# Every year in Des Moines

> 20 events in and around Des Moines that come back every year, sorted by the month they usually start. Each one has its own page with the last dates we confirmed, and 13 already have their next dates posted. When an organizer announces new dates, they go on that page.

- Last checked: 2026-11-12
- 20 yearly events; 13 with next dates posted
- Canonical page: https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/yearly/
- This week (Markdown): https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/index.md
- City index for agents: https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/llms.txt

## October

- **[America's Harvest Festival at the Iowa Capitol](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/americas-harvest-festival-at-the-iowa-capitol-state-grounds/)** at Iowa State Capitol grounds. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Oct 24, 2026. Price (2026): Free; food and vendors extra. Ages (2026): All ages. Official page: https://www.americasharvestfest.com/
- **[BOOtanical](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/bootanical-greater-des-moines-botanical/)** at Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Oct 26–31, 2026. Price (2026): Garden admission. Official page: https://dmbotanicalgarden.com
- **[Family Fright Night at the RecPlex](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/family-fright-night-at-the-recplex-midamerican-energy-company/)** at MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Oct 17, 2026. Price (2026): $5. Ages (2026): Ages 0–10. Official page: https://www.therecplex.com/events-calendar/
- **[Family Halloween at Living History Farms](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/family-halloween-at-living-history-farms/)** at Living History Farms. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Oct 23, 24 and 25, 2026. Price (2026): $12 advance, $13 at the door; members $1 less; under 2 free. Ages (2026): Ages 1–12. Official page: https://www.lhf.org/event/halloween/
- **[Goldie's Halloween Bash at the State Historical Museum](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/goldies-halloween-bash-at-the-state-historical-museum-iowa/)** at State Historical Museum of Iowa. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Oct 24, 2026. Price (2026): Free. Ages (2026): Ages 1–8. Official page: https://history.iowa.gov/events/goldies-halloween-bash-0
- **[Night Eyes at Blank Park Zoo](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/night-eyes-at-blank-park-zoo/)** at Blank Park Zoo. Usually: October. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: 6 dates, Oct 17–25, 2026. Price (2026): $10; members $8; under 12 months free. Ages (2026): Ages 0–12. Official page: https://www.blankparkzoo.com/nighteyes

## November

- **[Dome for the Holidays](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/dome-for-the-holidays-greater-des-moines-botanical/)** at Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Usually: November to January. Next dates: Nov 14, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027. Price (2026): Adults $18; youth 1–13 $13; under 1 free; members $3 off. Official page: https://dmbotanicalgarden.com/dome-for-the-holidays/
- **[Holiday Promenade Tree Lighting with Santa](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/holiday-promenade-tree-lighting-with-santa-historic-east-village/)** at Historic East Village. Usually: November. Next dates: Nov 20, 2026. Price (2026): Free. Official page: https://eastvillagedesmoines.com/promenade/
- **[Jolly Holiday Lights](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/jolly-holiday-lights-iowa-state-fairgrounds/)** at Iowa State Fairgrounds. Usually: November to January. Next dates: Nov 20, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027. Price (2026): $25 per vehicle; bus, limo or RV $50; season pass $65 (taxes and fees not included). Flash sale through Nov. 13 at 11:59 p.m. Official page: https://www.jollyholiday-lights.com/pricing
- **[Miracle on 86th Street Tree Lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/miracle-on-86th-street-tree-lighting-charles-gabus-memorial-park/)** at Charles Gabus Memorial Tree Park. Usually: November. Next dates: Nov 24, 2026. Price (2026): Free. Official page: https://www.urbandale.org/1100/Miracle-on-86th-Street
- **[Festival of Trees & Lights](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/festival-of-trees-and-lights-community-choice-convention-center/)** at Community Choice Convention Center (Iowa Events Center). Usually: November. Next dates: Nov 25–29, 2026. Price (2026): $10 per person; 2 and under free. Official page: https://www.iowaeventscenter.com/events/detail/festival-of-trees-lights-5
- **[The Des Moines Turkey Trot](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/the-des-moines-turkey-trot/)**. Usually: November. Next dates: Nov 26, 2026. Price (2026): See the registration page. Official page: https://www.desmoinesturkeytrot.com/
- **[Pajamas + Pancakes with Santa](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/pajamas-pancakes-with-santa-des-moines-heritage-center/)** at Des Moines Heritage Center. Usually: November. Next dates: Nov 29, 2026. Price (2026): Family tickets $80 (2) to $180 (7); with professional Santa photos $180–$280; Kids under 1 free. Official page: https://checkout.eventcreate.com/pajamas-and-pancakes-with-s-809407/select-buy
- **[Día de los Muertos at the Des Moines Art Center](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/dia-de-los-muertos-at-the-des-moines-art-center/)** at Des Moines Art Center. Usually: November. Next dates: not announced yet. Last confirmed: Nov 1, 2026. Price (2026): Free. Ages (2026): All ages. Official page: https://desmoinesartcenter.org/event/day-of-the-dead-2026/

