Hosted by the Parks & Recreation Department, Party in the Park is one of Vinton’s most popular annual events in early summer. After Party in the Park, people are sometimes left wondering, “What else is left to do in Vinton for the rest of summer?” Well, we have answers right here:

July 7: VINTON UNLIMITED GOLF TOURNAMENT–Hosted by yours truly, this is the annual two-person best shot golf tournament that takes place at the Vinton Country Club at 4:00pm Friday, July 7^th. Play a round of golf with your friends and participate in fun activities with the hole sponsors. Registration forms can be found at the Country Club, the VU office, or on the VU website; registration is only $25/person. Cash prizes are awarded to top golfers. 

July 12-16: BENTON COUNTY FAIR–This five day event is a great opportunity to hang out with family or friends. Feeling adventurous? Purchase tickets or a wristband and go on some rides. Don’t like rides? Go pet the bunnies, ducklings, and cows. Scared of rides and cute animals? Well, there’s always plenty of food to eat and carnival games to play. 

July 22: 4^THSTREET CAR CRUISE–Taking place on Saturday, July 22^nd, this is the 33^rdannual Vinton Car Cruise. The cars that participate in the cruise range from classic cars to street rods to muscle cars to antiques. This car cruise is one of the largest in Iowa, with about 300-400 participating annually. If you are interested in joining, registration is 3:00-6:45pm on July 22^ndat the Court House. 

August 26: BOOM-FEST & BOOMTOWN–Boom-fest is the annual Arts & Crafts Festival in downtown Vinton hosted by Vinton Unlimited. Kid activities, food vendors, and live music also fill the streets alongside the artisans and crafters. VU is still looking for arts & crafts, farmers market, antique, repurposed treasures, and food vendors. Visit the VU website if you are interested in being a vendor. That same day, at approximately 9:30pm, Iowa Pyrotechnic Association puts on one of the most amazing firework displays one will ever see. The show takes place on the racetrack at the Benton County Fairgrounds – tickets for bleacher seating can be purchased. 

Keep in mind that there are always ongoing activities to do as well, like going to the swimming pool, shopping at the farmer’s market, visiting our parks, watching the weekly movie at the Palace Theatre, shopping at our downtown stores, and getting some exercise on the bike trials. 

Take a swing at the Vinton Unlimited annual two-person best shot golf tournament! Taking place at the Vinton Country Club, this golf tournament is scheduled for Friday, July 7^that 4:00 PM. The evening’s top golfers take home cash prizes! 

This annual golf tournament is so much more than just a round of golf – participants also get to play fun games with our 2017 hole sponsors, have the opportunity to win raffle prizes, and are given the chance to purchase mulligan and/or granny shots. This golf tournament is guaranteed to be a blast, so find a friend and register today! 

Registration forms can be found at the Vinton Country Club, the Vinton Unlimited Office (located in City Hall), and on the Vinton Unlimited website (vinton.info). Registration is only $25 per person for the 9-hole tournament. Join Vinton Unlimited and our 2017 hole sponsors at the annual two-person best shot golf tournament on Friday, July 7^th.

Any questions or concerns can be directed at the Vinton Unlimited Intern, Celia Turner, by phone at 319-472-3955 or by email at [email protected].

2017 Golf Tournament Hole Sponsors:

1. Farmers Savings Bank & Trust 

2. Home Instead Senior Care

3. Virginia Gay Hospital & Clinics

4. Koop’s

5. Cedar Valley Bank & Trust

6. Fareway

7. US Cellular EchoVision

8. Farm Bureau Financial Services – Teresa Meyer

9. Custom Millwork & Finishing 

Vinton is a beautiful town that has countless opportunities; to show-case that, this will be the first article of many that will highlight some of Vinton’s assets. 

In a recent interview, Tony Islas describes what the Vinton-Shellsburg School District has to offer. Islas offers a unique perspective on the school – not only is he the Vice Principle of Vinton-Shellsburg High School, but he is a parent of two students as well. 

Islas considers moving to this school district an amazing upgrade; he goes on to list some of the many reasons he took this job in Vinton; starting with the educational and extra-curricular opportunities the school offers for the kids. Just the high school alone offers everything from a variety of sports to several fine art programs to community volunteering opportunities. He also enjoys the location and size of Vinton because everyone knows everyone and it’s right in between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo if you ever need to go out of town for something.

