Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts

Iowa Arts Festival

2009 Information

The 2009 Iowa Arts Festival will be held June 5-7 in downtown Iowa City. Artist applications are available online begining in mid-January. Entries for the Arts Fair are due March 1, 2009. A complete list of activities, artists, vendors and performers will be announced in the spring of 2009. Join our newsletter list to recieve schedule updates as they are announced.

Iowa Arts Festival Awards

The 2007 Iowa Arts Festival was voted "Favorite Festival" by the Iowa City Press-Citizen for the third year in a row!

The Iowa Arts Festival won an "Icky Award!" for innovation and excellence in festival programming from the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance for the 2006 and 2007 festivals!

About the Iowa Arts Festival

The Iowa Arts Festival is a weekend-long, free community celebration featuring over 115 local and regional visual artists displaying and selling their artwork, a music festival, a “Culinary Row” serving regional and ethnic food, a variety of activities and entertainment, both creative and educational, for children and families. The Iowa Arts Festival is the most anticipated visual art-centered event of the summer.

The Iowa Arts Festival kids activities are educational and fun, featuring puppets, crafts, music and dance. Kids can pick up a passport and tour the Global Village traveling from country to country, all in one day. Families can listen to great music and dance to tunes from all over the world. Children's Day features over 10 booths of hands-on activities, crafts and learning experiences presented by area businesses and groups.

Be sure to come hungry! Culinary row features local food vendors with a global flavor. Roam about munching on some of the area's best foods from traditional, Indian and African fare to good old fashioned Barbecue. Don't forget Sunday is the annual ICARE Pancake Breakfast near the Weather Dance Fountain outside of the Sheraton Hotel.

Friday Night Concert Series

Founded in 1991, The Friday Night Concert Series is a FREE, family-friendly event held on the Pedestrian Mall in downtown Iowa City. The event features live music performed by local bands each and every Friday night from the middle of May to early September (excluding the first…

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Saturday Night Free Movies

Founded in 2005, The Saturday Night Free Movie Series is a FREE, family-friendly event held in downtown Iowa City. The event features musical entertainment or special activities, short films by local filmmakers and a feature movie on the University of Iowa Pentacrest.

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Iowa Arts Festival

Schedule

The Iowa Arts Festival is a weekend-long, free community celebration featuring over 115 visual artists, a music festival, a culinary expo, and a variety of creative and educational activities. Voted "Favorite Festival" by the Iowa Press Citizen.

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Iowa City Jazz Festival

Schedule

Founded in 1991, The Iowa City Jazz Festival is a FREE, family-friendly event held in downtown Iowa City. The event features live music performed by both local bands and internationally acclaimed recording artists. The festival has won numerous awards throughout the years...

Don Byron