So much fun this year! Made a few new friends! All the different foods & activities. Saw so many…read moreinteresting performances. Enjoyed the empanadas and quesadilla and yucca balls and jewelry. Such great flavors of food and delicious drinks. It was definitely a few blocks bigger last year but this year did not disappoint. Saturday night music was fantastic. Lotta very nice personable vendors with great merchandise and lovely stories to tell. Will continue going regularly.

Free entry to this great event is a huge plus. I love the wide variety of vendors, food and…read morebeverage options available, which really is a huge part of what this event is about. All the vendor have a "taste" option on the menu for $2 (they have predetermined what that item is). I think it makes exploring a variety of things easier to do without crushing your budget or completely over eating. They also have a variety of local and international beers for sale and free live music. Fun family-friendly event!

This festival is so well run... the community bands together to pull this off. The serve amazing…read moreDeardorf sweet corn. It is all free and you can have as much as you want... I saw people eating upwards of 8 ears a person. I thought that I needed two ears but I could only finish just one... I felt terrible that I took one I could not eat. We got there early so we only had a block and a half waiting line. It moved so quickly. We were through it in less than 10 minutes. By the time we left the line was in excess of 3 or more blocks long. They also had a parade, 5k run and a large craft fair. If corn is not your thing they had a plethora of food and beverage vendors too. In the evening the have bands and a beer garden. There were thousands of people, kids and dogs but it really did not feel like it. Attendees were very respectful. If you are looking for a fun day in August I'd is worth the drive to this small community. This large event is 100% volunteer run! Very impressive!

Gayle and I returned to the Iowa State fair yesterday. It was a hot Tuesday (even in the morning)…read moreand we spend maybe 3 hours on the grounds. I'm sure I've been here since my last review was posted, but the years do seem to flow and run together. High Points: - The Butter Cow! - Chair Lift ride over part of the Fair Grounds. - Varied Industry, Walnut Center, and Arts Building Exhibits - Seeing Governor Reynolds walk down the main thoroughfare. - Visiting the University of Iowa Booth and touching the trophies. - Watching Families Groom Their Steers for Competition in the Barn. - Enjoying the Pig competition in one of the arenas. - Having a nice Lunch at Stockman's. We also walked around a lot and just watched the diversity of our fellow attendees. There were also a lot of huge baby strollers on one end life's spectrum and many senior scooters on the other. We also appreciated the DART park-and-ride option from the State Capital. It was only $1 each for folks like us that are over 65.

Always a fun time when the weather is behaving itself. Got an early start to avoid long lines and…read moregiant crowds. It was a little sprinkly at first but that stopped and it was decent most of the day. Little clouds and a light breeze. Had a decent breakfast at the Methodist Church. Nothing to write home about. Just a start to our day. Then off to the Beer Tent for hydration. Lots of new sips to be sipping. Nerds beer. Cotton candy beer. Lots of ciders and my all time favorite the spiked fair lemonade. Tried the 3 Little Pigs from Whatcha Smokin and was very let down. Little flavor other than the sauce and super dense for a meatball. The jalapeno dog on a stick was much better but it had the Waukee meat. Tried the bacon chicken ranch egg roll and it was great. One of the best new foods in the history of new foods. We even had a group cut in line lol Enjoyed seeing the doll houses and various crafts. The paintings. The photography. The livestock. Going back a 2nd time because you can't see everything in one day. Recommend for anyone to go at least once a year.

The epicenter of porcine bliss is truly the BRBF! 2012's festival boasted 4700+ visitors, 20+…read morerestaurants, 9 beers, two breweries and 10 bacon exhibitors. Bacon shirts were the norm and you discover the brilliance that is the combination of libation and dry cured magic. The building at the fairgrounds is a great location with plenty of vendor space around the periphery and mingling space in the middle. Three lecture rooms hosted talks ranging from how to make your own bacon to how bacon will help you survive the apocalypse. Helpful stuff! Unlimited samples of bacon and bacon themed entrees, bacon shirts, koozies, bacon eating contests and live music await you when you come across this glimpse of heaven! This festival is a must try for those who appreciate any and everything bacon. Great samples of meat, local fare and tons of new pork loving friends! Worth the trip every time!

