The Covered Bridge Festival is just hours away! Unfortunately, the weather forecast is not what we would all hope for but there’s still plenty of fun to be had…just grab your umbrella and a jacket. We are sturdy Midwesterners, after all.
You’ll want to pepper your day with some inside activities so here is my list of recommendations. Keep scrolling for more details!
- Firefighters Association Pancake Breakfast
- Spelling Bees
- Bridges of Madison County Movie (at the Iowa Theater)
- Kaffe Fassett exhibit at the Iowa Quilt Museum
- John Wayne Birthplace Museum
- Rotary Bridge Tours (on busses)
- Madison County Historical Museum (they have inside attractions as well as outside)
- The ‘Brick & Morter’ stores downtown
- Graham’s Game Café (your wristband allows you to come and go as much as you please so you can dash in when it rains, then back out during the breaks)
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Covered Bridge Festival Guide
In addition to the vendors, live entertainment and kids activities on the square (9am-5pm both days), and the covered bridge bus tours (10am-3pm both days), here is a list of activities happening in conjunction with the festival!
Saturday • October 14
Firefighters Association Pancake Breakfast
6:00 – 11:00am
Antique Tractor Ride
8:30am – Madison County Fairgrounds
Horseshoe Tournament
8:30am – Madison County Fairgrounds
Rotary 5K Walk/Run
9:00am
Register as an individual or as a family team of two. Medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd in each age group, and t-shirts are included for each paid entrant.
Spelling Bees
10:00am Junior, 1:00pm Senior
Passport to the Past
10:00 – 5:00 – Madison County Historical Complex
Bridges of Madison County Movie
11:00am and 2:00pm
Civil War Skirmish
4:00pm – Madison County Historical Complex
WHS Alumni All-Class Reunion
5:00 – 8:30 – Jackson Building
Nighttime Civil War Canon Firing
6:45 for s’mores & popcorn, 7:15 firing
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Sunday • October 15
Firefighters Association Pancake Breakfast
6:00 – 11:00am
Car Show
8:00 – 12:00 registration, 1:30 judging, 3:00 awards
Passport to the Past
10:00 – 5:00 – Madison County Historical Complex
Covered Bridge Festival Parade
3:00pm
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The Bridges of Madison County
October 14 • 11:00am & 2:00pm
The Iowa Theater
A moving love story about a photographer on assignment to shoot the historic bridges of Madison County. He meets a housewife, whose husband and children are away on a trip, and the film traces a brief affair that is never sordid but instead one of two soul mates who have met too late. PG-13, 2 hr, 15 min
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Also This Weekend
Graham’s Game Café – EXTENDED HOURS!
Friday • October 13 • 5:00 – 9:00pm • ALL AGES
Saturday • October 14 • 9:00am – 7:00pm • ALL AGES
Saturday • October 14 • 7:00 – 11:00 • AGES 18+
Sunday • October 15 • 9:00am – 5:00pm • ALL AGES
$5 for ONE DAY, $10 for the WHOLE WEEKEND!
Our friends at Graham’s Game Café are extending their hours next weekend. Festival-goers will have another way to enjoy their weekend, us locals will have something to do if we want to have a break from the festival—OR a place to send the kids so the grownups can walk the square at their own pace!
Hunter Eduction Field Day
Saturday • October 14 • 8:00am – Noon
Madison County Sportsman Club, 4224 Cedar Bridge Rd
Madison County Conservation will be hosting a Hunter Education field day at the Madison County Sportsman Club. To attend this field day, students must complete the online course work and bring the field day voucher to class.
Online Course : https://www.hunter-ed.com/iowa/
Quiet Girl
Sunday • October 15 • 5:30pm
Sunday Movie Club at the Iowa Theater
The movie “The Quiet Girl” was nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film in the 2023 Academy Award competition, the first time an Irish-language film was so honored. The movie is based on a 2010 short novel by Claire Keegan titled “Foster.” Keegan’s story, written in English is so universally admired it is now part of the Ireland’s school syllabus.
The story, set in the 1980s, is about a withdrawn young girl in an ever-expanding poor family who is farmed out to a childless cousin and her husband for the summer, just to get her off her beleaguered mother’s hands. The girl, Cáit, has never met these relatives and is apprehensive, but quiet, about going. The tale is told from Cáit’s point of view, as she adapts to a different sort of life than the one she is used to.
