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Summer of the Arts starts Friday and Saturday Night Concert Series, May 17th and 18th featuring Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience and Jazz Ensembles from City High and West High.  Grammy award winning artist Terrance Simien is an internationally recognized touring and recording musician, playing folk and soul to millions of people throughout his career.  His performance is in collaboration with Hancher and expected to draw in a large audience.  And every year Summer of the Arts welcomes City High, under the direction of Ryan Arp, and West High, directed by Rich & Rob Medd, each bringing their top two jazz ensembles to the stage downtown. 

"We are thrilled with the line-up of our weekend concerts this year, and especially excited to bring such a well known artist as Terrance Simien to downtown Iowa City to kick off the Friday Night Concert Series while still being able to provide a fabulous stage for our talented high school students on Saturday night," said Lisa Barnes, Summer of the Arts Executive Director.

The Friday Night Concert Series has been extended this year, running through September to bring FREE live music downtown while the UI students are back in town.  The weekly series is set to bring 17 weeks of some of the best Johnson County performers to the Ped Mall, each from 6:30-9:30 p.m. with varying music styles of folk, R&B, Reggae, Country, etc.  

Presented by the Iowa City Downtown District and Integrated DNA Technologies, the Saturday Night Concert Series includes a mix of local and more regional bands like The Beaker Brothers, Adam Erza Group, Bonne Finken, and Tony Brown & the Earth Riddim Band. The series concludes with Des Moines-based Parranderos Latin Combo on August 24th in conjunction with the Latino Festival.  The Saturday Night Concert Series takes place in the same location as the Friday Night Concert Series and runs from 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m..

In case of rain, the concert is relocated to the lower level of the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp at Washington and Gilbert Street.  Check website and social media platforms for the status of the concert series if you have questions about the weather.  Information is posted around 4 p.m. the day of the show if the concert will be moved.

Join us Tuesday, March 26th at the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel for the announcement of our summer festival line-ups!  Starting at 11 a.m. we will have musical entertainment by Jesse White and lunch provided by Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon.  At 11:30, representatives of our festival planning committees will share the schedules and information about this year's festivals.

Following the media conference, we'll be adding the information to our website as well!

TWO exciting fundraising opportunities to support Summer of the Arts in April! The Art of Food AND Thirty30, which was rescheduled from Feb. 21st. The Art of Food on April 1st is an exclusive opportunity to experience culinary delights prepared by three internationally known chefs all from Iowa City! The Thirty30 celebration on April 11th includes food, live music, dancing and a live and silent auction including our celebrity paintings. Call our office at 319-337-7944 to order your tickets or reserve your spots today!

See more information on our Facebook page or click here for more information!

Jingyu “Lucy” Liu, a sophomore at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, has been chosen as the winner of the Corridor Jazz Project CD Cover design. Liu will receive a $100 cash prize from KCCK-FM and her design will adorn the cover of the “The Corridor Jazz Project VI”, a compilation of recordings from the top jazz bands from Jefferson, Kennedy, Prairie, Xavier and Washington High Schools in Cedar Rapids, Linn Mar and, Marion in Marion; City and West High Schools in Iowa City, and Solon High School.

• Alicia Allen – Jefferson
• Ashley Johson – Jefferson 
• Alex Sauer – Jefferson
• Jessica Drees – Kennedy
• Megan Dunham – Kennedy
• Alicia Hayes-Kerr – Kennedy
• Rachel Morrow - Xavier
• Molly Vipond – Xavier

Iowa Arts Festival
Presented by Veridian Credit Union

30th Anniversary Celebration!

Thursday, April 11th, 2013
5:30 - 8:00 pm
Sheraton Hotel, Downtown Iowa City

$30 ticket includes:

Hors d'oeuvres
Live Entertainment w/ Rod Pierson's 'Not So Big' Band
Live & Silent Auctions
Cash Bar available

Auction Items will Include:

Jewelry, Gift Packages, Fine Art
&
Celebrity Paintings by:

Lisa Bluder
Jil Dasher & Jamie Boling
Kirk & Mary Ferentz
Mark Ginsberg
Matt Hayek
Nate Kaeding
Fran & Margaret McCaffery
Christopher Merrill
Bill Nusser
Christine Scheetz
Steve West

To purchase tickets in advance, please call: 319-337-7944 (or $35 at the door)

CELEBRATION PRESENTED BY: 
Bachmeier Carpet One 
Blick Art Materials

Help us celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Iowa Arts Festival June 7-9, by applying to participate in the Art Fair.  This juried fine art show features approximately 125 of the nation's top artists lining the streets of downtown Iowa City.  Applications will be accepted through ZAPPlication beginning January 1, 2013.

