It Is Actually Decent Here

I have always believed that this city is not a fun place to live in because we have nothing to do. However, after attending Leadership for Five Seasons, it has opened my eyes. It still has not totally convinced me that Cedar Rapids is the best place to live, but it has shown me that there are actually things to do, it is just not advertised.

Obviously I have known about the big attractions here, like Brucemore, African American Museum, and the Czech Museum. Recently they opened up NewBo, a cool and modern market area that I absolutely love. But there are so many places and things that happen, but I have never heard of. In winter time, they have a Fire and Ice Festival. This is a night time parade where gorgeous floats light up the street. Also, there are apparently parades and little things like these that actually happen quite often.

Cedar Rapids has a ceramics center. I never knew about this. I thought this city was more engineering or industrial based working. I never imagined that we had a nice art facility, but we do. In the Cherry building near NewBo, there is a ceramics center. This place provides classes to learn how to create pottery and it also has open public hours when anyone can come in and work for free. These types of things seem to be hidden from most people, because everyone seemed to be surprised and had no idea about this place.

Also, there are a variety of concerts and shows that happen all the time. When most people here think of concerts, they imagine shows in the Five Seasons Center, however, Legion Arts, Theater Cedar Rapids, Paramount, and Opus Café also provide places to watch shows. Though these are a much smaller scale show, they still happen. Legion Arts brings small acts in almost every weekend and they also have an art gallery. Opus Café is a place where intimate gigs and pre parties before shows in the Paramount occur. The Paramount has larger shows because it is able to seat 1,700 people. They have brought magicians, orchestras, and even people from Comedy Central. Theater Cedar Rapids is a community theater that puts on many shows and musicals throughout the year. Most people around here know about TCR, but they don’t know that all the actors are volunteers and it is one of the top rated community theaters. Many people from Cedar Rapids and around the state of Iowa come to TCR just to audition and be a part of play. Something people don’t know is that they have two areas to perform in TCR. The basement houses a smaller and more intimate area for low key shows or improvisation performances.

I was surprised by all the things going on here in Cedar Rapids. I knew things happened, but I was not fully aware of all the opportunities. Not that it totally changes my feelings about living in this city, we still do have access to a lot, more than other small towns and we should appreciate it. It has taught me to appreciate the things I have, rather than constantly hate it. Also, it taught me to go out and explore more too. So, wherever you live, go out and explore your city one day.