ICON Water Trails hosts second annual ICONic Riverfest

On June 10, ICON Water Trails hosted the second annual ICONic Riverfest – presented by Polk County – raising over $86,000 and removing nearly 500 pounds of debris and 21 trailer loads of invasive species surrounding the region’s waterways. ICONic Riverfest is a regional volunteer initiative dedicated to furthering ICON’s mission of improving the quality, safety, and enjoyment of central Iowa’s water trails, with funds raised by the event directly supporting these goals.

Breakfast & Check-In

The event began with breakfast, provided by Casey’s, with welcoming remarks from ICON Executive Director, Stephanie Oppel, Associate Director, Regional Programs, Cole Miller, and Polk County Supervisor, Angela Connoly.

 

The Cleanups

Volunteers then dispersed to cleanup sites across the region, where they worked in teams to remove debris and invasive species and make various park improvements. The event brought together 260 volunteers at 14 cleanup locations across ICON’s network, including Altoona, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Johnston, Norwalk, Polk County, Polk County Conservation, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights parks.

Lunch & Celebration

Following the cleanups, volunteers celebrated the day’s achievements at the Biergarten at Water Works Park with lunch from Roadside Tacos and Jethro’s BBQ and live music, performed by Ducharme-Jones.

Sponsors

ICONic Riverfest was made possible by Polk County, and several other keys sponsors including, Athene, Bankers Trust, Bolton & Menk, Casey’s, Estes Construction, Great Outdoors Foundation, GreenState Credit Union, HDR, Hubbell Realty Company, ITA Group Foundation, Knapp Properties, Meta, Microsoft, MidAmerican Energy, Nationwide, Prairie Meadows, Principal, Scheels, Snyder & Associates, and Water Works Park Foundation.