Artists line 5 blocks of downtown Iowa City and feature a wide variety of mediums and styles. Show hours for 2013 are:

• Friday, June 7:  5 - 8 p.m.
• Saturday, June 8: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Sunday, June 9: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The 2013 Iowa Arts Festival will also include an Emerging Artist Pavilion for students and artist demonstrations in front of downtown businesses. To apply for the Art Fair, click HERE.

On July 19, 2012, Summer of the Arts received an award for "Best Public Education Program" from the Iowa Recycling Association in recognition of our Green Initiative program.

Our Greeen Initiative started in 2008 with refillable water bottles and many of our food vendors using bio-compostable foodware.  Since that time, the program has grown each year and in 2011, we were able to add "Eco Stations" to our weekend-long festivals to provide festival-goers information on composting and recycling while reducing the amount of trash that goes to the Johnson County landfill.  All food vendors are now required to use bio-compostable or recyclable foodware which has been a tremendous step for us.

We've also added Eco Education tents and Valet Bicycle Parking at our weekend-long festivals!  We continue to promote use of refillable water bottles and appreciate the attention our Initiative has received.  For more information, visit www.iowarecycles.org.

All month we have been wishing and praying for rain in Iowa City and today, Mother Nature is answering -- at least a little.  We are actually hoping for more rain this evening, so the Saturday Night Concert Series and Free Movie Series are both being moved to their rain locations.

Enjoy Brother Trucker, sponsored by Calacci Construction, from 6:30 - 9 p.m. in the lower level of the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp as part of the Saturday Night Concert Series, presented by MidWestOne Bank and Integrated DNA Technologies.

Our most requested movie, The Goonies will be shown starting at 8:30 p.m. in Macbride Auditorium as part of the Free Movie Series, presented by Knutson Construction and The Daily Iowan.  Come early and enjoy a performance by the Iowa Spirit Squad starting at 8 p.m. or visit the UI Museum of Natural History in Macbride Hall!

We hope you'll enjoy us for this great FREE family-friendly entertainment!

THANK YOU! to everyone who attended this past weekend's Iowa Arts Festival, presented by Veridian Credit Union!  

THANK YOU! to Veridian, Toyota-Scion of Iowa City, 7G Distributing, U.S. Cellular and all of the other sponsors who helped to support this year's festival. THANK YOU! to all of the volunteers who shared their time and talents to plan and execute this exciting weekend. THANK YOU! to all of our great media partners for helping us spread the word about the festival and for providing live coverage of all aspects of the fun! We loved having KGAN and KFXA broadcasting live throughout the weekend!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BEST IN SHOW ARTISTS!

1st Place                               2nd Place                                3rd Place

Steve Huffman                       Meg Prange                             Carmel & Michael Schramm
Ottumwa, IA                            Russell, IA                                Rhinelander, WI
Metal - Booth #128                Fiber - Booth #8                      Jewelry - Booth #34

Looking forward to lots more fun and excitement throughout the summer!

It's HERE!  The Iowa Arts Festival, presented by Veridian Credit Union takes place this weekend in downtown Iowa City.  A few things you should know:

1)  Road construction on the I-80/I-380 interchange is affecting traffic flow, so plan accordingly. All of the cloverleaf ramps are closed. Click here for the Iowa DOT and more information.

2)  You'll want to take exit 244 (Dubuque Street) from I-80 to get to the festival.  There are lots of parking ramps in the downtown area. Click here for a map of downtown showing available parking. 

3)  The main stage is set up across Dubuque Street at Iowa Avenue.  Bring your lawn chairs and pick your spot early for the best seating.

4)  The festival is FREE for all of the entertainment and the Art Fair and most Children's Activities.

5)  We encourage you to take advantage of the great food vendors in Culinary Row and Culinary Corner during your visit!

6)  Bring sun screen!  Even thought the weather is forecast to be cooler this weekend, you can still get burned with that bright Iowa sun!

7)  Complete programs are available at our merchandise, information, volunteer check-in and Hydration Stations.

8)  The majority of the activities will take place even if there's a little rain.  In case of severe weather, we will post on our website and Facebook.

