Barnyard Readers: America’s Flag
June 20: 9:30 a.m., Living History Farms, 11121 Hickman Road, Urbandale
Children ages 3 to 5 with an accompanying adult will read “F is for Flag” and “Why are There Stripes on the Flag?” Learn about the flag and flag etiquette at Living History Farms’ one-room schoolhouse then design your own flag to take home. Registration is required at lhf.org. For parent and child ,$34; for members $30; for each additional child $12, $10 for members.
Discovering Quad Cities Civil War History
June 20: 10 a.m., Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf
Learn about the history of Camp McClellan, a former Union Army camp located in Davenport, and its importance during the Civil War. Founded in August 1861, the camp served as a training area for new recruits, a hospital for injured soldiers, and eventually, a prison camp. The renowned Iowa 8th Infantry Regiment began its service there and participated in notable battles, including Shiloh. For more information, go to bettendorflibrary.com.
Along the Way rural benefit concert
June 20: Monroe County Fairgrounds, 6393 170th St., Albia
Concert featuring Jason Brown, founder of Along the Way, with local opening performers, raising funds for a new livestock Pavilion on the fairgrounds. Adult and Kid fun events, beer garden and dancing.
Freedom Festival
June 25: 4 p.m.,51 First Ave. Bridge, Cedar Rapids
The Freedom Festival kicks off America’s 250th birthday celebration with the theme “Let’s Party Like It’s 1776.” Enjoy a drone show, parade, live music, cardboard boat races, fireworks and more while honoring veterans and military members.
Ask the Expert: Independence Day Celebrations
June 25: 6 p.m., virtual on IowaPBS.com
Discover how the Fourth of July became a fixture in Iowa tradition and what components made up the celebration, including speeches, parades, music, decorations and fireworks. Photographs of re-created celebrations at Living History Farms and historic newspaper accounts will make history come to life. Presented by Janet Dennis, director of interpretation at Living History Farms. Free with signup required. For more information, go to iowapbs.com.
America 250 in Lowden
June 27: 11 a.m., Lowden Memorial Park, Eighth Street and Park Avenue, Lowden
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday and help raise funds for the revitalization of Lowden Memorial Park. The day starts with a parade at 11 a.m. and includes a car show, carnival games, bean bag tournament and more. For more information, go to lowden.gov.
Sounds of America Day Camp
June 29: 9 a.m., Living History Farms, 11121 Hickman Road, Urbandale
Study composers, musicians, and artists spanning over 300 years while preparing for a concert of your own to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Campers will learn instrumental and vocal repertoire from Iowa composers, as well as dances from historic Iowa musicals such as “The Music Man.” Also, learn Iowa’s state song, “The Song of Iowa.” For middle schoolers entering sixth, seventh and eighth grades in fall 2026. Must have taken a minimum one year of chorus, band or orchestra at school. Campers also are invited to perform in Living History Farms’ Independence Day Celebration at 3 p.m. July 4. Register and pay at lhf.org.
Clayton County Museum Crawl
Through June 30: Clayton County Iowa Museum, 200 E Bridge St., Elkader
Learn about the history of northeast Iowa with a museum crawl. Visit six or more of the museums located in Clayton County and have a punch card stamped to be in a drawing for a prize.
In Flanders Field The Poppies Grow: Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge and Quilts of Valor Exhibit
Through July 5: 10 a.m., Iowa Quilt Museum, 68 E Court Ave., Winterset
Exhibit includes a collection of six quilts of valor surrounded by 225 cherrywood poppy quilt challenge quilts with a military/veteran theme. Also, an American Album quilt featuring the 50 states in the order of when they joined the union.
National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition
Through to July 25, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, 502 W Water St., Decorah
See contemporary artists creating in the Norwegian-American tradition. For more information, go to vesterheim.org.
Summer camps at the Grout Museum District
Through Aug. 3: 9 a.m., Grout Museum District, 503 South St., Waterloo
Themes include Road Trip Across America, Art in Americana, American Folklore, and more. Registration is required at groutmuseumdistrict.org with prices starting at $30.
40th Anniversary Summer Iowa Games
Through Aug. 31, various times and locations
The Summer Iowa Games presented by Grinnell Mutual will celebrate 40 years this annual multi-sport festival. More than 40 sports will be offered for athletes of all ages and abilities. For schedule, visit iowagames.org/summer-iowa-games.
250 Stops in 250 Days along Iowa’s Lincoln Highway
Through Sept. 5: online event
The Lincoln Highway was America’s first planned, improved and promoted transcontinental automobile route. Over 250 days, the Facebook page Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway will highlight a different stop daily, from monuments and museums to restaurants and roadside markers, on the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway, a designated National Scenic Byway.
Paper Money of the Revolutionary War Era
Through Sept. 6: 11:30 a.m., Higgins Museum of National Bank Notes, 1507 Sanborn Avenue, Okoboji
The Higgins Museum presents a special display of 31 bank notes issued during the colonial period and the early statehood era. Continental currency issued by Congress during the Revolutionary War will be on display.
Prairie, Plows and the People’s College
Through Oct. 2: Farm House Museum, 601 Farm House Lane, Ames
This exhibition honors key people, moments, objects, and experiences with more than 250 primary source objects representing six themes: early Iowa State Agricultural College and Model Farm; early Iowa; immigration; national imagery; native stories; and innovation and the Victorian home.
Shaped by Immigrants: Celebrating 250 years of the United States
Through Nov. 1: 10 a.m., German American Heritage Center and Museum, 712 W Second St., Davenport
History exhibit celebrates immigrant groups that hat settled and made an impact here in the United States. For more information, go to gahc.org.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What to know about America 250 events coming up in Iowa
Reporting by Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
