Things to Do in Boone

At Nova Cinema, cinephiles and casual moviegoers alike nosh on popcorn while watching first-run movies projected on full-size silver screens. Nova Cinema’s selection of talkies changes weekly, with current high-octane thrillers, family flicks, and love stories showing seven days of the week. Recent selections include The Hunger Games, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, _ and _Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, as well as 21 Jump Street, a coming of age story about street signs learning to conquer their fear of heights.

Matt White cinches his uniform with a fourth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, heads down to one of Triumph Martial Arts' three locations, and dishes up a fist-full of knowledge earned over 25 years of mat-slapping training. Recognized by the American Tae Kwon Do Association as the Regional Instructor of the Year in 2008 and 2011, Mr. White takes pride in combative victory and from passing those skills on.

In keeping with the Association's instructional format, Mr. White and his battery of four instructors teach the martial art and philosophy of tae kwon do to kids and adults. Tiny Tigers sessions reach out to students as young as 4 years old, teaching them important values such as helping around the house, excelling at schoolwork, and how to survive a wildebeest stampede. Students as old as 55 have started with no experience, going on to successfully earn their black belts.

Brenton Skating Plaza's outdoor ice-skating rink is comprised of a 120'x60' sheet of ice that can hold up to 220 skaters. There, skaters—equipped with one of 450 pairs of skates available for rent—can cut lines through the ice in the open air, surrounded by all-glass boards. Throughout the season, which stretches from November to March, the rink hosts skating lessons, broomball games, and public skating.

The Gladiator Assault Challenge confronts racers with a 5- to 7-mile course surrounded by scenic woodlands, cheering spectators, and up to 30 intense obstacles. Gladiators aged 18 and older go solo or join forces with other competitors to ford the waist-high waters of Mud Mayhem, rope-swing through Jungle Love, and use oversize novelty scissors to break the finish tape. Additional obstacles test physical stamina with 12-foot vertical walls, fallen trees, and cargo nets that act as moats blocking the finish line. After the Slideway ushers racers to a skidding finish, a complimentary beer and raucous after party lend ample time to scrawl "wash me" on opponents' backs.

Having taught high school band for well over 20 years, Roxianne Classen knows the importance of rhythm. She doesn't always need an instrument to explore the concept, however—at Harmony Yoga + Wellness, she showcases a type of music and movement that comes entirely from the human body. She and her staff lead yoga classes that encourage strength, flexibility, and self-awareness, regardless of your experience level. Some sessions, including hot Vinyasa and yoga for endurance athletes, embrace an intensive practice. Others move more slowly, incorporating elements of meditation or helping beginners to master the basic poses without giving them an extra leg to balance with. There are also courses that take the idea of rhythm more literally, such as Barre 85, which is held in a heated room and combines exercises from ballet, yoga, and Pilates.

The studio helps visitors to achieve calm outside of class, as well. Their resident massage therapist blends eastern and western modalities into muscle-soothing treatments, and a reiki master works to optimize clients' energy flow. Even if you simply feel like relaxing in the space, you can sip on some complimentary tea and browse the lounge's lending library, or peruse the apparel and locally made jewelry in the boutique.

Sticks sprung from humble origins when, in 1992, Sarah Grant began carving ornaments and candlesticks from birch, poplar, and driftwood in a small studio in Des Moines. As her work began to attract national interest and demand for it grew, Sarah enlisted the aid of other local artists and expanded her inventory to include handcrafted heirloom-quality furniture, whimsical sculptures, and intricate keepsakes.

Today, the artists’ work is showcased in more than 100 galleries across the country. Their installation projects have even decorated the walls of Blank Children’s Hospital, the Animal Rescue League of Central Iowa, and the student center at Iowa State University.

Sticks artists can often be spotted by the shores of local rivers, gathering driftwood for their work. They assemble the wood into custom-designed tables, beds, and armoires within their spacious, light-filled studio before painting them with colorful, whimsical designs, from smiling suns and moons to lush landscapes. The versatile artists even take their tools and paintbrushes to homes, businesses, and underground mad-scientist labs to craft custom art installations and interiors.