Things to Do in Cedar Rapids This Week: November 11–15, 2026
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The best week in town was built by hand.
By Friday night, a wooded trail in Cedar Rapids is lined with candles. By Saturday morning, a convention hall is full of decorated trees. In between, a sketch troupe writes its own show, a film crew finishes a movie it started ten days ago, and two rooms we know well turn the volume up.
Saturday night, six musicians at The Ideal play the Allman Brothers songbook, dual drummers included. Southbound is on stage at 8.
Nothing on this list came off an assembly line. That’s most of the appeal.
Three Things We’d Actually Leave the House For
SPT Theatre, Season 19
Friday–Saturday, November 13–14 · Doors 7 PM / Show 8 PM · CSPS Hall Main Theater, 1103 Third St. SE · $25 advance, $30 at the door plus fees · Details
SPT’s cast writes its own show in a Writers’ Room, turning out 15 to 20 original sketches a season, then performs them between sets of live rock and roll. Guest actors, poets, musicians and dancers from the local scene fold in.
The sketches lean comic, with the occasional turn toward something tender, and the format has a track record of filling the room. It’s a rare night out where everything on stage was written in this city in the last couple of months. General admission seating.
The Gazette’s Festival of Trees
Friday, November 13: Senior Day 9–11 AM, Sensory Day noon–2 PM. Saturday–Sunday, November 14–15, 10 AM–5 PM · DoubleTree by Hilton, Cedar Rapids Convention Complex · Adults $7 plus fees · Details
Dozens of trees designed by local businesses, artists and organizations fill the hall alongside a holiday vendor market, live performers and visits from Santa. The tree auction benefits Central Furniture Rescue.
Kids 17 and under get in free with a nonperishable food donation for HACAP.
Fall Luminary Walk
Friday, November 13 · 5:30–7:30 PM · Morgan Creek Park, 7212 E Ave. NW · Free · Details
Linn County Conservation lines a park trail with luminaries and lights for a self-guided walk, then keeps a campfire going at the Morgan Creek Shelter for anyone who brings marshmallows or s’mores supplies.
Arrive and leave whenever you like inside the two-hour window. No registration. A nonperishable donation for a local food pantry is welcome but optional.
The Main Event
Zepparella Friday, November 13 · Doors 7 PM / Show 8 PM · The Olympic South Side Theater · All ages · Tickets The all-female Led Zeppelin tribute is led by vocalist Anna Kristina and guitarist Gretchen Menn, with Holly West on bass and Clementine on drums. It’s also the second-to-last live music show The Olympic Theater will ever host. After six years of shows, live events, and countless private celebrations and weddings, The Olympic turns the light out on Dec 31. If you’ve been meaning to catch a night in this room, Friday is one of your last chances to do so.
The Weeknight Move
Dan Hubbard
Thursday, November 12 · Doors 7 PM / Show 8 PM · The Ideal Theater & Bar · All ages · $16 advance, $23 day of show plus fees · Tickets
The Bloomington, Illinois songwriter brings twenty years and ten albums to The Ideal, including records produced by Wilco’s Ken Coomer and a newer one, Vol 1: Letting Go, written after a health scare reshaped his career.
The Ideal is a listening room, so you’ll hear every word. A Thursday is the right size for a songwriter with this much behind him.
Plus One Thing You Might Miss...But Shouldn't Overlook
Iowa 55-Hour FilmSprint Premiere Screening
Sunday, November 15 · Doors 5:30 PM / Screening 6 PM · Whipple Auditorium, Cedar Rapids Public Library downtown · $10 · Tickets
Last weekend, local teams drew a secret genre, prop, character, line of dialogue and Iowa element at noon on Friday and had until Sunday evening to write, shoot and edit a three- to six-minute film around them.
Every finished short screens once, the audience votes its own award, and the top films earn slots at the 2027 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. Public seating is capped at 125.
Looking Ahead
Andy Gross at The Olympic
Saturday, November 21 · Doors 7 PM / Show 8 PM · The Olympic South Side Theater · All ages
This isn’t live music. It’s magic, comedy, ventriloquism and optical illusion blended into one fascinating performance, and it’s the second-to-last entertainment event ever to be held at The Olympic. Tickets are going fast, so get yours before they’re gone.
Private Rentals & Weddings
The Ideal and The Olympic are both available for private rentals, weddings, receptions, celebrations, corporate gatherings, and the kinds of nights that deserve a room with a little presence.
If you’ve been waiting for the right excuse to gather people beautifully, this is it. Explore The Ideal • Explore The Olympic
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