Head to Cedar Falls Sept. 10 for ARTapalooza, the city’s annual juried art show featuring exhibiting artists from across the Midwest. Photo courtesy of the Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau.
By Michael Morain
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
The wavy stretch of Main Street in downtown Cedar Falls offers plenty to see and do year-round. There’s a mix of more than 40 shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and a community theater.
But the Iowa Cultural & Entertainment District is especially lively during ARTapalooza, which lands this year on Sept. 10. Now in its 16th year, the annual juried art show features exhibiting artists from across the Midwest, along with art demonstrations, entertainment and activities for kids.
While you’re there, take a self-guided tour of the downtown historic district, which is bookended on the north by the 100-year-old Ice House Museum and the Black Hawk Hotel, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and on the south by the Victorian House Museum, which offers various interesting and even offbeat programs throughout the year. (This past Sunday’s lecture focused on the origins of the TV dinner.)
If you’d like to wander farther afield, you’re in luck: Downtown is also a hub for a growing network of more than 100 miles of paved trails that cover the entire Cedar Falls and Waterloo metro area.
