It’s back! The Big Dam Street Festival, presented by the Lake Cooper Foundation, will be going on Thursday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, Sept. 28 along the river’s edge at Victory Park in Keokuk.
Bring a lawn chair, bring a friend, bring the kids; all are welcome to come on down and enjoy the music, games and food next weekend for memorable times along the scenic, muddy Mississippi. A shuttle bus from River City Mall’s parking lot to the riverfront will be available, every half hour, and admission is free. Thursday: Big Guitars and G Strings, 5:30-7:30 p.
m.; StumpTown, 8-11 p.m.
Friday: 6 Strings Down, 5:30-8 p.m.; Lee Henry Road, 8:30-11 p.
m. Saturday: The Sprucells, 5:30-8 p.m.
; Wyatt Ewing and The Boys, 8:30-11 p.m. Every Day: Carnival Rides, Pedal Go-Carts, Pumpkin Decorating, Bingo (in the Beer Garden, sponsored by Acts 2:45).
Tickets get you into the carnival each day, but wristbands are good Friday, 6-10 p.m. and Saturday, 1-5 p.
m. Thursday: Cowboys vs. Giants game on the big screen in the Beer Garden.
Saturday: Oktoberfest will take place from 1-6 p.m. in the Beer Garden area, and include games and clogging dancers from the Raeann School of Dance.
German cuisine of Brats, Kraut and Potato Salad will be served from 1-5 p.m., and a Beer Tasting will be there as well; a custom LCF Stein with 10 beer tastings is available for $20.
Iowa State vs Houston will be on the big screen. Dr. Getwell’s will have ribeyes in the Beer Garden, Sweet Sally’s will have smash burgers and ice cream in the Shelter House, Tastebuds has BBQ, Dawg House offers gourmet hot dogs, Ginger Belly’s has a number of fried foods including tenderloins and Oreos, Bun Buster will have variety food, and others will be present too.
The Lake Cooper Foundation brought the street fair concept back to Keokuk in the mid 20-teens. It was held on Johnson Street and 11th Street for the first few years, until moving to Victory Park in recent years. There’s always something interesting going on.
Last year, someone brought a beautiful, exotic constrictor snake. While carnivals may be all about thrill seeking, this scaled friend was a bit too scary for some guests entering the Beer Garden. So folks, if you bring a furry friend along, please keep it to the family dog on a leash, for everyone’s sake.
The Foundation appears to have resolved these festival foibles, with it returning bigger and better than ever. And best of all, a carnival is still included. Many remember the festival having taken place along Main Street in years past but may wonder why the location has changed.
It turns out there is a reason for this, that we must look to the past to fully understand. Keokuk has a long tradition of providing fairs to its citizens. According to local records, the city hosted both state and county fairs before the Civil War, in the 1840s.
The first Lee County Fair was held there in 1841, and they’ve hosted the Iowa State Fair as well, as far back as 1869. Strictly accounting for street fairs, though, Keokuk’s first was seen in 1898. Local businessmen planned it as a way to attract people to the city, combining it with excitement about Spanish-American war victories.
(The war took place between April and Dec. that year.) Records also describe astonishing trapeze artists, fireworks, a staged Battle of Santiago, a flower parade, and more.
It is thought that nearly 30,000 people came out for this first, four day long street fair in Keokuk. The street fair returned for years (but not every year), till finally “The World’s Largest Street Fair” was closed by the Iowa Department of Transportation. A few previous iterations had brought “rowdiness,” including a shooting in 1901, and criticism by local clergy, so IDOT decided to nix the presence of fairs on state highways.
.. which, as the fair took place on Main, meant it would have to be moved to continue.
So, it comes as no surprise organizers would put on a similar festival keeping with tradition, even if not placed along Main Street. Also keeping with tradition, Lake Cooper Foundation found a way to keep it free for everyone, thanks to a number of sponsors including: City of Keokuk, Conagra, Roquette America, The Keokuk XII, Warsaw Lions Club, Amstead Rail, LCL Farms, AC Contracting, Pilot Grove Bank, Golden Eagle Distributing, Mississippi Valley Publishing, Connection Bank, Krueger Brokerage, Rent A Center, T.S.
S., CCS Contracting, State Central Bank, Henniges Automotive, Creative Hardware, Welch’s Insurance/Ramsey Financial, Two Rivers Bank & Trust, Weichert Realtors The Peevler Team, Keokuk Auto Credit, Ann Menke C.P.
A., WM J. Kraus & Son, Keokuk Collision Center, Discount Tire & Services, United Steelworkers Local 444L, Westridge Mechanical, Taske Force, Midwest Industrial Services, Ideal Ready Mix, Hometown Wine & Sprits, Chief Motel, Climax Molybdenum, Central Iron Metals, Andrew Schulte, Community Health Centers of S.
E. Iowa. Thank you sponsors! Be sure to show your support while down at the fair and support our local economy while you’re out, to ensure the Big Dam Street Festival retains its place as a highlight of the fall season.
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