Iowa City Real Estate Blog

Free, Family-Friendly events in Iowa City this 4th of July Weekend!

It's 4th of July weekend and one of the highlights of the year starts today with the Toyota-Scion Jazz Festival.  This is part of the Summer of the Arts program that provides support and promotes the arts and cultural events in the area.

This 3 day musical extravaganza runs through July 4. Along with the opportunity to enjoy some good jazz music, there's also the chance to enjoy some high cuisine on Culinary Row. Good music and good food, what more could you possibly want? Oh, I know... good weather! Well it seems we've got that one covered too with sunny skies and temperatures forecast in the 80's for the next couple of days - Fingers crossed the isolated storms forecast for Sunday stay away for the 4th of July Firework Display!

The tradition of the Summer of the Arts is to provide free, family-friendly fun events, so you expect plenty of that this weekend. FUN Zone will have some fun activities for kids between 4.00pm - 9.00pm on Friday and 12.00pm - 9.00pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Live music starts today, (Friday July 2, 2010), at 4.30pm with the United Jazz Ensemble on the main stage and the last performance is at 8.00pm with Bob Washut and the Dream Band, also on the main stage.

On Saturday July 3 the live musical performances begin at 1.30pm and the last performance of the day is at 8.00pm on the main stage with Roswell Rudd's Trombone Tribe.

The same goes for Sunday with live music starting at 1.30pm and the last performance at 8.00pm on the main stage is Dr. Lonnie Smith. It goes without saying that there will be a firework display celebrating the 4th of July after dark. It will take place at Hubbard Park and scheduled to happen after the musicians have finished their performances at the Jazz Festival.

Where exactly is all of this happening? Downtown Iowa City, along Clinton St and Iowa Ave. The main stage is at the Old Capitol building. You will find a complete schedule of events with details about who is performing along with where and when, plus a list of the vendors on Culinary Row on the Summer of the Arts website.

Photo courtesy of HHoran Photo Studio Iowa City

Coralville has grown in leaps and bounds in the almost eleven years I've been living here. During all that growth I'm happy to say it hasn't lost any of it's charm or sense of community. At this time of year you can definitely see that Coralville is built on hometown tradition. It's always been that way and this year's 4th of July celebrations are no exception.

The Independence Day celebrations begin today making this one long and fun weekend for all. Almost all of the celebrations take place at or around S.T. Morrison Park in Coralville. The event kicks off at 3.00pm on July 1 with the Carnival by Star Amusement with the Carnival opening daily through July 4 at noon.

July 2 you can enjoy a picnic dinner from 5.30 to 8.00pm at Morrison Park  with grilled food from Hy-Vee available for purchase. There will be free entertainment from 6.00pm to 9.30pm with the Stars of Tomorrow Showcase when area talent performs for an opportunity to play in Nashville.

On July 3 bring those lawn chairs and enjoy two free concerts. The fun begins at 6.00pm with The Mayflies and their followed at 8.00pm by The Nitty Gritty Dirt band. (I actually remember listening to them in my youth... Oh dear, I think I'm giving away too much there!)

Of course the biggest day will be on the 4th of July when you can fortify yourself with a pancake breakfast at Northwest Junior High from 8.00am until noon in preparation for a busy, fun filled day. Noon is when the 4th Fest Parade starts. All day long there will be activities for families to enjoy and in the evening you can enjoy more free music followed by fireworks after dark.

For a more detailed list of activities for this 2010 - 4th of July weekend you can check out the schedule of events and parade map @ Coralville.org


Photos of downtown Coralville, including Morrison Park