Sunday’s screening is part of the Iowa Theater’s “Sunday Movie Club” series, which offers a thought-provoking, outside-the-mainstream film once a month on the third Sunday. Doors open at 5, with a start time of 5:30. The running time for “The Quiet Girl” is one hour, thirty-five minutes. The film is in Irish, with English subtitles.
Movie club membership is $75 per year and includes twelve screenings, plus the option to reserve a favorite seat for movie club screenings. Nonmembers are welcome to attend for $8. Viewers are invited to hang around after the credits roll to share their thoughts about the film during a brief, optional discussion. Theater manager Scott Smith and board member Marianne Fons will help with the discussion. “I was lucky enough to see this film last year,” Fons said. “Locals who are looking for a way to unwind and be uplifted following our busy weekend should head for the The Iowa, order some buttered popcorn, beer, wine, or a soft drink, and kick back for a satisfying shared experience.”
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Next Week
Vertigo
Wednesday • October 18 • 7:00pm
Way Back Wednesday at The Iowa Theater
Hitchcock’s romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl’s body. This leads into a cycle of madness and lies. 1958, Rated PG, 2 hr, 9 min
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Planning Ahead
The Historical Wizard of Oz
Tuesday • October 17 • 6:00pm
Winterset Public Library
Just hearing the name Oz conjures up fantastic images, adventures, and heartfelt memories. So many of us can recite the plot of the famous story, but how many of us really know what went into creating it? What influences did L. Frank Baum have in his life as he created what is widely acknowledged as America’s First Fairytale? Librarian Laura Keyes will separate fact from fiction as she shares the fantastic story of this amazing man, who created The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Musical Theater Monday Morning
Monday • October 23 • 8:00 – 11:00am
Madison County Music Co. with The Winterset Stage & Winterset Ballet & Dance
Winterset students don’t have school on Monday, October 23rd…have you made plans for your child? Madison County Music Co, The Winterset Stage, and Winterset Ballet invite them to come sing and dance the morning away.
This program is for students age 8 and up. Registration is $30. Watch for information about another session in December at Winterset Ballet and Dance!
Optimist Fun Night
Thursday • October 26 • 6:30 – 8:30
Winterset Elementary
Children in Preschool through 3rd grade are invited to the Winterset Optimist Club’s annual Fun Night. This fall carnival takes place in the gym and lunchroom at Winterset Elementary and children can play games of chance and skill to win prizes. Each child will be given 5 free tickets when they enter the building, and can purchase additional tickets for ten cents each. The club will also be drawing tickets for door prizes that will be given away throughout the night. Generations of Winterset kids have enjoyed this tradition—don’t miss out on the fun!
Halloween Hikes
Saturday • October 28
Madison County Conservation
Embrace your inner Monarch as you journey from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly, hiking along the forested Pammel Park Lodge Trail! At the completion of your amazing journey, you will arrive just in time for the Day of the Dead Festival!
Our Partners in Conservation will be present at the event to offer advice on how you can help the Monarch Butterfly thrive in Madison County!
Trick-or Treating
Hayrack Rides
Campground Decorating
Face Painting
Mighty Metamorphosis Hike & Skits
Children’s Halloween Games
Costume Contest
And…..A TACO TRUCK!!!
Tickets are $5/person or $20/family.
Trick-or-Treat
Tuesday • October 31
3:30 – 5:00 around the square
5:00 – 7:00 around the town
Winterset Parks & Recreation Sign-ups
Youth Basketball
This league is for 1st-6th graders and 3rd-6th graders will occasionally travel to Van Meter, Perry, and Adel. Follow the link for more information and to register! https://tinyurl.com/yktx49np
Pee Wee Basketball
Pee Wee Basketball is anew league for 3-6 year olds and will be structured similar to the WPRD’s t-ball league Registration is open now until October 22! https://tinyurl.com/yktx49np
Adult Pickleball
The adult Pickleball League will play on Sundays beginning December 3rd. The deadline to register is November 26th. https://tinyurl.com/5n6udbc3
It’s a GREAT day to be a Winterset Citizen—
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