Winning a raffle for a 1day pass GA+ for 2 ppl and a GA parking pass was well worth the 4hr road…read moretrip adventure! The headliner on the day B and I went was Mumford and Sons. We got to the festival around 6pm. Walked the grounds to get a feel. Found the GA+ section, sat down, relaxed after getting some merch. Went to the restroom and I gotta say. GA+ had good men's bathrooms. Per B "they are like campground bathrooms instead of a port-a potty. And more importantly, they are air-conditioned." Who wouldn't want that in 80 degree weather. We got some mini donuts from Hoppers. Delicious and lighter compared to 'Tom Thumbs donuts(MN state fair anyone?!) I still prefer Tom Thumbs, but also enjoyed these. Found a bubblr station and tried them for the first time for free. The mixed berry was yummy! Then went on to get a THC 'climbing kite' beverage. Another tasty treat. They also let us sit in their chairs for a while. We drank and listened to Jessie Murph. As we headed back to the GA+ area we stopped at a stand and got a strawberry lemonade. It was a refreshing drink. We'd get it again. Maybe try the mango lemonade one as well. The walk back to the car was easy enough. There was one section of the walk right outside the security checkpoint that is gravelly. Kind of wished they'd clean that up a bit. Walking in and walking out, there were plenty of big rocks that if you weren't paying attention, you could easily trip or sprain your ankle. Especially on the walk back, the lights along the path are lacking. We would definitely do this again, if there is an artist we want to see enough. Now back to our hotel for the night before our 4hr adventure ends.

Hinterland 2025 was my first-ever music festival experience and it was very memorable…read more Hinterland is a 3-day music festival in rural Iowa, outside Des Moines. The festival hosts a mixture of local and bigger name artists. The overall vibe is lowkey, folksy and country, but some pop and alt/indie acts are featured as well. The festival offers on-site camping options, as well as parking and shuttles. This year, the festival sold over 25,000 tickets, although it was unclear how many unique visitors attended across the three days. In addition to music, there were plenty of crafts, food, merchandise and even things for younger children to do. The weather was just about perfect, with dry conditions and highs in the 70s each day. Iowa can be brutal in the summer and feedback from 2024 was that the heat made it very difficult to enjoy the entire festival in the hot weather. For 2025, Hinterland shifted the venue slightly and reportedly made some improvements from past years. While they added a small canopy area for shade, the venue was entirely exposed to the sun without any relief. Fortunately the temperatures were cooler than usual this year, but I think they need to find a way to add more shaded areas for future festivals. The average high temperature for the area is in the upper 80s in early August, with highs commonly reaching the 90s. I did not camp or utilize the shuttles, I used 1-day general parking. Since I was one of the first cars in on Sunday morning, I was able to get out quickly at the end of the night, in only about 15-20 minutes. This seemed atypical, as many people reported that it took over two hours to get out each night. There was no traffic direction, so that caused a huge mess. They either need staff directing traffic, more than one exit, and/or marked lanes of traffic to get things moving more efficiently. There is a VIP option for tickets and I highly recommend this if you plan on attending in the future. VIP had access to premium comfort amenities, such as an exclusive full-service bar, air conditioned restrooms, a shaded structure and dedicated lines to enter the venue, access merch, showers, etc. Barricade access was split in half between GA and VIP, but probably 80% or more of the attendance was GA. This year, VIP ticket holders also got a free festival t-shirt. Entering the festival on Sunday was very chaotic. The festival gave conflicting instructions on when and where to line up. People who were trying to get in all morning were turned away. While I appreciate that they didn't let people start lining up before the sun comes up, it felt like there needed to be better structure for a fairer experience. Speaking of that, the staff did not have much of a control over lines and did not seem to know what was going on. VIP was supposed to get in first, but they let GA run in and there was mass chaos as a stampede unfolded. Security felt too lax, as bag checks were inconsistent and they let dozens of people trample in without scanning their bracelets. This seems like a real security lapse and a safety hazard. With that said, the interior security around the stage was top notch. They quickly addressed and de-escalated multiple incidents in both a professional and speedy manner. Rowdy people were escorted out. They passed out water all day and night, which was a nice plus. This will definitely help in the future when hotter weather returns for the festival in years to come. Overall, I had a memorable experience at Hinterland Music Festival. Getting in was kind of chaotic and the music was a little bit too country and slow for me, at times, but I still found many of the performers enjoyable. The vast majority of people I encountered in attendance were very friendly and fun. It's a highly inclusive festival and I might consider coming back, if more of my favorite artists were performing.

