If you have ever been to our annual Bell Tower Festival you know it is a pretty extravagant festival that takes place the second weekend in June! However, this year, our Bell Tower Festival has something extra special to celebrate, Jefferson is 150 years old!!! That’s right, 150 years old and thriving!

Don’t miss out on attending this one-of-a-kind festival right here in Jefferson, IA! The weekend is jam-packed with family fun activities, a parade, carnival rides and games, a cook-off, food trucks, vendors, a 5K race, entertainment EVERY NIGHT, and so much more!

The event kicks off with a fundraiser dinner Thursday night, June 9th, where you will enjoy a unique experience under a 144-foot custom-made sunshade! With drinks, food, games, prizes, and entertainment it is sure to be a fun time for a great cause! Funding from the dinner will directly feed into the festival allowing it to grow into one of the best small-town festivals in Iowa! Tickets for the dinner can be purchased at https://form.jotform.com/221146213599153 be sure to bring some family and friends along to join in on the celebration!

Now, Thursday sounds great but we are just getting started! Grab your clubs and get ready to hit the green because Friday, June 10th starts off with the Greene County Medical Center Golf Tournament. After you spend the day golfing, take a few minutes for some rest and relaxation, and then make your way to the square because it will be the place to be! Things start getting lively around the square at 5pm with vendors, a brew station, and a carnival…but wait… there’s more! The remainder of the evening will provide an Opening Ceremony, fun activities with Jefferson Library guest artist- Michael Albert, Ironside Axe Throwing, a bags tournament, and live music from Brad Morgan!

Okay, now at this point you may have hit a level of exhaustion you haven’t seen in a while, BUT there is only 1 day left so it’s time to power through the exhaustion and dive into Saturday!!

June 11th is PACKED with so much fun! Calling all early birds… The Fireman’s Breakfast will be hot and ready to go at 6am, for those needing a little more time to sleep in, don’t worry it lasts until 10am! The morning will consist of the Ding Dong Dash 5k, 1k, and Mile, a pickleball tournament, and big wheel races. If you are walking around the square or participating in an event that morning enjoy some delicious aromas as BBQers fire up the grills for the BBQ Contest that will take place later that day.

Mid-morning be sure to line Chestnut street and around the square as the Bell Tower Festival Parade is coming through for all to enjoy! Following the parade, there will be the Reunion Rendevzous, axe throwing, a brew station, Touch-a-Truck, the carnival, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a car show, juggler- Peter Brunette, and trivia!

If you need to go home for a little tiger snooze sometime in the afternoon, it’s okay we understand, no judgment here! Just be sure to get back because the party will still be going on and this evening is one you really don’t want to miss out on!

Get ready for some HOT entertainment on the square stage! Dance along to live music from Jessica McClintock at 5pm, following her performance will be the Sabba Circle Fire Dancers that will surely bring the heat! Ending the night and wrapping up one outstanding weekend of fun is live music from Dirt Road Divide!

It’s official, that completes our wild ride of a weekend! We hope you can join us in celebrating this HUGE milestone! For more detailed information, schedule of events, registrations, and more visit www.belltowerfestival.com. We’ll see you on the square!