written and performed by an Iowan about an Iowan. The play is “The Art of Conversation, A Visit with ‘Ding’ Darling” by Tom Milligan.

Professional actor Tom Milligan portrays longtime Des Moines Register editorial cartoonist Jay N. “Ding” Darling as he recounts his early life in Sioux City. Tom will present Darling’s remarkable career, which included two Pulitzer Prizes. Considered one of the most significant leaders of the modern conservation movement of the first half of the 20th Century, Darling’s impact is still recognized a century later. Ding Darling’s influence was indisputable. He introduced the Duck Stamp, created the National Wildlife Federation, and he was famous for his Des Moines Register editorial cartoons.

A Des Moines native, Milligan has lived in the Amana Colonies since 2006 and has been a working actor, director, scene designer and producer for 45 years. His piece on Ding Darling is not his first play to honor a famous Iowan. He has written and performed “Grant Wood: Prairie Rebel,” a play about the American Gothic artist Grant Wood and “American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace,” a play about the greatest conservationist to come out of the Great Depression.

Milligan has worked with many different theaters in the state, including Charlie’s Showplace Dinner Theater, the Des Moines Playhouse, Drake Opera Theater, Hoyt Sherman Place, the Drama Workshop, the Old Creamery Theater and the Iowa Theater Artists Company.

Reservations are required by calling or emailing Ann Diehl at 641-342-4852 or abdiehl@mchsi.com.