Another 5 star year at the 8035 Music Festival! Beautiful…read moreweather, beautiful location in down town DSM! This year there were 4 FREE stages open to anyone! And the the mainstage's sound was the loudest and proudest I have ever seen! I really dug seeing Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett, and I even dug Kesha - her show ruled! All the stuff I saw on the free stages were really great this year too! This was also the first year I spent a lot of time in the KIDS Zone and it was really fun with jumping blow ups, water guns, hoola hoops, and face painting! So many cool art sculptures, and music to be had! Always the best weekend in DSM of the year!

The 80/35 Festival is a pretty fun music event in Des Moines. It usually lasts about 2 days, with…read moreseveral stages of artists to check out. The only negatives of the festival are that it's usually the first week of July, which means that it's both HOT and also that sometimes it falls on /around July 4th, which I would avoid if I was the planner of this festival. When we have been, we saw some pretty big names like Wilco, Weezer, Jenny Lewis, and Run the Jewels (before RTJ were gigantically popular). Other artists who've played 80/35 over the years are The Shins, MGMT, The Decemberists, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kesha, to give you an idea. So you can definitely depend on there being at least one or two acts at 80/35 that you will be interested in (or maybe you'll find a new favorite). If you're a fan of bigger acts as well as local or smaller artists to check out, 80/35 might be a good fit for you. Just bring lots of water to hydrate and stay cool!

Oktoberfest is a great weekend in Des Moines, I recommend everyone should go have some fun and…read morepreferably dress up for it! Dressing for the occasion really makes it more fun. For a festival that is mostly about drinking the crowd is always nice and not too rowdy. Many men and women are happy to teach you to polka or even grab a stranger to share a boot of bier with. They always have great entertainment with live polka bands and several very entertaining contests for those in proper attire, such as the bier maiden competition. The limited food for venders outside Hessen Haus is always good, and the pastries from strudl Haus are always amazing. There are two things I think they need to improve on at this event. The first being they don't have many or even any sour biers most years. The second being they need more food vendors and variety. There is more to German food than just pretzels and brats. If they improved on these two items hands down this would be a five star review.

Love Des Moines Oktoberfest!! It's only 2 days long but I don't think I can handle much more. My…read morefavorite event is the tapping of he Golden Keg -- it's worth taking off work for!! Obviously the beer is the highlight of this event and there is plenty. Polka all day and night -- if you haven't tried to dance Polka it's easy! Just try!! Lots of friendly dancers will help you learn if you just step out and start trying. The rest of Oktoberfest is a blur -- but if I remembered it all it wouldn't be worth attending. Friendly people, great bier - eins, zwei, drei, gsuffa!!!

Not my first time coming to the festival but it is always a fun time filled with culture, music,…read moreand amazing food!!! This festival usually is in July near the sculpture gardens and there is always a huge stage set up with live music. There is plenty of parking in the area! And plenty of ATM's as most vendors do not take cards. And at least this year if you came in before 5pm you could get in free. Otherwise the cost of admission is only a few dollars! This is one of the multiple wonderful cultural festivals in Des Moines! Can't wait to go back next year!

What a great even they have here every year. Event staff were all friendly & welcoming. Vendor…read morestands galore with various Greek themed items and handmade items as well. Tried the frappe & loved it. My partner had a tiny Greek coffee. We shared a gyro which was really delicious. And the Greek salad I had was better than I'm used to. The light & squeezey I didn't like but I loved the Mythos. Visited the church as well & wandered around just looking at everything to offer. Definitely recommend.

Fun times! Great food, drink and dance/music here this weekend. Friendly staff. Prices are up…read morethere, but this is a fun event that you only get once a year. Try the flaming cheese(really good) or the gyros or Serbian food or desserts! Very family friendly. Clean. Fun. Street parking. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5-no screaming kids.