For the fifth year in a row, the Waukee Area Arts Council is putting on the city’s largest and best-attended summer event. The Waukee Arts Festival will be held in Centennial Park on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13.
Residents can look forward to more than 100 artist exhibits, kids’ activities, craft beer from Barn Town Brewery, food truck vendors and live music all day Saturday. As part of the Arts Council July concert series, there will be special evening performances during the festival featuring local artists The Brazilian 2wins and The Nadas.
Cody Kilgore, President of the Waukee Area Arts Council, said the festival will feature an even wider variety of artists than previous years, including artists from around the Des Moines metro and across the country.
“We had so many quality artists apply that we had to add spaces under a festival tent for more exhibition space,” he explained.
Kilgore estimates nearly 4,000 people attended the festival last year, and said this year’s festival will offer something for everyone.
“We’ll have art from across the country and along the price spectrum. There will be food and music you don’t often find in Waukee. The student art on exhibit from the Waukee schools is reason enough to attend— the students are incredibly talented,” said Kilgore. “Plus, there’s always a chance you might meet our mascot, Tucker.” (Tucker is Kilgore’s five-year-old dog.)
Festival-goers can also expect more selection for various dietary needs this year as well.
“Our food vendors will have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free fare,” explained Kilgore. “And you have to check out the tables in the food court that the high school art classes created for us.”
“In short, we’ve really upped our game this year,” he added. “We’ll have more artists, more art, more music, more food and more time to enjoy it all.”
For more information on the Waukee Arts Festival, visit waukeearts.org.