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Of course there are more restaurants and cultural stops in Des Moines to round out your visit. Cedar Valley Pridefest is a volunteer organization focused on highlighting the diverse gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community of Eastern Iowa in. It’s a 550-acre open-air agricultural museum where you travel at your own pace through five historical time periods spanning 300 years. I’m not a huge fan of history, but this place just sounds cool. If you’re a history buff, check out the Living History Farms (above) just outside of the city. It’s here where you’ll get killer views of the city.
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The city’s Principal Riverwalk connects the east and west sides of downtown via a network of pedestrian-friendly paths and bridges. his early experiences dating girls, transitioning in Des Moines in the early. The Blazing Saddle co-owner Chris Bullen says a security. Known as the “Girls’ Coffee House,” Ritual is a funky place to sip specialty beers and listen to live music on any given night of the week. Summary: David recalls the Waterloo gay bar scene of the 1970s and 80s. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A bar that says its the oldest gay bar in Iowa has been vandalized again in Des Moines East Village district. While the bars draw mixed crowds of gays and lesbians, many ladies hang out at the Ritual Cafe on Locust Street. With four bars, a patio, a big dance floor and larger-than-life drag shows, the Garden offers a great deal more than its small entrance lets on. The Garden is Des Moines’ other gay bar, but its weekend drag shows have progressively become popular with the straight crowd as well. There are frequent drag shows and visits from surprise guests. While it’s technically a leather bar, everyone goes there for the drink specials and dancing. The main gay bar in Des Moines is the Blazing Saddle, which opened in 1983 as the city’s leather bar. The Sherman Hill neighborhood is where Des Moines’ relatively small gay and lesbian population lives. Right now the hub of gay activity is just east of downtown in the aptly named East Village. But as time goes on, and more and more LGBT people trek to Des Moines to get hitched, the scene will inevitably grow. If you stand the gay scene up against bigger cities, it pales in comparison – of course. It’s like a Midwest version of New England. Part of this can be attributed to the various colleges located there, including Drake University, Mercy College and Des Moines University. It’s not quite as liberal as Iowa City, but Des Moines is a gay-friendly destination worth the visit. OK, so you can get married there, but what do you do in the land of the cornfields after the ceremony? What gay and lesbian travelers may not know is that Des Moines is actually a hip little capital city with progressive politics and plenty to do and see.