Interactive
Throughout the Festival, guests of all ages have the opportunity to get creative and hands-on with art, music, dance and more! These activities can be found throughout the Festival site and in the Creative Zone located at 15th and Grand.
Community Outreach Program
The Des Moines Arts Festival and MidAmerican Energy Foundation, team up to present the Community Outreach Program. This award-winning program offers nonprofit organizations the opportunity to participate on-site and share their mission and programming with thousands of guests free of charge. In exchange for the free booth space, each organization provides an interactive arts-related activity for guests.
PRESENTED BY
BOOM Art!
Suspended 30 feet high from their all-electric bucket truck, MidAmerican Energy Company presents BOOM ART, an Interactive Mural Project. Taking our fascination with doodling to a whole new level, join other festival guests as you illustrate our unique pattern design and watch as the finished mural rises above the streets during the three-day festival.
PRESENTED BY
The Mural Project, presented by Athene, is a giant interactive art experience where Festival guests help create a large mural over the three days of the Festival.
THE 2026 PROJECT is an impressionist painting celebrating the places, landmarks, and experiences that define life on the South Side of Des Moines. Through Our Eyes is the visual perspective of local youth, reflecting their pride, memories, and sense of belonging in their community.
The mural brings together familiar South Side icons, including Blank Park Zoo and Southridge Mall, the Des Moines skyline, the EMC Overlook at MacRea Park, and the River Constellation installation at Water Works Park. Other recognizable scenes include an airplane departing Des Moines International Airport, the faux UFO at the South Des Moines Sculpture Park, Fleur Cinema, Graziano Bros., Skate South, Classic Frozen Custard, fireworks above Principal Park, and the illuminated bridge at Gray’s Lake.
Together, these images tell a story of community, connection, and hometown pride. Through Our Eyes captures the places that matter most to the young people
Where does it go from here?
Following the Festival, all 1,620 tiles of Through Our Eyes will be permanently installed at Lincoln High School, where it will continue to inspire students and celebrate the community that helped bring it to life.
How it works:
The Mural Project uses a grid method of drawing. This process involves drawing a grid over the original artwork and then extracting the grid sections of equal ratio to a new work surface. Guests take a square from the image and recreate it on a larger scale using the provided oil pastels. The completed mural is full of many different creative interpretations of the original work. When finished, the panels are affixed to a billboard-sized frame, piece by piece.
PRESENTED BY
The 2025 mural showed a variety of butterflies from countries around the world, reflecting the origins of the youth artists who collaborated on this piece. Across various cultures, butterflies represent transformation, joy, and hope. The final mural was installed at Hoover High School.
Create your own chalk masterpiece or color alongside other guests within a street-long coloring sheet. Find it on 13th Street between Locust St. and Grand Ave.
PRESENTED BY
Spin Art
Join Prairie Meadows and the Altoona Lions Club to create your newest masterpiece from everyone’s favorite art pastime.
PRESENTED BY
Have fun coloring your very own signature Festival T-shirt! Use fabric markers to bring the pre-designed artwork to life and create a wearable Festival keepsake.