9)  For out of town guests, there has been a fire at the Johnson County Landfill which is leaving a dark cloud over our area.  The City and County are monitoring the situation very closely and at this time they haven't recorded major problem with the air quality, but those who are asthmatic should definitely keep an eye on the status to keep themselves healthy.  Click here for more information and updates from the City of Iowa City.

Click on the Iowa Arts Festival logo for more information.  Hope to see you at the festival!

It's hard to believe it, but our season officially kicks off this Friday, May 18th with the Friday Night Concert Series, presented by Billion Automotive.  Join us from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Weatherdance Fountain Stage for the City High and West High Jazz Ensembles!  This week's Saturday Night Concert Series, presented by MidWestOne Bank and Integrated DNA Technologies will showcase local favorite Kevin B.F. Burt with his new band Big Medicine from 6:30 - 9 p.m. at the Weatherdance Fountain Stage.

If you haven't already marked your calendars for June 1-3, you'll definitely want to be in downtown Iowa City for the Iowa Arts Festival, presented by Veridian Credit Union.  We have LOTS of great surprises at this year's festival featuring incredible entertainment, artists, food and fun.  Plan to experience "All Kinds of ARTS for All Kinds of People!"

VOLUNTEER:  We are looking for volunteers to help with the Iowa Arts festival and it's as simple as clicking on the "Volunteer" tab above, completing on on-line application and selecting the area and shifts you'd like to work!  It takes nearly 200 volunteers to staff the Iowa Arts Festival, so please consider helping with a few hours of your time!  If you completed an application last year, you should be able to sign into your profile, update it if necessary, then select your shifts!  Thanks to our Volunteer Sponsor, Meardon, Sueppel & Downer PLC for supporting this important program!

See you at the festivals!

Downtown Iowa City is the place to be this summer for music, arts, culture and family fun.  Kick off your summer with the Friday Night Concert Series, presented by Billion Automotive, May 18, 2012, and enjoy the talented City High and West High Jazz Bands.  Join the fun on the Iowa City Pedestrian Plaza each Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and bask in the music of David Zollo, The Fez, Orquesta Alto Maiz, The Funkdaddies, and Tasty Trigger just to name a few.

Downtown Saturday Night is now the Saturday Night Concert Series, presented by MidWestOne Bank and Integrated DNA Technologies.  This event now features many local favorites and some new bands in an eclectic line-up starting May 19, 2012, and running each week from 6:30 – 9 p.m. at the Weatherdance Fountain Stage on the Ped Mall.  Check out performers such as Kevin B.F. Burt, Slip Silo,  Mad Monks and The Beaker Brothers.  The rain location for BOTH the Friday and Saturday Night Concert Series is the lower level of the Chauncey Swan parking ramp.

Iowa City welcomes the Iowa City Arts Festival, presented by Veridian Credit Union, the weekend of June 1-3, 2012.  The main stage on Friday night brings home local legend Greg Brown with his friends and family including Pieta Brown, Bo Ramsey and The Pines.  This special evening will kick off at 7 p.m.  and they’ll play throughout the evening!  Also, new in 2012, portions of the Art Fair (Washington Street and Dubuque Street) will be open Friday evening from 5 – 7 p.m.

Saturday provides an abundance of activities for the whole family including the Art Fair, Family & Weatherdance Fountain Stage performances, Global Village cultural activities for kids, and main stage performers from all over the country.  The main stage features local and national favorites including Bree Nettie, Ben Schmidt, The Recliners, Joy Kills Sorrow, and Carrie Rodriguez.  Saturday night’s headliner is sure to inspire as we welcome Los Lobos to the Iowa Arts Festival.  Known for so much more than their hit La Bamba, they continue to grow and create exciting new music!

Sunday the main stage will feature performances from local talent including the Awful Purdies, Iowa City Community Band and Collectible Boys.  The rest of the festival will offer a wide variety of activities including the Art Fair, Culinary Row, the Family Stage, FUN Zone, Emerging Artist Pavilion, Children’s Day Activities and of course the strolling entertainers throughout the festival. 

The Free Movie Series presented by Knutson Construction and The Daily Iowan will start the following weekend on June 9, 2012, with Night at the Museum, Rated PG.  Movies will be held Saturdays through August 11th on the Pentacrest lawn in front of Macbride Hall at sunset.  Be sure to bring your blankets and/or lawn chair to enjoy great movies like the The Goonies, Hugo, and The Lion King starting at sunset.  Watch for special activities before some movies and extended hours at the UI Museum of Natural History. NEW this year – we will have a rain location for the movies in Macbride Auditorium.

