Art on the Prairie Festival
Art on the Prairie is a unique festival celebrating art, music, literature, and the joys of small town living, all wrapped up in a two day event in historic downtown Perry during the second weekend in November.
Join us for the 18th Annual
Art on the Prairie Festival:
Saturday, November 8, 2025 | 10am - 5pm
Sunday, November 9, 2025 | 10am - 4pm
More details coming soon, but in the meantime, take a look back at last year's event:
Art on the Prairie Festival Returns to Downtown Perry November 9 & 10 within 8 Historic Buildings in 2024
Perry, October 28, 2024 – The Art on the Prairie Festival returns for its 14th year, set to take place in eight historic downtown Perry buildings on Saturday and Sunday, November 9th and 10th, 10am-5pm and 10am-4pm, respectively. The annual art festival – which first took place back in 2010 – has become an annual tradition for the community, drawing thousands of visitors to experience the many activities of the festival, as well as the growing number of opportunities to shop and dine in downtown Perry.
“More than an arts festival” has become a mantra of the organization, as Art on the Prairie has witnessed a rebirth of culture through the arts in this small town set on the prairie. Celebrating art, music, literature, and the joys of small-town living, the festival has grown over the years to fill multiple buildings within three blocks of downtown Perry. As is tradition, the festival utilizes community buildings and available storefronts to create a weekend full visual art displays, live music performances, poetry readings, and youth activities. The combination of spaces is slightly different each year, with this year’s festival taking place in Hotel Pattee, Perry Public Library, Carnegie Library, Town/Craft Center, Betsy Peterson Designs, Studio on Second, La Poste, and the Ben Franklin Building.
“We are so excited to have the Art on the Prairie Festival right around the corner,” Art on the Prairie Board Member Mary Rose Nichols explains. “So much goes on behind the scenes to create this unique event with so many different layers. The visual art is obviously a main feature in each of the historic buildings, but the addition of acoustic music adds to the ambiance. Plus, Poetry on the Prairie is a mini-festival – in and of itself – which will be held in upstairs Town/Craft this year.”
Poetry on the Prairie will again be featured in its own venue with a full schedule of activities throughout the weekend, including a poetry slam, poetry readings, open mic opportunities for poetry lovers, and workshops for aspiring poets. Poetry on the Prairie will feature nine Iowa Poets, as well as Lyrical Iowa Winning Poets. A complete list of Saturday and Sunday activities can be found at poetryamp.org along with poet bios.
The juried arts festival will feature 55 visual artists from across Iowa, displaying a variety of works including ceramics, painting, jewelry, photography, fiber and textiles, printmaking, glass, wood, and mixed media. This year’s featured visual artist is Jess Quinn, featured in The Cellar of La Poste, 1219 Warford Street. The musical talents of 36 Iowa musicians will fill the historic venues with live acoustic, unplugged music for the two-day festival. Local artist displays and a youth art exhibit will again take place at the Perry Public Library, along with book signing and story time with Iowa Author Megan Cline.
Art on the Prairie is free to the public and facilitated by a dedicated volunteer team, coordinated with a number of community partners. The Art on the Prairie organization wishes to thank all those that have supported the event in any way over the years – from countless volunteer hours to financial support of all sizes. Special thanks to those that have committed significant support to make this year’s festival a success, especially Raccoon Valley Bank, Windsor & Patricia Wenz, Perry Hospitality Inc, Perry Public Library, Iowa Poetry Association, Poetry Palooza!, Beaverdale Books, Jay & Jan Pattee, Dan & Sally Spellman, Eric & Betsy Peterson.
A full schedule of activities during the 14th Annual Art on the Prairie Festival as well as detailed information regarding artists, musicians, poets and activities are available at www.ArtonthePrairie.org and the Art on the Prairie Facebook page www.Facebook.com/ArtonthePrairie.
“More than an arts festival” has become a mantra of the organization, as Art on the Prairie has witnessed a rebirth of culture through the arts in this small town set on the prairie. Celebrating art, music, literature, and the joys of small-town living, the festival has grown over the years to fill multiple buildings within three blocks of downtown Perry. As is tradition, the festival utilizes community buildings and available storefronts to create a weekend full visual art displays, live music performances, poetry readings, and youth activities. The combination of spaces is slightly different each year, with this year’s festival taking place in Hotel Pattee, Perry Public Library, Carnegie Library, Town/Craft Center, Betsy Peterson Designs, Studio on Second, La Poste, and the Ben Franklin Building.
“We are so excited to have the Art on the Prairie Festival right around the corner,” Art on the Prairie Board Member Mary Rose Nichols explains. “So much goes on behind the scenes to create this unique event with so many different layers. The visual art is obviously a main feature in each of the historic buildings, but the addition of acoustic music adds to the ambiance. Plus, Poetry on the Prairie is a mini-festival – in and of itself – which will be held in upstairs Town/Craft this year.”
Poetry on the Prairie will again be featured in its own venue with a full schedule of activities throughout the weekend, including a poetry slam, poetry readings, open mic opportunities for poetry lovers, and workshops for aspiring poets. Poetry on the Prairie will feature nine Iowa Poets, as well as Lyrical Iowa Winning Poets. A complete list of Saturday and Sunday activities can be found at poetryamp.org along with poet bios.
The juried arts festival will feature 55 visual artists from across Iowa, displaying a variety of works including ceramics, painting, jewelry, photography, fiber and textiles, printmaking, glass, wood, and mixed media. This year’s featured visual artist is Jess Quinn, featured in The Cellar of La Poste, 1219 Warford Street. The musical talents of 36 Iowa musicians will fill the historic venues with live acoustic, unplugged music for the two-day festival. Local artist displays and a youth art exhibit will again take place at the Perry Public Library, along with book signing and story time with Iowa Author Megan Cline.
Art on the Prairie is free to the public and facilitated by a dedicated volunteer team, coordinated with a number of community partners. The Art on the Prairie organization wishes to thank all those that have supported the event in any way over the years – from countless volunteer hours to financial support of all sizes. Special thanks to those that have committed significant support to make this year’s festival a success, especially Raccoon Valley Bank, Windsor & Patricia Wenz, Perry Hospitality Inc, Perry Public Library, Iowa Poetry Association, Poetry Palooza!, Beaverdale Books, Jay & Jan Pattee, Dan & Sally Spellman, Eric & Betsy Peterson.
A full schedule of activities during the 14th Annual Art on the Prairie Festival as well as detailed information regarding artists, musicians, poets and activities are available at www.ArtonthePrairie.org and the Art on the Prairie Facebook page www.Facebook.com/ArtonthePrairie.