ia Season Preview

Siriaco “Siricasso” Garcia painted this mural in Des Moines' Highland Park neighborhood in 2023. (Photo: Brittany Brooke Crow)

Arts & Culture

Iowa artists and organizations win statewide recognition

The Iowa Economic Development Authority announced the 2025 Governor’s Arts Awards last week. The biennial awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the arts in Iowa. The honorees "exemplify the passion, creativity and leadership that drive Iowa’s arts community forward," Iowa Arts Council Director David Schmitz said in a prepared statement. Here are a few of the recent winners:

Arts Share in Iowa City won an Arts Learning Award for bringing teaching artists and performances to more than 10,000 K-12 students statewide through the University of Iowa Office of Community Engagement.

Akwi Nji of Cedar Rapids was named an Emerging Arts Leader for her storytelling and interdisciplinary collaborations with cultural and civic organizations around the state.

Siriaco “Siricasso” Garcia of Des Moines was named an Emerging Arts Leader for creating more than 40 murals across Central Iowa. Follow his work on Instagram (@siricasso) and take a mural tour through Des Moines’ neighborhoods.

The city of Bondurant won an Arts Champion Award for integrating the arts into city planning and public life. The city was recognized for its murals, sculpture walks and various arts events, like Yoga at the Depot, Pilates in the Park and SummerFest, set for June 9-10.

FilmScene, a nonprofit in Iowa City, won a Film and Media Award for growing Iowa’s film scene through screenings, education and the Refocus Film Festival, which returns this October.

The Sioux City Art Center won an Arts Service Award for its ambitious “Razzle Dazzle” project, a volunteer-powered transformation of the museum’s facade.

“Pioneering Pages,” May 9, Decorah. A new exhibit at the Vesterheim tells the story of Kvinden og Hjemmet (Woman and Home), a national magazine for women that was first published in 1888 in Iowa by Norwegian immigrant sisters and suffrage advocates Ida and Mina Jensen.

Spring Art Crawl, May 9-10, Mason City. The city's new arts nonprofit Yes We Create Art, located in the historic YWCA building, hosts an open house to show off the new gallery and studio spaces, along with food trucks, live music and activities.

Dylan Carlino, May 10, Cedar Rapids. The TikTok star and comedian headlines a show with fellow funny guy Matt Banwart at the Ideal Theater & Cocktail Bar.

Orchestra Iowa: A Booming Finale, May 17-18, Cedar Rapids and Coralville. Orchestra Iowa wraps up its regular season with two performances featuring Liszt’s iconic “Piano Concerto No. 2” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5.”

Coralville Asian Festival, May 17, Coralville. Celebrate Asian heritage throughout Johnson County with a day of food, performances and shopping during the third annual festival.

Tivoli Fest, May 23-24, Elk Horn. The largest rural Danish settlement in the United States shares its Old World roots during this annual celebration. Enjoy free access to local museums, the Danish windmill and a fireworks show on Saturday night.

JunqueFest, May 24, Webster City. With a spelling like that, you know this isn’t any ordinary junk. Enjoy two full days of shopping, wine tasting and live music at this annual antique festival and handmade market.

Iowa Quilt Festival, June 4-6, Winterset. Kick off the weekend with workshops and lectures about the art of quilt making. The quilt display on the last day features handmade creations draped across the historic covered bridges of Madison County and other local landmarks.

Iowa Arts Festival, June 6-8, Iowa City. See work from over 100 local, regional and national artists in various media, buy some art, watch live music performances or chow down on some food-truck fare during the award-winning annual celebration.

Iowa City Jazz Festival, July 4-6, Iowa City. Enjoy three days of outdoor live jazz across two stages on the Old Capitol Museum lawn. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and some snacks and settle in.

Snake Alley Festival of Film, July 10-13, Burlington. Enjoy a variety of short films and learn about the movie-making process with filmmaker Q&As, screenplay table reads and dozens of screenings.