## December

- **[Family Christmas at Living History Farms](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/family-christmas-at-living-history-farms/)** at Living History Farms. Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 5, 2026. Price (2026): Advance $12, members $11; at the door $13, members $12; under 2 free. Official page: https://www.lhf.org/event/christmas/
- **[Breakfast with Santa at The Ingersoll (presented by Coca-Cola)](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/breakfast-with-santa-at-the-ingersoll-presented-by-coca-cola/)** at The Ingersoll. Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 6, 2026. Price (2026): Tickets not on sale yet. Official page: https://www.santajeffy.com/2026tourdates
- **[City of Pleasant Hill Breakfast with Santa](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/city-of-pleasant-hill-breakfast-with-santa-doanes-park/)** at Doanes Park (Pleasant Hill). Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 12, 2026. Official page: https://www.santajeffy.com/2026tourdates
- **[SnowGlobe: Santa Brunch](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/snowglobe-santa-brunch-exile-brewing-company/)** at Exile Brewing Company. Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 13, 2026. Price (2026): Order from the menu; dining reservation recommended. Official page: https://www.exilebrewing.com/exile-events/snowglobe-2026-santa-brunch
- **[Brunch with Santa at Hy-Vee on Fleur](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/brunch-with-santa-at-hy-vee-on-fleur/)** at Hy-Vee, Fleur Drive. Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 20, 2026. Official page: https://www.santajeffy.com/2026tourdates
- **[Noon Year's Eve at SCI](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/noon-years-eve-at-sci-science-center-iowa/)** at Science Center of Iowa. Usually: December. Next dates: Dec 31, 2026. Price (2026): Science Center admission; reserve tickets ahead. Official page: https://www.sciowa.org/programs-and-events/special-events/noon-year-s-eve/

## About this list
- Published by Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/). Free weekly lists for kids ages 0–6. Lists refresh Monday and Thursday. The email goes out Thursday evening.
- How we choose and check listings, and how to send a correction: https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/ (corrections: hello@littlesweekly.com).
- Sponsored spots are labeled on the HTML pages and are not part of this editorial list.
- How to cite: “According to Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/…), …” and link the page you quote.

## FAQ

### Which yearly events in Des Moines have posted their next dates?
[Dome for the Holidays](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/dome-for-the-holidays-greater-des-moines-botanical/) (Nov 14, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027); [Holiday Promenade Tree Lighting with Santa](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/holiday-promenade-tree-lighting-with-santa-historic-east-village/) (Nov 20, 2026); [Jolly Holiday Lights](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/jolly-holiday-lights-iowa-state-fairgrounds/) (Nov 20, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027); [Miracle on 86th Street Tree Lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/miracle-on-86th-street-tree-lighting-charles-gabus-memorial-park/) (Nov 24, 2026); [Festival of Trees & Lights](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/events/festival-of-trees-and-lights-community-choice-convention-center/) (Nov 25–29, 2026), plus 8 more below.

### What happens to an event page after the event?
It stays up at the same address. Once the dates pass, the page shows the last confirmed dates with that year’s price and ages, and we add the next dates when the official page lists them.

### How do you check these yearly events?
Each listing comes from the venue’s or organizer’s own page and links to it. We only list a date, time or price when that page shows it, and anything we can’t confirm stays off. These were last checked Nov 12, 2026, and we recheck them every Monday and Thursday. [How we choose and check](https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/).