With summer creeping around the corner, Colfax awaits the return of popular events including Music in the Park and Mineral Springs Days.
Colfax Main Street is organizing both events, assuring another busy summer ahead.
Before the festivities begin, Main Street will be hosting a downtown cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Volunteers will be walking throughout downtown washing windows, planting flowers and cleaning the streets. Free donuts will also be available at Mineral Springs Park prior to the event.
“That’s a fun time, we’ll take a group picture and just split up into groups,” Colfax Main Street Program Director Emily Perry said. “We’ll walk around downtown, sweep and pick up garbage and plant flowers. So we’re going to just make downtown look pretty.”
A day before the downtown cleanup, the Colfax Main Street will be honored at the Main Street Iowa Awards in Des Moines.
Colfax will receive an award for $2 million to invest in the Colfax downtown by private building owners, doubling last year’s improvements of $1 million.
The volunteer of the year will also be recognized Friday. Main Street has many volunteers who help organize and run events throughout the year. The first of three Music in the Park events — one of Main Streets most well attended — is just more than a week away.
Slipstream will be performing at Women’s Club Park, May 9. Slipstream is a local soft rock band consisting of seven members, drawing experience from many groups including the popular “Eight Track Band.”
Music will return to the park June 20, when the $nacks take the stage. And to close out the 2015, Abby Normal will return to Music in the Park July 18.
“We usually have a pretty good turnout. It’ll be fun,” Perry said. “We’ll have some food and drinks available and people can just come and enjoy the music and hopefully we’ll have nice weather.”
In the event of bad weather, the events will be moved to a rain location.
Aug. 28, Mineral Springs Days returns with another Friday night street dance with music from Lonesome Road. Family activities will continue throughout the weekend, and of course the popular Mineral Springs Demolition Derby will close out the summer Aug. 29.
“It’s fun because we get to put something on that people can come to,” Perry said. “It gives us something to do in Colfax, which is really rewarding.”
Colfax Main Street is also participating in the Keep Iowa Beautiful project, which helps improve the well-being of Iowa’s communities and is centered on historic preservation.
“Main Street’s job is to help revitalize Colfax and it’s a very rewarding job,” Perry said. “The events are a real big part of that. We do a lot of work to beautify and work with the economic development to bring businesses to town and help our existing businesses. The events make it a fun place to come to.”
Colfax Main Street also continues to promote the monthly Second Saturday Vintage Market that attracts many shoppers from the Des Moines metro area. Shoppers will be able to search for that unique item during the next market, May 9.
Contact Alex Olp at
aolp@jaspercountytribune.com