The Iowa City Jazz Festival, presented by the University of Iowa Community Credit Union, is scheduled for June 29-July 1, 2012, and features some new twists this year.  Festival goers will enjoy four stages featuring a variety of jazz styles along with a combination of local, regional, and national talent.  You’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy Culinary Row, the Artist Booths, FUN Zone and Beverage Garden.

The main stage kicks off Friday night with some Iowa talent including the United Jazz Ensemble featuring students from City and West High Schools, Groove Theory, and the 

Iowa Jazz Orchestra joins vocalist Kevin Mahogany.  At 54 years old, Mahogany has an extraordinary career and is described as “…unquestionably one of today’s most exciting and musically adept jazz vocalists”.  On Saturday you can enjoy more talented young people with the North Corridor Jazz All Stars, followed by the Marco Benevento Trio and Todd Sickafoose Tiny Resistors.  The night wraps up with the Robert Glasper Experiment.  Saturday’s performers fuse together jazz, rock, hip hop and some blues, so definitely something for everyone.

The excitement continues on Sunday with the Al Naylor Group, featuring teacher and trumpeter Al Naylor.  Also performing on the main stage are the Ariel Pocock Trio and Heath Brothers Quartet.  The headliner Sunday night is a new venture entitled “Mumbo Jumbo, a Tribute to Paul Motian”.  The band is made up of Matt Wilson, Chris Cheek, Mat Maneri, Steve Cardenas and Thomas Morgan celebrating the life and talent of jazz drummer Paul Motian, who died last fall. 

Sand in the City, presented by Bank of the West, continues to grow in its fourth year.  There are currently a few more slots available for teams wanting to compete in this friendly team-building contest.  This year the theme is “Around the World”, providing the teams a great opportunity to really be creative with their sculptures.  We will again feature live music throughout the weekend of August 10-12, Culinary Row, Artist Booths and a FUN Zone, but this year we’ll also be adding a couple of new components to the festival.  7G Distributing will be bringing a Beverage Garden to the event and we’ll be hosting mini sand sculpting competitions for the public on Saturday and Sunday along with an expanded FUN Zone.

Food Vendor applications for our 2012 festivals are now available on our vendor page here.  Deadline to apply is March 15, 2012.  Receive the early bird discount if application and full payment are received by March 1.

Summer of the Arts had a wonderful 2011 season and we are hard at work on plans for 2012!  Our dates for next year are:

• Friday Night Concert Series: May 18 - August 31
• Downtown Saturday Night: May 19 - Septermber 1
  
• Iowa Arts Festival: June 1 - 3
  
• Free Movie Series: June 9 - August 11
  
• Iowa City Jazz Festival: June 29 - July 1
  
• Sand in the City: August 10 - 12

But that's not all!!

We are collaborating with a variety of entities on arts and culture-based activities that will take place in the next 6 months. Be sure to regularly check our "Other Events" page for more information, but mark your calendars:

• December 2 & 3 - Celebrate the Season in Downtown Iowa City!
• December 15 - REVISED deadline for high school students to submit artwork for the Corridor Jazz Project CD cover art competition.  The winner receives $100!
  
• January 22 - Coralville's WinterFest presented by Veridian Credit Union, 1 - 4 p.m. at the Iowa River Landing
  
• April 3 - KCCK's Corridor Jazz Project Performance at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts

Help Support Summer of the Arts:

As 2011 comes to a close, consider making a donation to Summer of the Arts.  Everything helps and our programming enhances the quality of life in the Iowa City area while also positively impacting our local economy.  Click here to donate on-line today!

Thank you and Happy Holidays to everyone!

 Now that our 2011 regular season is over, I want to send out a BIG thank you to everyone who makes Summer of the Arts possible!

• First, my staff, interns and dedicated volunteers
• Our Board of Directors and Planning Committees
• The 450+ volunteers who helped with the festivals
• The sponsors and individual's support with monetary and in-kind contributions
• All of the people who attended our festivals

We live in a tremendous community which actively supports the arts.  Every year we ask for more -- more volunteers, more money, more gifts and the community steps up to help us continue bringing these great events to the Iowa City area.  This year we had many new businesses not only sponsoring our events, but also providing gifts in-kind like transportation and meals for our performers.

