By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia Group

Orchestra Iowa: ‘Fire and Ice’

Pianist and Iowa City native Conor Hanick will be featured in Orchestra Iowa's "Fire and Ice" concerts Jan. 21 and 22, 2012. (Thomas Langdon photo)

Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21 and 22, 2012

Baby, it’s cold outside, but Orchestra Iowa is offering a double shot to warm your soul this weekend with the fiery music of Sibelius’ fifth symphony and his most famous piece, “Finlandia,” an ode to his homeland. Pianist and Iowa City native Conor Hanick is returning to blaze through Beethoven’s fifth and final piano concerto, “Emperor,” a nod to the heroic nature of the music, not to a ruler. The program opens with Mozart’s somber Masonic Funeral Music, composed in memory of two fellow Masons. Side note: All three featured composers were Masons, and an original, signed manuscript of “Finlandia” lies at the Masonic Library of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. How cool is that?

Orchestra Iowa: ‘Fire and Ice’

Cedar Rapids: 7:30 p.m. Saturday (1/21/12), Sinclair Auditorium, Coe College, 1220 First Ave. NE

Iowa City: 2:30 p.m. Sunday (1/22/12), West High School, 2901 Melrose Ave.

Tickets: $20 to $40, Orchestra Iowa Ticket Office, (319) 366-8203, 1-(800) 369-8863 or www.orchestraiowa.org

Peter Yarrow

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary will perform Jan. 25, 2012, at CSPS in Cedar Rapids.(Kevin Mazur photo)

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Folk music legend and political activist Peter Yarrow is coming back to town, ready to whisk us all back to Honalee in a puff. As one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary, he’s been in Cedar Rapids solo several times, most recently at Barnes & Noble to launch his “Puff, the Magic Dragon” book in 2007 and again in December 2008, to mesmerize a crowd of boomers, their babies and grandbabies. He told us then that he came back “because of the spirit of the people, the warmth — because you’ve got something special here.” He’s wonderful in making an audience feel special and totally comfortable singing along with songs ingrained in our collective consciousness. We can’t wait to hear what he has in store this time, at CSPS.

Peter Yarrow: 7 p.m. Wednesday (1/25/12), CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids, $41 at the door, $36 in advance, (319) 364-1580 or legionarts.org

Coralville Winterfest

Ron Hall of Washington carves an eagle out of ice during Winterfest 2011 at the Iowa River Landing in Coralville. This year's festival will be held in the same area Jan. 22, 2012. (John Richard photo)

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012

For Eastern Iowans who have been chanting “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” since well before the holidays, three communities have the festivals of your dreams. Coralville launches Winterfest on Sunday afternoon in various sites at Iowa River Landing. The frosty fun includes ice sculpture artists, carriage rides, entertainment, food and indoor and outdoor crafts and activities. The Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque is staging Ice Fest now through Jan. 29, with weekend programming from ice harvesting and entertainment to Saturday’s Bald Eagle Day. (mississippirivermuseum.com) Then head to the Amanas on Jan. 28 where they’re cooking up more old-fashioned Winterfest fun. (festivalsinamana.com) There’s no business like snow business.

Coralville Winterfest: 1 to  4 p.m. Sunday (1/22/12), Iowa River Landing, corner of East Ninth Street and Quarry Road, free, www.coralville.org