When asked of what he loves about this school, Islas talks about safety first. He considers the Vinton-Shellsburg School District a very safe one – “The local authorities are very interactive with the school district between their walk-throughs and visitations,” Islas explains. On top of safety, the district has incredible teachers and administrative staff. Islas mentions an incredible award Tilford Principle, Jim Murray, was awarded just this year: Elementary Principle of the Yearby the School Administrators of Iowa. Vinton-Shellsburg is small enough that students can develop mentoring relationships with their teachers, coaches, and other staff; but big enough that students have many educational opportunities. But Islas’ favorite thing about the school? The students. Islas is delighted by the relationships he’s developed with them; merely being a part of their lives and being a role model for kids makes him smile in the morning. He loves it when the students share stories with him or come to him with questions or troubles. 

Between the students, the staff, the safety, and the opportunities, Vinton-Shellsburg is a fantastic school to work for and to enroll your children in. 

12. PALACE THEATRE:Do you ever get tired of the summer heat? Cool off by sitting down for a good movie and some delicious Palace Theatre popcorn. The Palace Theatre shows a new movie every week beginning on Fridays. 

11. BIKE TRAILS:Yes! Vinton has bike trials! Mostly aimed for mountain biking; check out Old Creamery or VORC’s trails. 

10. FISHING ON THE CEDAR RIVER:Weather permitting, take a boat or stand on a bank! The Cedar River is great for fishing! 

9. SCAVENGER HUNT:Do you have bored kids at home? Send them on a walk to find all 20 corn statues around town (placed by Vinton Guild of Fine Arts). Already found the corn statues? Have them find the 21 wood carvings done by local artist, Brian Parr, instead. If interested, you can find these brochures on Vinton Unlimited’s website, in City Hall, or at our four gas stations. 

8. SHOPPING:Residents often forget about the amazing stores we have in town. Spend a shopping day in town and visit stores like Henkle Creek and Clingman Pharmacy. 

7. GOLFING:The Vinton Country Club has a fantastic golf course fit with two par threes, a dogleg par five, and a water hazard between holes four and five. 

6. BENTON COUNTY FAIR:From July 12^ththrough the 16^th, the county fair is coming to the fairgrounds in Vinton. Go on rides, pet cute animals, play carnival games, look at 4-H projects, eat lots of junk food, and watch some races. 

5. 4^THSTREET CAR CRUISE:The cars that participate in the cruise on July 22^ndrange from classic cars to street rods to muscle cars to antiques. This car cruise is one of the largest in Iowa, with about 300-400 participating annually. If you are interested in joining, registration is 3:00-6:45pm the day of the cruise at the Court House.  

4. FARMERS MARKET:Open through September, Vinton’s farmers market takes place every Thursday night from 5-7 PM. Visit Vinton’s area growers, crafters, artisans, and producers at the Railroad Depot.

3. SWIMMING POOL:Make a splash at our local swimming pool; open until mid-August. The Vinton Swimming Pool is fit with diving boards AND a slide! Pool hours vary between general, lap, and family swim. 

2. PARKS:Get active while staying local – visit one of Vinton’s many parks! Play disc golf or volleyball at Riverside, do some yoga at Celebration Park, climb crazy spider web equipment at Tilford, grill out at Kiwanis Park, swing at BL Anderson, camp out with the family at Rodger’s, go down a roller pin slide at the Braille School, or play basketball at Jaycee Park. 

1. BOOMTOWN:At approximately 9:30 PM on August 26^th, Iowa Pyrotechnic Association puts on one of the most amazing firework displays one will ever see. The firework show takes place at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The same day, Vinton Unlimited hosts Boom-fest: Kid activities, crafters, food vendors, artisans, and live music fill the downtown streets of Vinton. 

Vinton Unlimited’s 8^thAnnual Boomfest is right around the corner! For those that don’t know what Boomfest entails, this event is an arts and crafts festival that takes over Vinton’s downtown district the morning and afternoon before Boomtown (Iowa Pyrotechnic Association’s spectacular firework display). 

Kicking off Boomfest morning, The Kiwanis Club hosts ‘Bring the Noise’ 5K run/walk that starts on the east side of the courthouse at 9AM. Boomfest takes place on 4^thStreet and 1^stAvenue in Downtown Vinton on Saturday, August 26^th. Vendors are open for business starting at 10AM; following the vendors, free inflatables sponsored by Cedar Valley Bank & Trust, Farmers Savings Bank, and US Bank are available from 11AM to 3PM. Streets open and vendors close at 4PM to get ready for the firework displays!

Boomfest offers an incredible range of vendors including repurposed treasures, antiques, and information booths. Food vendors include everything from cupcakes to Mexican; while arts & craft vendors range from origami to beautiful signs. While you’re downtown, take some fun photos at the Boomfest Photo Booth and be sure to get your child(ren) an ID card from the Benton County Sheriff Office. 

Check out the full list of Boomfest Vendors on the Vinton Unlimited website: vinton.info. For more information contact Melissa Schwan from Vinton Unlimited at 319-472-3955.