Mike Nappi as Peanut in the North American tour of “Shucked”. Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman  Stalk of the Town From the sounds of it, the musical “Shucked” has a high yield of corn puns — a bumper crop, a record haul, an overflowing cornucopia. It couldn’t be cornier if it had been developed in a Corteva lab. Even so, audiences and critics have eaten it up since its Broadway premiere in 2022. They’ve found an ear-resistible kernel of truth in the story about a plucky small-town woman named Maizy who sets out to find someone who can explain why all the corn in Cob County keeps dying. She meets a big-city con artist posing as a podiatrist — a corn doctor — who tries to swindle the desperate farmers. The show’s national tour pops up at the Des Moines Civic Center for a week, Jan. 28 through Feb. 2, when you can seed it for yourself. dmpa.org Rippey or Bust People will do anything for a baked potato. Hundreds of hardy, foolhardy cyclists bundle up every year and gather in Perry for BRR, the Bike Ride to Rippey. They pedal 12 miles northwest to Rippey, refuel at the baked potato bar at the Methodist church, and then pedal back to a cozy party at Perry’s Hotel Pattee. The 48th annual pilgrimage is set for Feb. 1 — rain or shine, snow or sleet. perryia.org/brr Cat on a Hot Tiny Boat Marvelous puppets have prowled and galloped through the Des Moines Civic Center over the years, from the beasts and birds of “The Lion King” to the mighty equine stars of “War Horse.” Another menagerie will grace the stage in “Life of Pi,” Feb. 25 through March 2. It’s adapted from Yann Martel’s 2001 novel, which won the Booker Prize and inspired a 2012 film. The tale about a teenager stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a hungry Bengal tiger comes to life in a new way on stage, with sophisticated puppets and a Tony Award-winning mix of lighting, sound, video and sets. The New York Times called it a “tribute to human ingenuity and animal grace.” dmpa.org Broadway cast of “Life of Pi” (Broadway, London, A.R.T.). Photo: Ellie Kurttz True Blues Music historians say the blues first bubbled up in the 1860s in the Deep South, where its call-and-response patterns echoed Black spirituals and work songs. But those rhythms still resonate even here in 21st-century Iowa, where music fans forget their troubles every year at the Winter Blues Fest. “It’s 20 bands all under one roof and out of the cold,” Central Iowa Blues Society President Scott Allen said of the 30th annual event, set for Feb. 9 and 10 at the downtown Marriott. The shindig fills two ballrooms: one for regional and national acts (like Chicago’s Ronnie Baker Brooks, pictured) and another for Iowan musicians, including those in Heath Alan’s Iowa Blues Expo and an Iowa Blues Hall of Fame showcase hosted by the one and only Bob Pace. cibs.org Photo: Paul Natkin As the World Turns How ’bout this weather? Cold enough for ya? Iowans have an endless gift for meteorological small talk, but some folks think bigger. Tom Mattingly, the artistic director of Ballet Des Moines, choreographed a quartet of dances to the “Four Seasons” piano suite by the contemporary German composer Goetz Oestlind. When the Richmond Ballet premiered it in 2021, a writer for the RVArt Review described how the movements reflected the feeling of each season, including “a lingering, unhurried solo for the sultry days of summer.” Here in Iowa, the dancers (including Kate Anderson, pictured) will cycle through the seasons in the upcoming “See the Music” program with pianist Douglas-Jayd Burn and the Aizuri Quartet on Feb. 20 at Grinnell College, Feb. 28 at Hoyt Sherman Place and March 2 at Stephens Auditorium in Ames. balletdesmoines.org Photo: Jami Milne