The Iowa City Jazz Festival kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday as the city’s annual Summer of the Arts continues. Like all Summer of Arts festivals, the jazz fest is free and open to the public. The three-day music event in downtown Iowa City will feature local and international jazz artists and performances covering […]
Summer of the Arts
Review: The Original Pinettes Brass Band bring New Orleans heat to Iowa City
In the world of New Orleans brass bands, legendary names like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Hot 8 Brass Band, The Soul Rebels, and Rebirth Brass Band have long set the standard, but none stand out quite like The Original Pinettes Brass Band. Billed as the “only all female brass band in the universe,” […]
Street closures for Iowa Arts Festival start early Friday morning
Streets in downtown Iowa City will be closed to traffic starting at 6 a.m. on Friday morning as crews begin to set up this year’s Iowa Arts Festival. The three-day fest kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday and runs through Sunday afternoon. It’s the first weekend-long event of Iowa City’s annual Summer of the […]
Street closures for the Iowa City Jazz Festival start at 6 a.m. on Friday
Street closures for the Iowa City Jazz Festival start at 6 a.m. on Friday morning. Clinton Street from Jefferson to Washington will be closed to traffic, as will Iowa Avenue from Clinton to Dubuque Street. It’s expected that those streets will reopen late Sunday night. Dubuque Street will remain open to traffic — at least […]
Street closures for Iowa Arts Festival start early Friday morning
Streets in downtown Iowa City will be closed to traffic starting at 6 a.m. on Friday morning, as crews begin to set up this year’s Iowa Arts Festival. The three-day long event kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday and runs through Sunday afternoon. It’s the first weekend-long event of Iowa City’s annual Summer of […]
Forty years ago, volunteers pulled off the first Iowa Arts Festival. Summer in Iowa City has never been the same
What started 40 years ago as a volunteer-led labor of love is now a downtown Iowa City institution: the Iowa Arts Festival. Back in the summer of 1983, Joyce Carroll and Kristin Summerwill helped organize a multi-day event on the Ped Mall that brought together artisans, visual artists, poets, local musicians such as Greg Brown […]
The Iowa City Soul and Blues Festival takes over downtown this weekend — here’s what streets will be closed
There will be live music and “culinary delights” in the streets of downtown Iowa City this weekend as the Soul and Blues Festival returns to close out the Summer of the Arts. The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday, when the Culinary Delights and Beverage Garden opens. The music starts 90 minutes later […]
Street closures and bus route changes for Iowa City Jazz Fest start on Friday
The music starts at 5 p.m. on Friday for the Summer of the Arts Jazz Festival in Iowa City, as the Mike Conrad Trio takes the Weatherdance Stage on the Ped Mall, but downtown street closures for the festival start even earlier. City crews will close Iowa Avenue from Dubuque Street to S Clinton Street, […]
Downtown street closures and bus route changes start Thursday for the Iowa Arts Festival
The first act at Iowa Arts Festival in downtown Iowa City won’t take the stage until 7 p.m. on Friday, but streets will start closing early Thursday afternoon to set the stage. Starting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Clinton Street from Jefferson to Washington and Iowa Avenue from Clinton to Dubuque will be closed. The […]
Performers announced for the Iowa Arts Festival’s 40th year
The Summer of the Arts’ Iowa Arts Festival is back for its 40th year and will take place the first weekend in June in downtown Iowa City. Yesterday, festival organizers announced that they’re hosting roughly 90 visual artists and bringing in many national and local acts to perform on the free festival’s main stage. SOA’s national […]
Summer of the Arts announces Friday Night and Northside concert series lineup
Snow’s still on the ground here in Iowa City, but we’d like to believe that summer is just around the corner. Yesterday, Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts (SOA) organization dropped the schedule for the 2022 Friday Night and Northside Concert Series. SOA has 19 total shows planned for the season; all events take place […]
FilmScene kicks off new outdoor movie series on April 24 with ‘Minari’
A new free outdoor movie series will add another opportunity for people to gather for a safer, arts-filled summer this year. FilmScene, in partnership with the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department, will present FilmScene in the Park, screening in Chauncey Swan Park. The park, located at Washington and Gilbert streets, has recently undergone a […]

