These barns are party-ready

Instead, they are equipped with surround sound, karaoke, dance floors, kitchens, bars and party rooms. They are the products of enterprising folks who are reinterpreting the fun of an old-time barn dance in 21st century ways.

Instead of just sweeping the floor and hiring a few musicians, these sophisticated country dwellers have forsaken agricultural uses entirely and turned their barns into well-equipped destinations for celebrating everything from birthdays, weddings, anniversaries - even Mass - to hosting picnics, reunions, dances, holiday parties and church socials.

At least three barns in Siouxland have been rehabilitated or built from scratch in recent years with an eye to entertainment.

Larry and Bev Hanno's Family Fun Farm near Oyens, Iowa, and Judy and Mike Allen's The Red Barn near Kingsley, Iowa, operate as commercial entities.

Scott and Deb Vandenberg at Carnes, Iowa, don't want the hassles of a business even though their old barn came party-ready with a stage whose walls remain lined with old LPs and 45s. They open it up often, but only for use by friends and family. They have added more entertainment and lots of their own personalities and family history since they bought the barn in 2001.

As it happens, all three barns are along or very near County Road K64 in Sioux and Plymouth counties.

High- and low-tech

On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Deb Vandenberg was pushing croquet wickets into the ground outside the barn near the horseshoe stakes as guests began to arrive for her birthday party.

"The stars were aligned 50 years ago when I was born," Deb said of the beautiful evening, the three-day weekend and family and friends coming to celebrate.

"From the very first time we stepped in there, we knew it wasn't a livestock barn," she said of the barn on their six-acre home site in unincorporated Carnes.

The barn mirrors the couple's lives.

The back wall of the bar is made of four stable doors from Deb's father's former quarter-horse business in Le Mars, Iowa, where she grew up. The tables in the stage area on the first floor came from the former Susie's Deli in Le Mars and the big brown vinyl booths came from an old bar in Akron, Iowa, where Scott grew up. An old pew used for seating in the loft - which also holds a pool table, pin ball machine and a variety of other entertainment for all ages - is from St. John's Lutheran Church in Ireton, Iowa.

But it's the Roy Rogers-and-Dale Evans curtains on the windows that really tell the Vandenbergs' story. Growing up, Deb longed to be Dale Evans and Scott wanted to be Roy Rogers. Beneath the lacquered top of the bar are sepia-toned photographs of them as children, each in a cowboy hat and gun belt or on a horse, playing out their dream. In real life, Deb did become a Dale Evans of sorts; She was an Iowa Girls' State High School Rodeo finalist.

In the kitchen are the cupboards that once hung in Deb's first childhood home.

Although their barn is not for rent, it stays busy with family and friends' events. And the Vandenbergs are known to throw a few parties of their own such as a four-day family reunion, their traditional First Day of Summer party and an occasional New Year's Eve bash. And, by tradition, they host the annual Carnes reunion picnic each July, long known for the jam session by Carnes' native musicians.

"The property came with the picnic," Deb shrugs, happily.

Fabulous family fun

At the Hannos' Family Fun Farm, it's all about wholesome fun for people of all ages. The barn has hosted party guests as young as 5 days old and as old as 100, Bev Hanno said.

They do have some rules that apply to everyone, such as no profanity and no video games. "We just think there's a need for kids to be kids," she said.

Although Larry and Bev call themselves "Fun Directors" they aren't party planners or hosts. They provide the facilities and are on hand.

Their guests bring their own food and make their own fun. A plethora of games and equipment for both indoor and outdoor entertainment is available.

The party barn is an old one with a tin roof and a hayloft made over for dancing and other activities.

The whole party barn concept started a few years ago when Hannos removed the hay and discovered the loft had a great floor which they sanded three times and sealed. Bev said dance clubs like the barn: they can play whatever music they want, dance without anyone in their way, bring their own food, eat when they want and stay as long as they like.

Today the hayless loft features a stage with a six-CD surround sound system and karaoke machine, space for a deejay and outdoor speakers so the music can be heard on the lighted sand volleyball court nearby. Pool and ping-pong tables, foosball, a basketball hoop and space for just socializing round out the indoor facilities. The Hannos recently installed a furnace to stretch the party season a bit.

The barn's ground floor has plenty of electrical outlets for crockpots, a microwave oven and refrigerator and lots of tables for dining. Next to the volleyball court are a large sandbox and a three-pin bowling game.

An entire former grain storage building next door, a.k.a. the Game Room, is stocked with board games and more active games that can be played inside or outside. And, there's the grove, or "The 100-Acre Wood." That's where Larry runs a kid-size train pulled by Thomas the Train Engine, where the children see all their favorite Winnie the Pooh characters.

The Wood abuts a ball diamond.

The Hannos opened their barn for parties just two years ago and already have had a variety of events, including a retreat and school dances, along with birthday parties, wedding receptions and family reunions. While there is no elevator, Bev said they have carried people in wheel chairs up the wide staircase to the party room. The downstairs restroom is handicapped accessible.

"Anyone can come," she said, "We've got babies, we've got grandmas."

The Hannos charge $3 per person with a $50 minimum, but likely will raise that to $5 per person next year, she said.

'My summer vacation'

Mike and Judy Allen's party barn has never held livestock or hay.

Pull into the driveway and you're greeted by three friendly dogs; an untethered goat rises from the porch of a nearby greenhouse to lie a bit further from The Red Barn.

"It's red and it's a barn. I built it two years ago," said Mike Allen, who just retired as an industrial arts teacher at Sioux City North Middle School. "It was one of those `What I did on my summer vacation things.'"

It began as a longing for a space big enough to hold the pool table he'd always wanted, then grew. His creativity and skilled handiwork are evident everywhere, from the banister sculpted from a dead tree taken from the grove to the wooden dinosaur models displayed throughout the party room.

The barn's hallway is filled with unusual finds such as squares of old linoleum, each with some sort of game theme, which Mike cut from the floor of a bedroom when they bought their house on the five acres there 16 years ago. If you visit, ask about Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe - they're not what you think.

Allen said he intentionally built the loft of The Red Barn for parties. It holds his coveted pool table, a foosball table and a pinball machine and poker tables and a stage with a sound system, among other entertainment. The loft is decorated with old farm tools, antique toys and a neighbor's old horse blankets, literally the tanned hides of a forbearer's two favorite draft horses.

Old barn wood lines the walls and lofted ceiling, lending an old-timey feel to the new structure.

It wasn't long before the downstairs was dedicated to parties, too. The Dinosaur Room seats about 70 and doubles for kids' party crafts and dining. The barn has seen surprise parties, graduation parties and a craft show which will be repeated Oct. 10. But the Allens put a special emphasis on entertaining children.

Mike built a little train and installed 1,500 feet of track that run over berms and into the grove. At Christmas time, children ride the train into the grove to see Santa and an elf. Each child receives a candy cane and a bell as in the movie "The Polar Express."

Then there's the dinosaur dig, which Mike does for parties. Kids unearth all the pieces of a wooden 4-foot dinosaur buried in sand, then put it together, with his help.

The Allens charge $40 an hour to rent the barn, or a flat $160 for more than four hours.