Have a blast with your family and friends this 4th of July!

• The Lions will serve an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast in the city park from 7am-10am. $7 for adults, half price for kids 5-10, kids 4 and under eat free.
• Kids' games will begin at 4pm.
• Popcorn and drinks will be available under the Lions' tent beginning at 5pm.
• Street dance, featuring the Harvest Band beginning at 6pm. Courtesy of the Keosauqua Chamber of Commerce.
• The fireworks display at dark.

The Villages Folk School specializes in providing learning experiences in traditional arts and skills while drawing upon the uniqueness of each of the eleven historic Villages of Van Buren County Iowa. Classes are held in peaceful rural settings so students can return to a simpler time and witness the importance of the artisan in village-life. Pre-registration is required for classes.

• Blacksmithing: Tong Making with Bill Printy & Mark Heisdorffer

Pre-registration is required for classes.
Register for July Classes

Postponed

Come enjoy a day or two carving on your own project or learning from an instructor! There will be wood, tools & some carving for sale. 

$20 per Person per Day, Includes Lunch & Snacks.
Sat. 9am-4pm & Sun. 9am-3pm.

Register for Carving On The River

Visit specialty shops, Mason House B&B and historic characters from Bentonsport's past and hear their tales.

Enjoy FREE covered wagon tours, artisan demonstrations, two old men with free advise, live music, street entertainers, food vendors, homemade pies and more. 

The Mason House Inn will serve walking tacos to eat in their dining room or take outside to a table between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fiddler Tom Shadonix will have your toes tapping at the Greef General Store.

10am - Shops and museums open. To be eligible for the gift basket drawing, ask for a Train Boarding Pass from any shopkeeper or the Indian Artifact Museum. Visit all six places and get your ticket punched. Take your punched ticket to the Two Old Men with Free Advice table and place it in the box for entries. Drawing at 4:30 p.m. Need not be present to win.

Artisan demonstrations begin at shops.

Two Old Men with Free Advice opens.

Covered wagon tours offered near the pedestrian bridge. Tours last about 20 to 22 minutes and a wagon leaves about every 12 to 14 minutes. Can reserve a time.

Courts ready for croquet, bocce ball and corn hole players on the east end of the village.

Juggler Keith Dimmit entertains intermittently throughout the day in the area between the bridge, gazabo, and Greef Store.

Big Guys Barbeque food vendor opens.

Pie and ice cream stand opens. Bentonsport Improvement Association (BIA) offers homemade pies by piece or whole for a free-will donation. Donations will be used to rebuild the west stone wall at the historic Presbyterian church.

Ken McLeland and Jim Settles sing and play guitar.

11am - Fiddler Tom Shadonix plays at the Greef General Store until 2 pm. 

Mason House Inn proprietors serve walking tacos. Dine inside or take out until 1 p.m.

2pm - Pie Eating Contest
Contestants race to finish eating pie. Ribbons awards.

4:30pm - Drawing at Two Old Men with Free Advice table for the basket of gifts from Bentonsport shops.

5pm Close. Thank you for visiting Bentonsport National Historic District. Visit us again soon.

Download Heritage Day 2021 Poster 

Enjoy a week of fun at the Van Buren County Fair! Featuring: Fair Queen Contest, 4-H and FFA exhibits all week long & more!

Some of the best painters in the tri-state region will gather to compete for cash and prizes in the 5th annual Villages Folk School’s plein air competition “Paint The Fair”. Wednesday is a painters’ workshop on the fairgrounds, Thursday, painters disperse across the county to paint in outdoor settings. Friday, painters work on the grounds with judging and public exhibit/reception at 5pm under the grandstands. Paintings will be for sale.

The Villages Folk School specializes in providing learning experiences in traditional arts and skills while drawing upon the uniqueness of each of the eleven historic Villages of Van Buren County Iowa. Classes are held in peaceful rural settings so students can return to a simpler time and witness the importance of the artisan in village-life. Pre-registration is required for classes.

• Blacksmithing: Tool Making with Bill Printy & Mark Heisdorffer

Pre-registration is required for classes.
Register for July Classes

Come enjoy a summer night in Downtown Bonaparte!

All of the shops will be open throughout the evening.
Corn Hole Games, Inflatables for Kids, Hot Rocks & Chalk drawing. 

4-8pm Ice Cream Social in the Opera House
Served by the Bonaparte United Church
Menu: Creamed Chicken or Maidrite Sandwich meal. Variety of Ice Cream and Desserts,

5pm  Street Dance 
Music by: Dusty Ramblers 
Beer Garden- hosted by the Bonaparte Community Improvement Associ. 

 7-9pm BINGO in the Opera House