A special thank you goes to the City of Iowa City and Integrated DNA Technologies for their long-term investment in Summer of the Arts.  Special thanks also to all of our presenting and title sponsors: The Iowa City Press-Citizen, Bank of the West, MidWestOne Bank, the Downtown Association of Iowa City, M.C. Ginsberg Jewelers, the Daily Iowan, Toyota-Scion of Iowa City, MidAmerican Energy, John's Grocery, The Sheraton Iowa City Hotel, 7G Distributing, U.S. Cellular, West Music, hotelVetro, moengroup and Miron Construction.

I'd also like to thank all of our wonderful media partners who helped us get the word out to everyone about our programming.

Please visit our sponsors page to see the long list of businesses who supported us this season.

We're already making plans for next year, so if you have suggestions for musicians, movies or performers, let us know!  Also, if you'd like to get involved with a committee, we value your input.

THANK YOU!

Lisa Barnes, Executive Director

 REFRESH Our Community!

Think, Be, Live GREEN

Support Summer of the Arts’ Green Initiatives!

VOTE daily through August 31^st to help Summer of the Arts receive $10,000 to continue funding of our green initiative!  Since its creation in October of 2005, Summer of the Arts has continued to look for ways to provide tremendous FREE family-friendly programming while also being aware of the impact our festivals have on our environment. 

We have worked hard to decrease our impact on the environment by looking for creative ways to green our festivals.  It started with asking our food vendors to use biocompostable foodware and selling BPA free stainless steel water bottles.  This year with the support of Rockwell Collins and MidAmerican Energy, we added Eco Stations, Eco Education tents and Valet Bicycle Parking at our weekend festivals. 

It’s a good start, but we know we can do more with your help!  The Pepsi Refresh grant will help us purchase imprinted umbrellas and stands to shade our Green Team Volunteers who spend hours at the festivals educating the public about recycling and composting options.  We would also be able to purchase additional Eco Stations so that they can be more widely used during our festivals. There are many other areas where this grant could impact our efforts:

• Long-lasting signage and banners for the Eco Stations
• Highly visible T-shirts for Green Team volunteers
• Management of the Eco Stations including cleaning, storage, emptying, etc.
• Purchase of equipment and supplies for Valet Bicycle Parking

How can you help?  Vote daily through August 31 at www.refresheverything.com/summerofthearts or text your vote of 107830 to 73774. Thank you!

OK, so it's not exactly a sand storm, but I guarantee, it will be TONS of sand on the streets of downtown Iowa City August 12- 14!  We are excited to celebrate the third year of Sand in the City and we have 13 teams who have been working throughout the spring to determine their design and master the fine art of sand sculpting.  

On Friday, August 12, the competition takes place from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Iowa Avenue between Dubuque Street and Linn Street.  Around 4:30 p.m. we'll be announcing the winners and then we'll all relax and enjoy the sites and sounds of The Funkdaddies from 5 - 8 p.m.  Bring the kids to play in the Giant Sand Pit and the FUN Zone!  There will also be artists and culinary delights to feed all aspect of your spirit!

Throughout the weekend you'll have the opportunity to purchase sand dollars and vote for YOUR favorite sand sculpture!  Beware!  The teams will be trying to entice you to vote for their sculpture!

Join us for all of the fun!

To all of the fans who came downtown Friday, May 27th looking for the David Zollo and the Body Electric concert, I wanted to explain the rain procedure and what happened.

We are always at the mercy of the weather and on Fridays and Saturdays, we watch the forecast and radar very closely to determine if we need to move the concert to the Chauncey Swan parking ramp. This worked well for the first Friday Night Concert Series on May 20th and the new rain location is very good!

Unfortunately, we weren't as lucky May 27th.  All of the forecasts said cloudy with the chance of scattered sprinkles, but not "rain".  Sprinkles we can manage, but by 6:30 p.m., it had rained enough that holding the concert could've not only been dangerous due to the amount of water around the equipment and sound board, but also wasn't possible because of the amount of rain on the performer's instruments.  The decision to cancel was made due to these factors and our concern for the safety of the attendees and performers.  

Once we are set up at the normal location on the Ped Mall it isn't possible to move to the rain location without a minimum delay of 2 hours.  This is why we work hard to make a decision by 4 p.m.  We have been lucky many times when the weather has passed quickly, or not not affected the performance until much later so most of the concert can take place, but it just doesn't always cooperate.

