Seated at a Greater Des Moines Partnership conference table, Downtown Events Group Interim Director Leisha Barcus has two large mugs of coffee within reach. She’s surrounded by a half-dozen young people and it’s as if their collective energy explains the two-fisted approach to coffee drinking.

Barcus is exaggerating about the need for coffee to keep pace, but not about the talent of a staff that lost its leader, Mo Dana, nor about their drive to put their signatures on the various festivals under the DEG umbrella. “I am thrilled she assembled so many good people in one place,” Barcus said. “I haven’t found any dead wood yet.”

Two new events – a winter carnival and snow-sculpting contest and a flower show the DEG thinks can rival the Philadelphia Flower Show, the oldest in the United States and the world’s largest indoor flower show – have been postponed until 2007, a move that likely would have occurred even if Dana hadn’t returned to New York last month. Both events depend on significant community involvement, and the DEG staff isn’t willing to gamble their future by making a rocky start.

“None of us is willing to put on subpar events,” said Amy Eaton, a program coordinator.

DEG Assistant Director Amy Kearns said she and her co-workers “couldn’t have had a better teacher to learn from” than Dana, but they’re eager to put their own signatures on the six events the group will sponsor. They include Fire in the Sky on Nov. 19, ImaginEve on Dec. 31, Iowa Outdoor Wellness Adventure April 28-30, Winefest Des Moines June 8-10; and the World Food Festival, held last month.

Kearns had worked with Dana for six years, first as an account representative at Strategic America, then as her assistant at the Des Moines Arts Festival and now as the No. 2 person at the DEG. “She taught me to dream bigger and bigger, and we’re not going to stop just because Mo’s gone,” Kearns said. “She taught me never to be happy with what we have, and we’re not going to stop until we’re No. 1.”

The Arts Festival was ranked fifth in 2004 among 600 arts festivals reviewed by Art Fair Source Book. Kearns and the rest of the DEG staff – Jennifer Wahlert, Lisa Fry, Zane Christensen and intern Kristi Bochman – are planning some changes for the 2006 Arts Festival. For one thing, it’ll be held in Western Gateway Park because the downtown river bridges will be closed for repairs. Beyond that, the DEG team is saying little about the new aspects of a time-tested event. Barcus gives up only that “they’re visionaries” who will not disappoint.

Barcus gives the young staff props for organizing and executing last month’s inaugural World Food Festival with little supervision from Dana, who had already announced her plans to return to New York. The event got good reviews and is an example of the caliber of events they’re capable of producing, she said.

One of the hallmarks of Dana’s leadership was to create enthusiasm among her staff, but Kearns said, “but we’re almost more excited now because this is our chance to show [the community] that we have been here, we have been doing this and we can put on just as good of events.”

“These guys come with a set of talents that maybe Mo helped refine, but they will continue to blossom and do some things that maybe Mo didn’t do,” Barcus said. She credited Dana with getting “the community thinking differently about events and that we could, in fact, support these world-class events,” but said the events are in capable hands.

“They can pull this off,” she said. “These guys made Mo look great.”

As interim director, Barcus isn’t in the events planning business for the long haul. Most of her energy will go toward securing sponsorships for the festivals the DEG, less than a year old, is overseeing and others that will follow. “I need for the business community to understand that we absolutely can do this,” Barcus said. “I’m here to make sure they have every tool they need – and they’re very honest about what they need.”

They’re also not inclined to accept rejection. Kearns learned from the Dana the value of refusing to acquiesce on issues she feels strongly about. Dana initially rejected the idea of suspending 190 international flags over Locust Street for the World Food Festival, but Kearns said she “didn’t stop” pressing for the impressive display.

The events team also brings another bit of expertise to the table. All under the age of 30, they’re in a position to advocate for festivities that will appeal to their age group. “It’s these guys who know what’s cool and fun,” Barcus said.

“We all know it’s a big problem keeping young people around,” Eaton said. “We want to appeal to everyone in the state and our community.”

The group’s first test in the post-Dana era will come at the Nov. 19 Fire in the Sky parade of lights and fireworks display, moved this year from The Court Avenue distict to be paired with East Village Holiday Promenade. There will be more vendors and more opportunities for people to browse the eclectic collection of shops in the East Village. A partnership has been developed with the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the State Historical Building’s rooftop terrace will be opened for private viewing of the fireworks display.

With the event only days away, the DEG team is working long hours, perfecting every detail.

“We’re all very stubborn, and that’s part of where our perfectionism comes in,” Fry said. “We don’t rest or stop until something is as good as we can get it.”