Events And Activities
JAKES Day: Local group invites youth to learn variety of outdoor sports skills
The Blue Creek Blue Creek Springtime Monarchs (an affiliate of the National Wild Turkey Foundation) is inviting all area youth to its annual JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) Day at the Izaak Walton League facility north of Vinton.
Children age 17 and under are invited to this free event on Saturday, Aug. 13, to enjoy and learn about many activities including hunter's safety, archery, .
Benton County Conservation 5K, Saturday July 23
Benton County Conservation is hosting a 5K trail run/walk on Saturday, July 23rd at 8:00 am.
Registration for the race is $25! The race will begin at the Nature Center, and will end at Rodgers Park.
To register, please contact Scott Bahmann via email at sbahmann@bentoncountyparks.com, or via phone at 319-560-9803.
You may also contact Megan Jorgensen at meganrjorgensen@gmail.
Benton County Community Foundation Awards Ceremony is Tuesday, July 26
The Benton County Community Foundation invites the community to attend their annual Grant Awards Ceremony. The ceremony will be held on July 26 at the Van Horne Community Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Community Foundation will be distributing 31 grants totaling $106,700 to organizations. Grants will be awarded to nonprofits and government entities with projects positively impacting Benton County.
Blood Drive Monday, July 18, 1-6 p.m.
A blood drive will be held on Monday, July 18, at the Vinton Shellsburg High School from 1-6 p.m.
Take a few minutes out of your day, and make a donation if possible!
If enough donations are received the Health Careers class has a potential to receive scholarships from the American Red Cross.
'Night of Destruction' to feature trailer races, other unique events
One of the more popular and unusual events of the year takes place tonight at the Benton County Fair: The Night of Destruction.
The event includes the crowd-pleasing trailer races; despite its name, the event is actually a demolition derby in which drivers begin with a vehicle towing a trailer and drive around the track attempting to separate the other drivers' vehicles from their trailers. LPC FFA Museum to host quilter, June 21
The La Porte City FFA Historical and Ag Museum will host Sheri Lesh, author of creative blog spot, 4 and Fifteen, (4andfifteen.blogspot.com) on Thursday, July 21st from 6:30-8pm. Lesh will talk about how learning to sew in fifth grade translated into a passion for quilting. She will also focus on how the quilting world has changed with the advancement of new technologies and the current resurgence in quilting. Fair begins Wednesday
The Benton County Fair begins on Wednesday, as youngsters from all over the county will bring a variety of projects for judges to evaluate, hoping that theirs will be among the many chosen to advance to the Iowa State Fair.
The daily schedule this year is similar to that of other years, although the event takes place one week earlier than usual because of scheduling conflicts with the company providing carnival rides and games.
Farm Bureau is bringing the heat to the Benton County Fair
The 9th Annual Benton County Farm Bureau Cookout Contest is set for Saturday July 16 at the fairgrounds in Vinton. This will be in conjunction with the Benton County Fair activities. There is no cost to enter the contest, although pre-registration is requested. Interested grillers are asked to call the Benton County Farm Bureau office at (319) 472-4710 or e-mail benton.
PEO MZ to meet July 11; members to carpool to Strawberry Point
PEO Chapter MZ will meet to carpool to Strawberry Point at 8:15 A.M. on Monday, July 11.
Kid's Night Thursday, July 7th, 5-7 p.m. at Vinton Farmers Market
This Thursday July 7th from 5-7 PM will be Kid’s Night at the Vinton Farmers Market. We will be debuting our new Cucumber/Vegetable races where kids will be able to make and decorate their own race cars from veggies...and then race them against others! We will also have our first ever Ugly/Weird/Goofy-Looking Vegetable (or fruit) Contest so if you think you’ve got a potential candidate for this competition, bring it on by the Vinton Railroad Depot by 5:15 PM.