We appreciate the support of our community and will strive to keep everyone better informed of any changes in the future.  A cancellation or move will be posted on our website home page, Facebook and sent out via Twitter as soon as a decision is made.

Looking forward to many more GREAT concerts this summer!

For out of town travelers coming to our festivals, access couldn't be easier and parking is abundant in the downtown Iowa City Area. 

The easiest access is from I-80 exiting at Dubuque Street (Exit #242).  You'll head South and if you were able to keep driving, you'd run right into our festivals!

The Friday Night Concert Series and Downtown Saturday Night both take place on the Ped Mall (Dubuque Street) outside of the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel.  If you come into town on Dubuque Street and go as far as you can go, you'll come to Washington Street where you'll turn left and go one block to Linn Street and turn right. Continue South two blocks to the City Parking ramp on your right (it's next door to the Sheraton).

For our rain location on Friday and Saturday in the Chauncey Swan ramp, you would continue on Washington Street one more block to Gilbert Street where you'll turn right, go one block to College Street and turn left, the ramp is immediately on your left.  The performance will be held on the lower level of the ramp.

The Iowa Arts Festival takes place on a number of downtown streets:

• Iowa Avenue from Clinton Street to Linn Street
• Dubuque Street from Jefferson Street to College Street
• Linn Street from Iowa Avenue to Washington Street
• Washington Street from Clinton Street to Linn Street
• Ped Mall -- Dubuque Street from Washington Street to College Street

The Iowa City Jazz Festival takes place with the Main Stage on the University of Iowa Pentacrest in front of the Old Capitol as well as Clinton Street from Washington Street to Jefferson Street and Iowa Avenue from Clinton Street to Dubuque Street.

Sand in the City takes place on Iowa Avenue from Clinton Street to Linn Street and Dubuque Street from Washington Street to Jefferson Street.

The Free Movie Series takes place on the University of Iowa Pentacrest outside of Macbride Hall (to the NE of the Old Capitol)

For a map of Downtown parking, click here.

See you at the festivals!

 By Lisa Barnes, Executive Director

Summer of the Arts is definitely the best place to work!  We work hard throughout the year, but especially now as we prepare to officially kickoff our 2011 season!  With a staff of 2 1/2 people, plus a number of interns, our office is usually hopping, but that's just one part of preparing for our festivals.

With six major festivals (The Iowa Arts Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, Sand in the City, the Friday Night Concert Series, Downtown Saturday Night and the Free Movie Series), we count on businesses and individuals to help us continue our history of excellence in providing some of the best entertainment in the state.  In 2010, we had over 400 volunteers donate over 2000 hours of their time to help us produce these festivals.  From our tremendous Board of Directors, to the fabulous planning commitees to the hundreds of people who volunteer a few hours or an entire weekend, THANK YOU!  We couldn't do this without you!  In the very near future, our new Volunteer Registration software will be LIVE on our website and you'll be able to complete an application and sign up for your preferred shifts!  In the meantime, if your business would like to get involved and volunteer as a group, please contact Ashley@summerofthearts.org.

As a non-profit organization who provides hundreds of FREE performances, we rely on the generosity of businesses and individuals to help us continue to provide programming.  Thanks to all of our sponsors and all of the individuals who have made a donation to Summer of the Arts!  If you haven't donated this year, but enjoy our programming, consider it today.  Simply click on the "Donate" button on our website.  You also have the opportunity to make a donation at all of our festivals.  So, think about what it would cost to go to a "regular" concert where you would have to pay to see Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo, the Josh Roseman Unit or Randy Weston?  While you're sitting in your lawn chair enjoying some amazing music, drop a few dollars (or more) into one of the buckets brought around by our volunteers and interns or stop by the Merchandise Booth and make a donation.

With your help, we will continue growing and providing more opportunities for everyone to experience arts and culture in the area!

Thanks to this year's overall sponsor -- the City of Iowa City and our Presenting Sponsors: The Iowa City Press-Citizen, Bank of the West, The Downtown Association of Iowa City, MidWestOne Bank, M.C. Ginsberg Jewelers and The Daily Iowan for their generous support!

Thanks also to our title sponsors: Toyota-Scion of Iowa City, MidAmerican Energy, Sheraton Iowa City Hotel, hotelVetro, West Music, moengroup and of course our newest title sponsor -- Integrated DNA Technologies!