The Iowa City Jazz Festival is a FREE festival held in the Pentacrest of University of Iowa for…read morethree days at the start of July each year. I attended in 2012 & 2013 and both years had a good time. Even despite it being a free event the bands are good and the sound/lighting are well engineered. Many younger (presumably students) people attend which adds a little more 'buzz' to the festival. The festival has been going strong since 1991 when it was founded. Suitable for the whole family, if you're in the area I would attend but probably would not 'fly-in' for it... A good effort by Iowa City and I hope that the festival continues for many years to come.

Held over the fourth of July weekend each year, this festival is consistently one of the best and…read moremost well attended festivals of the year. Clinton street shuts down for the weekend and plays host to a couple delightful beer tents, an increasing number of food vendors and plenty of random vendors with everything from phone deals to novelty shirts. Throughout the day Jazz is played to get you in whatever mood you'd like to be in. Around 6 pm, the main stage starts hoppin' and has, so I'm told my friends who are Jazz fans, some pretty big names. Regardless of whether or not they happen to be DJ Jazzy Jeff (The only Jazz person I know...), the music is excellent and makes for a nice chill evening. This past year, the food choices increased considerably and included a Caribbean spot, a number of BBQ places and the standards. In addition, if you're in the mood for a calzone (which it appeared few people were), those are available too. All in all, great stuff for all ages, very family friendly and overall - super chill. A great festival to check out where you'll probably hear something you like - because seriously, what else do you have going on all 4th of July weekend!

A yearly wonderful celebration of all things Art in the Iowa City and surrounding area. It takes…read moreplace throughout downtown with whole streets lined with shops showcasing just about any art medium you can think of. We saw some great blown glass, plenty of paintings and lot in between. Everyone here is obviously proud of what they're doing and it shows in the pricing. Worth you time if you're looking for something out of the ordinary. The food row is the same stuff that often shows up downtown and ranges from Gyros, to chicken to Korean tacos and bubble tea. It's good stuff and an increasing number of them are taking credit cards, which makes things a lot easier. There's plenty for kiddos and a parade of Friday evening. Well worth checking out, with or without the kids.

Very nice art festival held typically the first week of June in downtown Iowa City. You can expect…read morea lot of different art vendors, live music, and fresh prepared food trucks. They do a good job of kicking summer off right. I've been a few times and have always enjoyed it.

The Northside Oktoberfest is the annual beer festival in Iowa City to help celebrate everything…read moreBavarian. It's always well organized and one of the best sought-after beer festivals in the area. A great selection of beer and specialties throughout the day with Oktoberfest games. Highly-rated and recommended.

The Englert Theatre is an Iowa City treasure…read more I had the pleasure of attending the Nutcracker with my family this past weekend and The Englert Theatre did not disappoint. The theatre is well maintained; it's a cozy space and there isn't a bad seat in the house. Additionally, the staff is passionate and insanely helpful. The Theatre was opened over 100 years ago (1912) by a husband and wife (the Englerts) -- it actually used to be a stable. Mr. Englert passed away in 1920 and it changed ownership (of which ended up running the theatre for 80 years before selling). It almost burned down in 1926 but after a huge amount of fundraising, was rebuilt to its 1920s glory and charm. Eventually, the City of Iowa City was persuaded to purchase the theater and hold it in trust until funds could be raised for a newly formed nonprofit to purchase and renovate the space. In 2004, after an immense amount of fundraising, the Englert returned to the community with its first live performance in over 40 years. Truly, a Downtown Iowa City, gem. The Englert has two huge festivals each year -- Mission Creek and Witching Hour. Beside that you can catch a plethora of different shows throughout the year-- all of which seem to be priced accordingly. I'd probably give this closer to a 4.5 rating, vs 5. I only say that because in my nearly 30 years as an Iowa City resident, I can't say many of the shows have attracted me to attend. Additionally, concessions are limited. I must note: my mother-in-law wasn't insanely thrilled with how handicapped accessible the bathrooms were. (Though there is an elevator and there are wheelchair accessible seating areas on both floors.) Iowa City has a parking problem, so it's not the Englert's fault. I'd recommend the Dubuque Street Parking Ramp. But all in all, how lucky are we to have The Englert live and thrive in Iowa City?

It's our holiday tradition to have a nice dinner and see the Nutcracker. We had a wonderful time…read morelast night. It was a beautiful night and the Englert sign lights up so nice. The theater has plenty of seating and we always choose to sit on the balcony. They have a variety of refreshments for before and during the show. It was a great show and we are already looking forward to next year!

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