Tugfest Bringing Back The ‘80s In Its 30th Year
For the thirtieth year, Iowa and Illinois will be locked in a mighty battle across the Mississippi.
Nope, this doesn’t involve the zipper merge.
It’s time for Tugfest again.
Tugfest will take place Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 11-13, along the LeClaire, Iowa and Port Byron, Illinois riverfronts. This year’s theme is “Bringing Back the ‘80s,” and features an ‘80s tribute act, The Brat Pack, performing Saturday, and Blackstone on Friday night.
Tug Fest is a family week-end event filled with live entertainment, a huge parade, scenic 5K run/walk for adults and children, Carnival Rides and amusements, food, craft vendors, children’s tug, and the Iowa against Illinois tug of war across the river.
Tug Fest, a non-profit corporation, is totally organized by volunteers and relies on support from our community and local businesses to make this event happen. Tug Fest benefits local organizations and charities such as; cub scouts, boy scouts, girl scouts, youth baseball programs, lions clubs, park & recreations, volunteer fire department, chamber of commerce, Buffalo Bill Museum, Scott County Sheriff’s department and local charities of choice.
It began in 1987, with ten 20-member tug teams pulling with all of their strength on a 2,400 foot, 680 pound rope that spans the Mississippi River between Port Byron, Illinois and LeClaire, Iowa. Each year the teams pull to see who will claim the breath-taking alabaster statue of a Bald Eagle in flight. Over 35,000 people view this spectacular and only tug-of-war across the longest river in the United States. Tug Fest has been featured in travel, vacation magazines, television programming across the country and has received international notoriety on Germany’s “Inside the USA”, “Galileo XXL”,The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Channel’s “Wreakreation Nation” , and PBS television.
For more information see http://tugfest.zarubas.com/.
