Justin Roberts Concert, Saturday, July 4 at 12:30 p.m.
Award-winning children’s performer Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players will perform during our Independence Weekend celebration. The concert is included with the museum admission price, but preferred seating is available for purchase by calling 515-278-5286. This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from the Iowa Arts Council, General Mills Foundation and Land O’Lakes Foundation.

Family Weekend: Independence Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, July 4-5
Enjoy an old-fashioned Fourth with a historic Independence Day celebration in the town of Walnut Hill with pie eating contests, foot races, spelling bees, watermelon seeding spitting contests and more! On Saturday, enjoy a patent medicine show at 11:00 am at the Drug Store. Reflect during a 19th century prayer meeting including hymns and patriotic songs on Saturday at Noon in the Church of the Land. At 2:00 pm, join in an 1875 vintage Independence Day parade with a brass band followed by a period 1870s-rules baseball game at 2:30 pm. Sunday is an All-American Ice Cream Float Day with free root beer floats, Civil War era music in the bandstand from Noon - 4 pm, games, foot races, and children’s crafts.

Behind the Barn: Metro Arts Jazz in July , Thursday, July 16, 5:30-9:00 pm
FREE and Family Friendly Enjoy two great concerts on our large outdoor stage. First, Old School presents Giants of Jazz: The Music of Wes Montgomery. Next up is bella soul featuring Tina Hasse Findlay. Tina has been a fixture of the Des Moines music scene for over 25 years and makes her musical mark in the fields of jazz, blues, rock, soul, and gospel. Family friendly concessions are available with grilled burgers and hot dogs, watermelon, ice cream and other snacks. Lawn games for all and kid’s crafts jazz up the evening. Don’t forget to bring a blanket or lawn chairs.

History Snapshot: Circuit Court Hearing, Saturday, July 18 from 1-4 pm
Join the citizens of Walnut Hill at the C.H. Taylor Law Offices for an afternoon of law and order. Lawyers, witnesses, judge and court clerks, re-created by costumed interpreters, will present real court cases from 1870s Iowa courts. Museum guests will sit on the jury and find out if their verdicts match those of their 19th century predecessors! Cases last approximately 25 minutes.

Family Weekend: Threshing Days, Saturday and Sunday, August 1-2
From hand power to horsepower, witness it all as you hear the smash of the flail, the roar of the steam-powered thresher, and the clicking of the cutter bar. Experience the many methods used to harvest oats and wheat from 1850 to the present and help bring in the harvest that will feed our animals throughout the winter. Demonstrations will be weather dependent. Visit the children’s craft center in the barn and enjoy free popcorn and lemonade.

August History Snapshot: A Victorian Funeral , Saturday, August 8
Explore the rituals surrounding death and loss in the Victorian era as the 1875 town of Walnut Hill experiences a funeral. Visit the Tangen House, where the family prepares the parlor for the re-created funeral of a loved one. Traditions such as black draping, stopping clocks, and funeral invitations will be evident. At 1 pm, join in a solemn procession, led by a horse-drawn hearse, as it makes its way from the house to New Hope Cemetery. Visitors are invited to take part in the ceremony and afterwards, listen to the Walnut Hill Choral Society in concert, singing period hymns and Victorian sentimental songs.

Behind the Barn: BLT’s, Thursday, August 20, 6-9 pm
Featuring: The Roxi Copland Band The Roxi Copland Band returns with a combination of jazz and pop with a dollop of soul. Our most popular BLT Day has gone twilight! Sample heirloom tomato varieties, Iowa made bacon, South Union Bakery foccacia, then purchase a custom sandwich at our BLT bar. Admission is $10 and includes a drink ticket. Don’t forget a blanket or lawn chairs!

Family Weekend: Tails and Trails, Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13
Join us on the front lawn for kite tails on Saturday as members of the American Kite Flyers Association demonstrate their skills with a wide variety of unique kites. Visit the family kite building tent then fly your own creation. Enjoy a fall concert at 12:30 pm Saturday by the Walnut Hill Choral Society. Both Saturday and Sunday walk the trails to the 1850 Farm and experience the challenges of homesteading in Iowa through hands-on activities. Explore the ways Iowa’s founders set up housekeeping and prepared for their first winter, including oxen demonstrations on Saturday and candle-dipping on Sunday.

Behind the Barn: Moonshine, Thursday, September 17, 6-9 pm
Featuring: Brother Trucker

Historic Baseball Games, Beginning Sunday, May 10
Join the Walnut Hill Bluestockings for a season of historic baseball! Watch the home team compete in 1870s-rules baseball game at the Walnut Hill Field. Cheer the batters or “strikers” as they call their pitch and “leg it” to first base. Support the team captain as he argues with the umpire and see if the one bounce rule will be enforced or if new fangled ideas of “catching on the fly” will prevail. The team makes sure kids have a chance to bat around at the end of the game! Games on May 10, May 25, June 14, July 4, July 19, August 2, August 23, September 13, and September 27. All games begin at 2:00 pm, except for July 4, which starts at 2:30 pm.

Family Weekend: Harvest Fest, Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4
Visit our historic farms and master the techniques of handpicking corn. Take a horse-drawn wagon ride into the fields to watch working machinery used to harvest corn from 1910-1950. In town, enjoy the fruits of fall as you stir a copper kettle of apple butter, crank the cider press, and sample apple fritters fresh out of the Dutch oven. Music, children’s games and crafts round out the fun.

Historic Quilt Show, Wednesday, September 30 to Sunday, October 4

Urbandale Farmer's Market at Living History Farms, Mondays, June 1 - October 12, from 4-7 pm
Gather on the Living History Farms front lawn and browse the booths at the Urbandale Farmer’s Market. Purchase fresh produce and baked goods or a handcrafted item. Relax in the beer and wine garden, enjoy live entertainment, and watch historical demonstrations. June Entertainment Schedule With two staging areas, there's plenty of room to enjoy our live entertainment. June 22 - Bonnie Finkin and Darren Raleigh June 29 - The Honeybees and Big Joe Kinser

Farmstasia, Saturday, October 31, 6-9 pm
Farmstasia is Living History Farms’ first-ever Gala on October 31, 2009. This costume ball will feature spooky entertainment, great food and libations, the unique charms of the Flynn Mansion and Barn and a “spook-tacular” auction. The Gala will be held around the Flynn Country Home and Barn. The evening will be full of Halloween fun complete with music from Mr. Baber’s Neighbors and readings from the famous Psychic Su Walker and Palmist Coriann Westvold. Tarot Card readings and witchy cocktails promise to make the evening lively. The party will include a silent and a live auction which will showcase the 2009 Season theme Art at the Farms by having art in many forms up for bidding. It will be a night life never before at Living History Farms. Stay tuned for more details! Tickets are $150 per person.