Event Calendar

Water Works Park is celebrating nature with an Earth Day Adventure. Join us for family-friendly activities celebrating the outdoors and all the park offers. Enjoy a nature hike, identify bird habitats and plant species, fly a kite, learn how to make a rain barrel, and more. A fantastic lineup of entertainment, food trucks, non-profit vendors, and others will be on hand at the Lauridsen Amphitheater, plus activities throughout the park!

Fridays in the Park will feature a variety of tasty brews and bites, all served by a selection of the best food trucks and mobile food vendors in Des Moines.

Set within the mature tree canopy east of the Lauridsen Amphitheater in Water Works Park, the Biergarten is returning with favorites including large steins of German and local draft beer. Along with favorites like bratwursts, hot dogs, and pretzels, we’re introducing a variety of other German street food items, such as German currywurst fries, to tantalize your taste buds.

Yard games, large picnic tables, and hammocks are also features of the Biergarten. We’re proud to announce that a portion of the revenue generated from Fridays in the Park will be donated to the Water Works Park Foundation, supporting their important work in maintaining our beautiful park.

Join us from Friday, May 16, through Friday, September 12. Just so you know, there will be a few exceptions for concerts and private events, which will be announced in advance, from 5 to 9 p.m.

Genre-bending band Whiskey Myers have played more than 2,500 live shows to ever-increasing crowd sizes since their emergence in 2007. In addition to headlining their own sold-out shows from coast to coast at iconic venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Ryman Auditorium, plus performing at marquee festivals Bonnaroo, Stagecoach, Download and more, the six-piece was also personally selected to open The Rolling Stones’ Chicago stadium show in 2019. Their latest self-produced album, Tornillo, available everywhere now via the band’s own Wiggy Thump Records, features the No. 17 most-played Americana song of 2022, “John Wayne,” and follows their fifth studio album, Whiskey Myers, which debuted at No. 1 on both the Country and Americana/Folk sales charts, at No. 2 on the Rock chart and No. 6 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart (No. 3 among new releases). In total, Whiskey Myers have sold more than 2.3 million albums and amassed over 3.3 billion streams while earning nine RIAA Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certifications as an independent band.

Enjoy a day full of unlimited samples of Iowa craft beer and cider, NA beverages, games, local food vendors, and so much more!

Bring your picnics and blankets and join the Ballet DSM for this free, family-friendly performance at the Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park! 

Make it a VIP Experience!

Purchase a VIP package and secure exclusive front-row seats at the Lauridsen Amphitheater. VIP guests will sip on a Winefest sparkling wine flight while enjoying a picnic dinner by Tangerine. After the show, VIP ticket holders are invited to join the artists of BDM at an exclusive reception.

Vintage in the Valley presented by UpcycledDSM is back this year, at a beautiful new location in Water Works Park!

Get ready for a day filled with incredible vintage finds, handmade goods, and one-of-a-kind treasures in a scenic, picturesque setting. You won’t want to miss it!