🌟 Good morning, Des Moines!
Your weekly nudge to get out, feel connected, and love where you live.
In this week’s AroundDSM:
🍒 A brunch spot so colorful and cheerful it could probably fix your mood before the coffee even hits.
🎶 One weekend event offers a deep exhale from the week. Another brings full Led Zeppelin rock. Choose your poison.
🍵 Tea lovers, get ready to spend Sunday sipping your way through Mainframe.
🍽️ Restaurant Spotlight
The Breakfast Club | 5525 Mills Civic Pkwy. #100, WDM |
Photo: Totchos | Emily Johnson
Photo: Rise & Grind Bowl | Emily Johnson
Photo: Cherry Bomb Martinis | Emily Johnson
🌈 Brunch With Instant Good Vibes – If you’re in a bad mood, this might honestly be the cure. The Breakfast Club at West Glen is light, airy, colorful, and just plain fun to be in. It has that cheerful, high-energy brunch atmosphere that makes the whole outing feel a little more exciting before the food even arrives.
🍳 Hard-to-Choose Menu, Zero Wrong Answers – The menu indecision this place causes is actually a compliment. Starters like breakfast egg rolls, crepe flight, and breakfast poutine sound more like full meals which feels about right. We ordered the Totchos loaded with tots, chorizo, black beans, scrambled egg, queso, lettuce, jalapeño, and pico, plus the Rise & Grind Bowl with chicken, rice, cowboy caviar, cotija, jalapeño, pico, and avocado. Everything tasted fresh and flavorful.
🍸 Come Hungry, Maybe Stay for a Martini – Their menu covers a lot of ground in the best way: eggs benedicts, loaded hashbrown plates, classic breakfasts, sandwiches, wraps, and plenty of brunch cocktails. We tried a couple drinks, but the Cherry Bomb Martini easily won the table. Sweet, tart, and just fun enough to match the room. This is one of those places that leaves you full, happy, and already thinking about what you’d order next time. 👉 View the menu here.
🤝 Partner Spotlight: Etsy
Made-to-order outdoor bar from Etsy maker
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Check out the options for a custom outdoor bar that will soon become your favorite place to gather. With rustic wood frame, corrugated metal detail, and made-to-order options for size, shape, and accessories, it’s a beautiful setup for patio parties and outdoor entertaining. Free nationwide shipping makes it even easier to say “yes.” Check out your options on Etsy #ad
💛 Giving Back
The Cat’s Meow: An ARL Event for Cat Lovers | The Rewind Hotel
Cat people, this one was made for you. The ARL’s biggest cat event of the year includes appetizers, beverages, a celebrity cat-walk, silent auction, photo booth, kitten cuddle lounge, and more. If a room full of cats is an ideal evening for you, this is your event. Best of all, it supports the ARL’s work to care for pets in need and make second chances possible.
Walk-ins are welcome and the event includes plenty to do throughout the evening from cat-themed fun to fundraising moments that directly help animals in our community. Cute and meaningful is a pretty unbeatable combo.
| Thursday, July 23rd | 6–8 pm | $55+ | The Rewind Hotel | Tickets HERE
🎉 Top 5 Things to Do
Photo: Singing bowl for sound bath | Photo by THLT LCX
The best bets handpicked for your week:
🌿 Sound Bath in the Garden | Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
If your nervous system has been begging for a break, this might be it. Sound Bath in the Garden is built around deep rest, with gentle breathing, meditation, and soothing sounds from crystal singing bowls, chimes, and ocean drum in one of the prettiest settings in town. Bonus: Admission to the garden is included, so you can linger a little after and pretend you totally have your life together.
| Saturday, July 25th | 7:30–8:30 am | $45 members / $50 nonmembers | https://dmbotanicalgarden.com/event/sound-bath-7-25/ |
🎸 Houses of the Holy – The True Zeppelin Experience | Camelot Theater, Nevada
If you know every word to “Kashmir,” “Black Dog,” or “Whole Lotta Love,” and don’t mind a little drive, here is your plan. Houses of the Holy brings a full-throttle Led Zeppelin tribute show to the Camelot Theater in Nevada, with the kind of soaring vocals, iconic riffs, and big rock energy that makes tribute nights fun in the first place. Great pick for classic rock fans.
| Saturday, July 25th | 7:30 pm | $30+ | Tickets HERE |
🍵 Des Moines Tea Festival 2026 | Mainframe Studios
The Des Moines Tea Festival brings together tea vendors, samples, shopping, and a full afternoon to sip and wander, with VIP early access for anyone who prefers their tea experience a little less crowded.
It’s family-friendly, relaxed, and a great excuse to spend a few hours discovering something new beyond your usual grocery store tea aisle routine.
| Sunday, July 26th | VIP: 9–10 am | General Admission: 10 am–3 pm | $25 VIP / $18 General Admission | https://www.mayalucoffee.com/desmoinesteafestival |
🌴 Caribbean Hog Roast | Rollins Mansion
Rollins Mansion is bringing serious summer energy to the terrace with a Caribbean-inspired evening of food, live reggae, and outdoor gathering. With local culinary partners including Palms DSM, Crème Bakery, and Good Butcher involved, plus Leradee and The Positives performing live, this feels like a great pick for a date night, family outing, or just a “let’s do something different” kind of Sunday.
| Sunday, July 26th | 4:30 pm | $60 adults / $20 children 12 & under | Tickets HERE |
🎶 Music on the Bridge at The Banks with Opus Taylor | Bridge District 105 E. Center Street DSM
Free live music with riverfront views is already a strong sell, and this one adds burgers from Lachele’s food truck, BYOB, and a lawn-chair-friendly setup. Opus Taylor brings a high-energy mix of classic rock and blues, which makes this a very easy midweek outing if you want something low-effort and actually fun.
| Wednesday, July 29th | 6–8 pm | FREE | https://www.hubbellhomes.com/events |
🐾 Pet Pick-Me-Up
Now get out there, Des Moines!
With local love,
Emily
AroundDSM
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