Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series 2026 Season Overview

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series presented by Des Moines Performing Arts, bringing a vibrant slate of free, family-friendly performances to parks across the metro this summer.

“The arts are essential to individual wellbeing, to community connection, and to the vitality of a city. Des Moines Performing Arts is thrilled to bring free, world-class performances to parks and neighborhoods across the metro, meeting people where they are with joyful experiences that inspire and unite.” said DMPA President and CEO Monica Holt. “Our partnership with Hy-Vee is what transforms a vision for accessible arts into something our entire community gets to share.”

"There's nothing better than bringing people together, and this summer, we're doing just that — with free, family-friendly events across central Iowa,” said Aaron Wiese, Hy-Vee’s President and DMPA Board Member. “At Hy-Vee, supporting the arts isn't just something we do — it's something we truly believe in. And, thanks to the incredible lineup from Des Moines Performing Arts, there are shows and activities for people of every age and interest to look forward to.”

FLIP Fabrique: Summer Break | June 13-15, 2026  

Do you remember your summer camp… the bus ride away from your parents, the smell of campfires, the coldness of the lake in the morning? FLIP Fabrique does, and they built a circus experience for audiences to jump into nostalgia! Bring your popcorn and marshmallows and hop on the Vacation Bus!

Saturday, June 13
• 10 & 11:30 a.m., Cowles Commons (Des Moines)

Sunday, June 14
• 5:30 p.m., Ankeny Bandshell (Ankeny)

Monday, June 15
• 6 p.m., Water Works Park (Des Moines)

Polyglot Theatre's BEES | July 14-17, 2026  

Bees is a joyful, hands-on experience where children don't just watch — they become part of it. They'll enter a humming hive of activity, transforming into bees themselves as they play alongside three human-sized Bee performers, and find themselves welcomed into a world of community, communication, wonder, and imagination.

Tuesday, July 14
• 10:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m., Ashby Park (Des Moines)

Wednesday, July 15
• 6 p.m., Polk City Town Square (Polk City)

Thursday, July 16
• 11 a.m., The Station (Bondurant)
• 6 p.m., Colby Park (Windsor Heights)

Friday, July 17
• 4:30 & 7 p.m., Walker Johnston Park (Urbandale)

Polyglot Theatre is working in partnership with Inlet Dance Theatre to deliver this season. Polyglot is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts funding and advisory body, and the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. 

Domino Effect | August 29 - September 30, 2026  

Co-Presented by Operation Downtown in partnership with the Greater Des Moines Partnership

DMPA is teaming up Operation downtown in partnership with the Greater Des Moines Partnership to bring Domino Effect to Cowles Commons for an interactive experience. This month-long installation invites attendees to become part of the art and community conversation.

You know that deeply satisfying feeling of setting off a chain reaction? This is that, but bigger. Domino Effect fills Cowles Commons with oversized luminous dominoes, each one humming with its own musical atmosphere. You push them over. That's the whole point. It's playful, it's communal, and it's oddly irresistible for every age.

Domino Effect by Ingrid Ingrid, is a production of Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, distributed by QDSinternational.

From high-energy circus to immersive, hands-on theater to larger-than-life interactive installations, this season invites you to explore, play, and connect through the arts right in your own community.

All events in the Hy-Vee Summer Arts Series are free to attend — just show up. Bring chairs or blankets for seating. We’ll see you there!