Staker, Ferentz finalists for award

Coe College football coach Steve Staker (Division III) and Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz (FBS) are finalists for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Awards.

Winners get $50,000 to donate to charity and a $20,000 grant for the school’s alumni association for scholarships and activities.

Vote through Dec. 29 at www.CoachoftheYear.com

Fan votes constitute 20 percent of a coach’s final score with a panel of media and former players coaches making up the rest. Winners will be announced Jan. 6.

Winners will receive $20,000 to their school’s alumni association and $50,000 to the his charity of his choice.

Victor Wooten

Thursday, September 17

Victor Wooten is bringing the bass to Iowa City. And he’s doing it with pretty powerful credentials in tow. He’s the only three-time winner of Bass Player magazine’s Bass Player of the Year. When he’s not performing and recording as a soloist, he’s a member of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. And not only has he released an award-winning album — “Palmystery” in 2008 — but Wooten’s also written a book and runs a music retreat for artist. Whew! Don’t miss his unique blend of jazz, funk, pop, soul and gospel when Wooten and his bass guitar hit the Picador on Thursday night.

Victor Wooten

10 p.m. Thursday (09/17), $21 and $25, Picador, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa City, (319) 354-4788

Uptown College District Fall Festival
Saturday, September 19

Stop by the First Avenue Uptown College District on Saturday during its annual Fall Festival. Kick things off with 2-for-1 breakfast at Hy-Vee (1556 First Ave.) or 2-for-1 coffee at Brewed Awakenings (1271 First Ave.). At 1 p.m., watch the Kohawks take on Luther College at Coe College’s Clark Field. Then head to Xavier’s (1401 First Ave.) or the Tic Toc (600 17th St.) after the game to grab a beverage.
First Avenue Uptown College District Fall Festival
7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday (9/19), First Avenue, Cedar Rapids between 10th and 20th streets, various costs, www.uptowncollegedistrict.com

Landfall Festival of World Music
Sunday through September 27

Where can you find eight days of live world music performed for free in the Corridor? In Greene Square Park, of course! Legion Arts — the non-profit organization that runs CSPS — has organized the second annual Landfall Festival of World Music. And the result is an eclectic line up of some 50 artists from ten countries — including Algeria, Mexico, China, Hungary and Australia. Check out www.legionarts.org for a schedule.
Landfall Festival of World Music
Various times, Sunday (9/20) to Sept. 27, Greene Square Park, corner of Third Avenue and Fifth Street in Downtown Cedar Rapids, Free, (319) 364-1580, www.legionarts.org

Three other things

SPT Theatre Company’s
“Organized Spontaneity”
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, $20, (319) 361-5297, www.
spttheatre.org

Music in the MUD: Grey Slate and The John Shultz Trio
6 to 10 p.m. Saturday
Campbell Steele Gallery, 1064 Seventh Ave., Marion, $5 cover charge, (319) 373-9211, www.campbellsteele.com

Honey Fest
1 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Indian Creek Nature Center, 6665 Otis Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids, $2 per person, (319) 362-0664, www.indiancreeknaturecenter.org

Ricky Legree, 26, Cedar Rapids
System Test Engineer @ Intermec

California born and bred. Ricky Legree is doing his own California dreamin’ right here in Iowa.

He came here for college and stayed for the opportunity to do a little bit of everything he loves. Computers. Sports. And meeting new people.

Ricky spent most of his days on sunny beaches in Cali, until his dad stumbled upon Cornell College in Mount Vernon. They spoke with football coach Steve Miller and discovered that the Rams offered football, baseball and computer science. The decision was easy.

“I checked out their Web site and asked questions on a couple of phone calls,” Ricky said. “I didn’t even come out for a visit.”

What started out as a leap of faith soon paid off. Ricky played running back for the Rams and lettered all four years in both football and baseball. He was also a member of Cornell’s hockey club. He graduated with a computer science degree in 2005 and got a job as a system test engineer at Intermec in Cedar Rapids.

For fun, Ricky puts his computer skills to work as the technical adviser for Access Iowa, Cedar Rapids’ young professionals organization. He’s also on the social committee.

Still, this former college athlete needed an outlet for his competitive bug. The answer lay in more than a few places.

Ricky plays recreational sand volleyball and slow pitch softball. He’s been an assistant coach at rival Coe College for the last three years. He started playing rugby with the Cedar Rapids Headhunters last spring.

“I’d never seen rugby played before but I heard that there was a team in Cedar Rapids,” he said. “I saw some bumper stickers, found their Web site and e-mailed the coach. After that first practice at Noelridge Park, I was hooked.”

And, earlier this year, he started boxing.

“I started going in January for the fitness aspects, but after four weeks, the coach suggested I fight in the Golden Gloves tournament. I was skeptical but after five more weeks of training, I went to Des Moines and was runner-up in the novice 178-pound division,” Ricky said.

Luckily there are different seasons for some of the activities. And Access Iowa doesn’t have mandatory attendance for programming, allowing Ricky to be present at only what interests him.

“Obviously, I can’t do everything I want in a given week. I try to manage practices and meetings so I miss as little as possible.”

He’ll often work 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., go to Coe for football practice and then head to one of the many other activities.

– JUSTIN

DID YOU KNOW: When Ricky moved to Iowa to go to Cornell College, he hopped on a Greyhound for a 48-hour bus ride. “Someone was supposed to pick me up at the station but that didn’t happen,” Ricky said. “Greyhound left one of my bags in another state. I was lucky enough to have some cash on hand for a cab.”
WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU: Ricky is proof that it doesn’t take much to get involved. Need some pointers? He’s your man.