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The 18th Annual Swamp Fox Festival
"City of Culture and Entertainment"

Thursday, Sept. 6

Mayor's Swamp Fox Golf Outing

8:00 am - Morning Classic, shot gun start
 1:00 pm - Afternoon Classic, shot gun start
Place: Indian Creek Country Club
Sponsor: Bouslog Insurance
Challenge the Mayor and First Lady in a two-person (mixed couples encouraged), best-shot tournament. Prizes will be awarded. $80 per team, includes lunch, golf, cart, flag events and prizes. Phone Indian Creek Country Club, 377-4489, for reservations.

Friday, Sept. 7

Old Settlers Celebration

12:00 pm - Lunch (at the Marion Library Meeting Rooms, limited to Old Settlers)
2:00 pm - Program "Cherry Sisters" (Marion Heritage Center, open to the public)
Place: Marion Library meeting rooms
Sponsor: ServiceMaster by Hansen, Scott and Debbie Hansen
Lunch is limited to Old Settlers (those who have lived in Linn County 25 years or more). The program is open to the public. Cost for lunch is $6, payable at the door. Reservations (required) must be made by 4 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 5, by phoning the Marion Parks Department 377-4846. The program this year is "Cherry Sisters." Awards will be presented to Oldest Male and Female Senior Citizen in attendance. In addition, the Senior Citizen of the Year will be introduced. 

Picnic in the Park

5:00-7:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Sponsor: MidAmerican Energy
Join the Marion Lions Club as they serve either a burger or chicken breast right off the grill! Meal includes baked beans, potato salad or coleslaw, and beverage. Adults $6, Children $4.

Twister Dance Team

5-6:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Twisters All-Stars Pom, Dance & Cheer program is for students ages 3-18. We have recreational, performance and competition classes and teams. The heart of our program is to build self esteem in our students that they learn more than a skill but feel good about what they can accomplish at any level. We have dance classes of poms, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop. We have cheer classes with jumps, cheers and stunts.

Public Property

7-9:30 pm
Place: City Square Park
Much has been said about Public Property's Midwest origins as a white reggae band hailing from Iowa City, IA. After three albums, 3 years, and hundreds of gigs, the group no longer need defend itself from sceptics or critics who believe reggae is one color and comes from one place. Started in 2003 by the Hawaii born and bred frontman Dave Bess, the band seamlessly jumps from roots reggae to gospel reggae, ska to hip-hop infused funk, to rock and back to reggae, all the while keepin' the dance floor hot and the booties shakin'. Add female vocalists, a ukulele, and lyrics as controversial as Bob Marley himself, it's no wonder this band has risen so quickly in the U.S. reggae and jam scenes as one of the top nationally touring reggae acts. You'd be hard pressed to find a more confrontational and outspoken band that sounds this fun. And rarely has a uke been so seditious. Of the people, by the people, and for all the people, Public Property will spread its message across the country in 2007, touring throughout the Midwest and Colorado and stopping at several festivals along the way. Check out their website publicprop.com for more info.

Saturday, Sept. 8

Family Breakfast

6:30-10:30 am
Place: City Square Park
Sponsor: American Legion Marion Post 298
Start the day off right by bringing the family for pancakes, eggs, sausage and drinks. Cost is $4 per person.

5K Run & 5K Walk

8:30 am
Place: City Square Park, 10th St & 6th Ave
Sponsors: ???
Race starts adjacent to the Depot Pavilion, 6th Ave. and 10th St. Course is flat and fast. For more information, contact Larry at 854-6497. Cost is $14 by Aug. 13, $16 by Sept. 3 or $20 after Sept. 4. Cedar Valley Running Association members receive a $2 discount. Registration forms are available on the CVRA website.

Craft Show

9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Place: 6th Ave & 11th St, along southeast corner of City Square Park
Sponsor: Fosters Heating & Air Conditioning
Many new crafters, a must see event.

Swamp Fox Festival Parade

10:15 am
Place: various
Sponsors: Gazette Communications, KCRG TV & KCRG Radio
"City of Culture and Entertainment" is this year's theme. The parade begins at Marion High School and continues to City Square Park. Pre-register by calling 377-4846 by August 29.

Children's Creative Activities

Noon - 5:00 pm
Place: Northwest corner of City Square Park
Sponsors: ???
Mel Shivvers will return again this year with his creative art activities utilizing geometric shapes that are very popular with children and adults. Participants create their own architectural designs from wood and cardboard.

Swamp Fox Activity Center

Noon - 5:00 pm
Place: Between Library and Depot
Sponsors: Executive Realty & Construction, Barnes Manufacturing, Howard R. Green, Berthel Fisher & Co., and T.T.N.T. Siding & Windows
BUTTON OR WRISTBAND REQUIRED
The activity center features inflatable slides, castles and obstacle course.

Putting Green

Noon - 5:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Come and try your luck on this putting green activity

Squaw Creek Community Fun Fair

1:00-4:00 pm
Place: 1410 44th St
Carnival games and prizes for all, clowns, face painting, dunk tank, balloon artist, water balloon launcher, unusual live animals, and live music. Free popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, hot dogs, and cold drinks as well a health fair (health awareness issues, blood pressure screenings, etc.) Free Shuttle service will be provided to and from Marion City Square Park. There is something for everyone, bring the whole famil

Youth Art Activities

1:00-2:30 pm
Place: City Square Park
Four stations of art activities at the Marion Square under the blue Roland Wilbert tent. Free, sponsored by the Marion Arts Council. 

