Getting to know the Iowa City Area

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited about what I have to share with you today. Since we have a bunch of new members, and some returning members who may not know, I thought I would tell you about what your community centers have available for you. The Iowa City area is made up of three main cities (but of course there are other smaller cities close by as well), Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.

Iowa City has so many great resources for its residents. If you are a resident of Iowa City you should stop into the Robert E. Lee Community Center on Gilbert St. and pick up your ICRL card. Its free and is your pass to all sorts of neat things, like checking out equipment for game rooms or using the workout equipment. Iowa City has two different locations for you to enjoy, the Robert E. Lee Building and the Scanlon Gym. Both locations have recreation rooms you can use and pools. Iowa City also had the City Park Pool which offers swimming lessons though the parks and recreation department. Scanlon Gym also host Tot Time for children under 6. Your kids can go nuts and have a blast on the inflatables and riding toys. If you want to head outside, at Peninsula Park you can play a round of disk golf. City Park is also a great option, when its not underwater. There your kids can ride child size carnival rides (they cost $1 each or you can buy a 10 ride punch card for $6) and enjoy the playground. You can see more that Iowa City’s community center has to offer and check out their most recent catalogue of classes and swimming lessons on their website.

Iowa City also has a wonderful farmer’s market. There are two different locations for the farmer’s market, the parking garage on Washington and College and the Iowa City Market Place (which used to be called Sycamore Mall). The Washington St location is open Wednesday nights from 5-7 and Saturday morning from 7:30-12. The Iowa City Market Place location is held Tuesdays from 3-7.

There are fun, free outdoor activities during the summer in Iowa City. There is an outdoor concert series on Friday nights at the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel from 6:30-9:30. There are movies that are projected outside of MacBride Hall on Friday nights. The movies start at sundown. There are also several festivals that go on in Iowa City throughout the year. In August look for Fry Fest, which is a kickoff for the Hawkeye football season, and in September look for the Soul Festival (the 19th -21st).

Coralville’s community center also has lots of fun things for its residents. Coralville has an amazing outdoor pool that everyone should go and check out at least once with what is left with this summer (admission costs $4.25 for each person over 2 years old). There is also an indoor pool and there are punch cards available for frequent swimmers. The community center also has picnic and volleyball kits that can be rented for $10 per day (with a $15 refundable deposit). They have sand volleyball courts that can be reserved for $5 for a 4 hour period. One other thing that they have available to rent, which I think is really neat, is what they call Touch the Earth outdoor rental equipment. You can rent camping equipment, bikes, and snow equipment. How great is that?!? You can experience fun without having to buy all the equipment. One last program that I wanted to highlight at the community center is the Play Everyday program. It is going until August 18th and it is a fun way to get your family out and enjoying summer. You can find schedules and see what else is offered in Coralville by checking their website.

Coralville’s farmers market is held on Mondays and Thursdays from 5-7 at the Coralville Aquatic Center parking lot. Go check it out and enjoy some fresh food. While you are out stop by S.T. Morrison park (right by the aquatic center) to enjoy some music at the park on Thursday nights from 6:30-8.

And last but not least, North Liberty. I may be a little impartial because I live in North Liberty, but I really do like our community center and pools. North Liberty Community Center holds a library, a workout area, an indoor track (it only takes 8.5 laps to make a mile), gyms and class/conference rooms, an indoor playground, an outdoor playground, and an indoor and outdoor pool. The pools cost $3 per day for youth and $4 per day for adults. The weight area costs $2 per day or $25 per month for residents. Open gym offers pickleball or badminton for $1 and basketball for $2. The track is free for residents, you just have to get a free track pass. The indoor playground is called the Kid’s Campsite play area and it is open Monday through Friday from 9-12 and then 4-8 and on Saturday and Sunday from 8-6. It is a great resource during the winter. While we still have this beautiful summer weather you can get outside and rent different types of equipment from the Community Center. If you want to try geocaching there is a GPS unit available for free. There are fishing poles you can rent for free. There are also Outdoor and Nature Education Packs available to rent (deposit required). You can keep them for up to 2 weeks and there are 10 different themes to choose from. If you would rather stay indoors you can check out one of the many story times or tot times at the Library. Check the website because there are several different opportunities for all different age groups.

North Liberty’s farmers market is coming back this year with their kick off being August 3rd. The Penn Landing Farmer’s Market will be held every other Sunday from noon – 3 on Pancha Parkway near Penn and 965. (Its by McDonalds and Molly’s Cupcakes).

Now that you’ve gotten a very brief introduction to the community centers I hope that you will take some time to explore what your town can offer you. Feel free to check out the towns around you as well! I know that most of the community centers are expecting to release their fall brochures for sports and other programs sometime in the first week or two of August with sign ups starting shortly after (classes fill fast so don’t wait too long). Check out all of the websites to see what you can get involved in. (Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty)

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part! Each community center has given me some fun things to pass along to some lucky members! I have pool passes to Coralville and Iowa City and a $25 gift certificate to be applied towards swimming or a class. How great is that! To win one of these awesome prizes you need to comment and tell me which city is yours. I will let you know who our lucky winners are on Monday. Good luck!