Hillsdale Lily Fest, July 12, Glenwood. With luck and a little sunshine, more than 100,000 lilies will be blooming at Hillsdale’s gardens in early July, when you can buy lilies to take home or simply enjoy on site. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Tanner Foss Project, which supports youth arts.

Nordic Fest, July 25-26, Decorah. Velkommen! More than 10,000 revelers flock to this annual celebration of Scandinavian culture. Dive into traditional crafts at the Vesterheim, watch a Viking combat demonstration and savor authentic Scandinavian food.

Make some waves on the mighty Mississippi River during Burlington River Days. (Photo: Burlington River Days)

Around Iowa

Burlington's annual River Days are worth the wade

This summer, Burlington hosts its River Days festival June 12-14. On the final day, visitors can test their luck in the River Days Olympics, competing in fishing, archery, BB gun target shooting and more. Prizes and bragging rights are all up for grabs.

Throughout the festival, visitors can hop on carnival rides, see a boat show, a boat parade and concerts with Jive Radio (Thursday), country rock artist Jake Clayton (Friday) and the Grammy-nominated rock band Saliva (Saturday).

More outdoor recreation

Taco Ride, Thursdays through October, Council Bluffs. Grab your bike and pedal about 20 miles round-trip on the scenic Wabash Trace Nature Trail from Council Bluffs to Mineola. As promised: There will be tacos.

Nature Photography 101, May 10, Webster City. Calling all nature enthusiasts: Take a guided photography walk with help from Hamilton County Conservation.

Hook and Hunt Fishing Clinic, May 10, Sperry. If you’ve never fished, don’t worry. You can attend a fishing seminar, then grab free bait and tackle before your first cast.

Spring Field Farm Day, May 14, Donnellson. Feed and pet ponies, donkeys, pigs, goats and mini cows. You can also meet a maxi cow, otherwise known as the Giant Texas Longhorn Bull.

Bike Ride Around Greene County, May 24, Jefferson. One of the best part about this bike ride is that you can BRAG about it afterward.

Free Fishing Weekend, June 6-8, all Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources allows all Iowa residents to fish without a license during the first weekend in June.

The Big Dill Bike Ride, June 7, Mason City. A bike ride about pickles? Sure, why not? Choose a 60- or 77-mile loop that ends back at Mason City. When you finish, you can join the party downtown at Brix Wine & Whiskey.

Gateway River Park Ribbon Cutting, June 7, Cedar Falls. Celebrate the grand opening of Cedar Falls Gateway River Park with river surfing, kayak demonstrations, fishing tips and more.

University of Okoboji Campus Bike Ride, June 28, Milford. Eat some pancakes from the local Boy Scouts before riding 25, 50 or 100 miles around the Iowa Great Lakes.

Summer Iowa Games, July 11-20, Ames. Why wait for the Olympics when you can DIY closer to home? Insider tip: Enter an overlooked event where you might be the only competitor.

Moonlight Chase, July 12, Eldridge. Take a nighttime run with plenty of supporters along the way.

Slow Roll Bike Ride, July 13, Mason City. This relaxed bike ride takes about an hour to complete, with the Burrito Mexpress food truck waiting at the finish line.

Sprinkle some fun into your summer schedule with a trip to Le Mars.

Food & Dining

Visit the Ice Cream Capital of the World

Celebrate Le Mars’ sweet history June 18-21 during Ice Cream Days. The annual event features a parade, carnival, live music and, naturally, loads of ice cream. Stop by Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor for more than 40 ice cream flavors, sundaes and specialty shakes.

The town earned its distinction as the Ice Cream Capital of the World in 1994. Back then, it produced the most ice cream by one manufacturer in one place. The company, Wells Enterprises, was founded in town in 1913 and is best known for its Blue Bunny brand.

More Food & Dining

Wine Walk, May 10, Winterset. On Mother’s Day weekend, stroll around town and visit wineries for tastings, shopping and music. A souvenir wine glass and samples from various wineries are included with registration.

