Red Cedar Chamber Music and Brucemore are partnering for Home Sweet Home, a nostalgic evening of music in the warmth of Brucemore's Great Hall on February 24 and 25 at 8:00 p.m. The intimate wintertime concert features poignant Stephen Foster melodies, 19^th-century American popular music, and light classics from the salons of Europe, including arias from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. Red Cedar Chamber Music's flutist Jan Boland and guitarist John Dowdall will be joined by Lisa Ponton, Principal Viola of Orchestra Iowa and violist of the Orchestra Iowa String Quartet. A champagne and dessert reception will be held during intermission. Tickets are $35 per person or $30 per Brucemore member. Space is limited; please call (319) 362-7375 to purchase tickets.

The Home Sweet Home concert provides a natural partnership between two local cultural organizations?nineteenth-century chamber music in a nineteenth century parlor. As artists in residence at Brucemore in 1983, Jan Boland and John Dowdall began performing nineteenth century music on period instruments?an 1830 wooden flute and an 1830 gut-strung guitar. Currently celebrating its fifteenth season, Red Cedar Chamber Music continually strives to reach, challenge, and expand audiences that rarely have the opportunity to attend chamber music performances. Red Cedar Chamber musicians inform and entertain audiences, engaging them with lively commentary about the music, composers, and instruments. Their first recording, Czech Chamber Music, received a Critics' Choice award from the American Record Guide, which stated, "Chamber music should be just like this?intimate, bonding, and conversational." The artists will be performing Serenade, Op. 26 by Wenceslaus Matiegka from Czech Chamber Music for the first time since it was released by Fleur de Son Classics in 1998. Red Cedar Chamber Music returned home to Brucemore in 2009 and 2011. For more information about Red Cedar Chamber Music or other Home Sweet Home performances visit www.redcedar.org or call (319) 377-8028.

Brucemore, Iowa's only National Trust Historic Site, is located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 26-acre park-like estate in the heart of Cedar Rapids boasts a Queen Anne style mansion built between 1884 and 1886. Brucemore has been home to three prominent families who used the estate as a center for culture and the arts. The estate continues to be a hub for cultural, philanthropic, and educational activities. Each year thousands of visitors attend specialty tours, concerts, fine arts performances, children's programs, holiday celebrations, preservation events, and garden workshops on the estate. For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Learn the history of Cedar Rapids' most well-known, evocative, and imagination-capturing residence, as if the walls themselves can tell their story. Explore every room in the mansion during the Nooks and Crannies Tour, Brucemore's most popular specialty tour, Saturdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 at 9:30 a.m.

This 90-minute tour is guided by Brucemore staff who open the doors to the Skinner pipe organ room, point out architectural marvels and oddities in the attic, and bring the Tahitian Room to life with rain dripping off the tin ceiling. Visitors have the opportunity to roam each floor, peek behind all doors, and satisfy their curiosity through the expanded access to the mansion and the extremely knowledgeable Brucemore staff. Not only will the quirky and curious aspects of the mansion be revealed, but also the superior craftsmanship and ongoing preservation projects of this historic structure.

Reservations for Nooks and Crannies Tours are required. Space is limited. Call (319) 362-7375 or visit the Brucemore Store. Admission is $15 per person and $12 for Brucemore members.  The tour is not recommended for children under 10 or individuals who have difficulty walking or climbing stairs.

Brucemore, Iowa's only National Trust Historic Site, is located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403.

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Brucemore Outdoor Children's Theatre Presents

Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale Repair Shoppe

Children and families will be enchanted as their favorite fairy tale characters take the stage for the 2011 Brucemore Outdoor Children's Theatre: Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale Repair Shoppe, July 27 - 30 at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. From fixing Cinderella's shattered glass slipper to managing a cranky Sleeping Beauty, participation will be encouraged as Will and Jacob Grimm embark on a mission to mend any fairy tale in need of a happy ending. Brucemore's natural amphitheatre near the pond will set the stage for this show.  Gates open at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale Repair Shoppe is an original play written by brothers Joe Link, Associate Drama Director at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, and Mike Link, sales associate for Medline Industries, Inc. in Dubuque.  Joe Link was also the creator of past Brucemore Outdoor Children's Theatre productions: The Incredible Adventures of Captain Spoon, The Forgetful Pirate (2007), The Princess Who Wouldn't Wear Pink (2009), and Robin Hood: Wanted (2010).

Children and their adult chaperones are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs (no food or beverage please). On-site parking is available. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children.  Tickets are nonrefundable and may be purchased the night of the performance.  Brucemore Outdoor Children's Theatre is sponsored by US Bank. For additional information, please visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375.

Brucemore, Iowa's only National Trust Historic Site, is located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.