CR Spirits Dance Studio

1:00-2:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
CR Spirits Dance Studio is a local dance team from Cedar Rapids. It features five different performance groups: Itty-Bitty (ages 4-6), Tiny (ages 7-9), Li'l (ages 10-12), Junior (ages 13-16), and the professional dance team. These exciting, fun-filled dance teams want to share their uplifting shows with you! The Spirits perform all around Cedar Rapids and the surrounding areas. Make sure to check out the Professional Dance Team performance, they have recently come home from Las Vegas and have many opportunities coming up. 

Cedar Rapids Performance Company

2:30-4:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Youth, K-12th grade. All of the groups combine to perform an hour-long show which features the entire company in the opening and finale and then each smaller group performs three numbers of their own. Props and costumes make the show dynamic and entertaining. One fun feature is the "All Dance" which is incorporated in the middle of the show, encouraging all audience members to stand up and dance along 

Sonic Holiday

4:30-7:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Sonic Holiday is a group whose sound and style come together to mix great pop and rock music. The band easily switches between mid-tempo acoustic/electric ballads to hard-driving pop by the latest bands. Sonic Holiday stays away from rap and metal! Putting a label on the band's song selection is hard to do but it mixes everything from established artists like The Rolling Stones, Train, Goo Goo Dolls and Tonic to the new groups such as Maroon and Bowling for Soup. There is definitely something for the early 20's crowd on up. The goal is to provide a fun, musical experience that is easy to identify with and encourages the audience to dance.

Sunday, Sept. 9

"New Song" Community Worship Service

11:00 am
Place: City Square Park
Hosted by Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. All are welcome!

Praise Party in the Park

12:00-5:00 pm
Place: City Square Park
Live music throughout the afternoon performed by a variety of bands including "With Faith." Don't miss the feature act, the high-energy Christian rock band "Crossed," just off their summer tour. In case of rain the events will be held at Lutheran Church of Ressurection, 2900 35th Ave. There will be grilled food, snacks and cool activities for all to enjoy!

Ongoing Activities

Tours of Marion's National Historic Districts

All Weekend
Place: various
Tours and Tomes at the Marion Historic Preservation Commission Kiosk. Get a look at the newest Commission publication, "Roads, Railroads and Trolley Cars," a book loaded with Marion area pictures. Self-guided tours of three Marion Historic Districts are free at the Kiosk Friday night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. and continuing as long as supplies last! 

Hide The Fox!

All Weekend
Place: various
Have you ever wondered what was downtown? Now you can find out during this Swamp Fox Festival. Participating local merchants have hidden a fox in their store and you have to find it. The fox may be in the store or it may be in the front window, so have a look around our historic town and discover what makes Marion so wonderful. To get a list of the participating stores go to the information booth and pick up a leaflet, fill out the information about each fox and return the leaflet to the information booth. A drawing will be held for gift certificates from our local merchants! 

Granger House

All Weekend
Place: Granger House, intersection of 10th St. and Central Ave.
Open Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 6-9, from 1 to 4 p.m. On Saturday only, "Voices of the Past" allows you to meet the Granger family. Various arts and cultural persons of the past will be featured in re-enactments. 

Marion Heritage Center

All Weekend
Place: Heritage Center, intersection of 6th Ave. and 10th St.
Exhibit: "More About Marion You May Not Have Known"
Center open Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
Famous Cherry Sisters: Performance by the Theel Family & Music, Readings and History - Mel Andringa (co-director, CSPS Art Gallery) -- Sept. 7, 2 p.m. and Sept. 9, 2 p.m. 

Festival Committee

Special thanks to those on the 2006 Swamp Fox Committee: Dennis Beatty, Vic Klopfenstein, Brian Rood, Richard Fox, Cedar Valley Run Association, Tom Treharne, Tony Pavelka, Judy Hull, Chad Guenther, Kay Lammers, John Nieland, Bill Thomas, Charles Boquist, Joy Newhouse, Voanne Hansen and Karlene Hummel

Festival Sponsors

Abode Construction, Alliant Energy, Anderson-Bogert Eng., Ar-Jay Building, Bank of the West, Barnes Manufacturing, Berthel Fisher & Co., Bouslog Insurance, Brunson Enterprises/Wholesale Feed, Busse Investments, CeMar Janitorial, Collins Community Credit Union, Culver's Garden Center, ESCO, Evans Enterprises/Cost Cutters, Farmers State Bank, Fosters Heating & Air Conditioning., Gazette Communications, Guaranty Bank, Hames Homes, Heritage Bank, Hills Bank, Howard R Green, Iowa Eye Care, Iowa Realty (Carl & Lois Foster), Jelinek-Olmstead, JPM Enterprises, KAY & ESS Corporation, KCRG, Kids Inc., Linn Animal Hospital, Linn Area Credit Union, Linn Cooperative Oil, Linn Co. REC, Lynch Ford, Marion HY-VEE, MidAmerican Energy, Miller Dental, Mooney Custom Homes, Morris & Company, Murdoch Funeral Homes, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Potter Real Estate, Quinn Storages, Rathje Construction, Rapids Wholesale, Rockwell Collins, Shive Hatterly, Skogman Homes, T.T.N.T Siding, United Security Savings Bank, US Bank, Vector Corporation, Wal-Mart

Publicity Sponsors

Thanks to the following individuals and businesses for helping to make this year's festival a success -

City of Marion Volunteers & Sponsors

Special recognition to the following in-kind City of Marion sponsors and volunteers for their generous contributions - Marion Fire Department, Marion Police Department, Marion Parks and Recreation Department and Marion Public Services Department.
2003 Festival Map