Lone Oaks Farm Dinner, May 16, Winterset. Enjoy a five-course meal at the Barn at Lone Oaks Farm. Chef Aaron Holt, who won 2018 Iowa Restaurant Association Chef of the Year and the 2022 Taste of Elegance Award, will prepare the meal. Read more about Holt in ia magazine.

Wurst Festival, June 13 and 14, Amana. The Amana Colonies keep their German tradition alive with an annual sausage fest. Vendors, beer, drinks, desserts and sides are available in the Market Barn, with yard games and live music to accompany the feast.

Lazy River Beer & Wine Festival, June 28, Marquette. This event at Riverfront Park offers samples of beer and wine along the Mississippi River.

Tour de Brew, July 12, Amana. Take a 30-mile bike ride around town with beer stops along the way. The ride ends at Millstream Brewery for a block party with live music.

Sweet Corn Serenade, July 24, Oskaloosa. Sweet corn. Popcorn. A petting zoo. Does it get more Iowa than this? Chow down on corn, burgers, pie and more.

Settled by Norwegian immigrants in the 1850s, Decorah has lots of independent shops, restaurants and Scandinavian culture. For a bird’s-eye view, visit Palisades Park. (Photo: Mary Willie)

Around Iowa

Book it to Decorah for a weekend of fun

Decorah’s downtown scene is unique. While other cities and towns saw their cores decline as suburban malls went up, such a thing never happened in this county seat of more than 7,500. Water Street, the two-lane main street lined with historic buildings, remains the area’s retail hub and a boon to travelers who love poking in and out of shops and eateries.

STAY: When was the last time you stayed in a small-town main-street hotel, where, with windows open, you could catch the early evening’s breezes and hear the pleasing ripples of street life below? While many suburban hotels, with airtight windows overlooking parking lots, seal you off from the wonder of being someplace new, the Hotel Winneshiek, with its prime location on Water Street, makes you feel unmistakably in the thick of much that is great about this energetic community.

With a grand cherry-wood staircase, marble walls and an octagonal three-story atrium — all capped by a stained-glass skylight — the public spaces evoke the Beaux Arts splendor of the hotel’s 1905 provenance. Agreeably appointed in neutral tones, the less-ornate (yet entirely comfortable) rooms speak to the more streamlined inclinations of our times. The hotel was entirely restored in 2000.

EAT: At Rubaiyat (named after the title collection of poetry written by Omar Khayyam, 11th-century Persian writer famous for, among other things, penning the thought “a jug of wine, a loaf of bread — and thou”) is devoted to the joys of sharing uncomplicated yet life-enhancing food.

The menu changes frequently, but by combining chef-driven touches with ever-popular meats and seafoods (e.g., a dry aged Duroc pork chop with with chimichurri sauce), the restaurant hits an admirable sweet spot somewhere between relaxed and refined. The exposed brick walls and stamped-tin ceiling of the refurbished 1890s building add to the historic sense of place that you feel throughout Decorah.

DO: Decorah and its surrounding area offer great opportunities for cyclists and hikers, including off-road options for rugged mountain bikers as well as paved recreational trails for the rest of us. A doable route for a morning ride is the Trout Run Trail, an 11-mile loop around Decorah that offers a mix of easy riding over bridges and farmland and arduous switchbacks leading up to great views of the area. You can rent bikes (including pedal-assist electric bikes) at Decorah Bicycles, near the downtown trailhead. Find great hiking, with views of a 200-foot waterfall, at Dunning Springs Park.

Visit the crown jewel of Decorah’s cultural life: the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. It opens at 9 or 10 a.m. on Sundays, depending on the season. The museum houses the world’s largest collection of Norwegian- American artifacts, and in doing so, tells a story of the American immigration experience that’s sharply focused yet broad in its appeal.

Spend the remainder of your time poking in and out of downtown Decorah’s shops. Find anything from jewelry to hardware, including one-of-a-kind shops selling musical instruments, women’s fashions, cookware, books, home decor and more.

This article has been updated from the original version Wini Moranville wrote in 2020.