FRY Fest

FRYfest, “a Celebration of all that is Hawkeye,” is held annually in the Iowa City and Coralville area the Friday prior to the Iowa Hawkeye Football season.

FRYfest was created in 2009 as a collaborative effort between the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, City of Coralville, and University of Iowa Athletics, to kick off the football season, draw visitors’ attention to the community, and improve the quality of life for residents of the Iowa City/Coralville Area. The event is named after one of the greatest Hawkeyes of all time and the man who is responsible for bringing the TigerHawk to the University of Iowa, Hayden Fry.

FRYfest is a one-day ‘Celebration of all that is Hawkeye’ to kick off the Hawkeye athletic seasons the Friday before the first home football game. With 20,000 members of Hawkeye Nation in attendance, it is quickly becoming a tradition for fans to travel to Coralville, Iowa each year to take part in the festivities. The event also serves as a fundraiser for the City of Coralville with proceeds of the concert and beverage garden going towards Coralville's Fourth of July Celebrations.

Its first six years have included the honoring of Hayden Fry, Forest Evashevski, Dan Gable, the Iowa vs. ISU football rivalry, quarterbacks of the Hayden Fry era, “The World’s Largest Hawkeye Tradeshow,” a tailgate and show and shine car show, autograph sessions with coaches and former athletes, a Hawkeye pep rally, outdoor concerts, a fully staged, live production honoring Dan Gable, and the festival's most popular accomplishment, breaking two Guinness World Records - one in 2010 for the Largest Hokey Pokey Dance with 7,384 participants, and the other in 2014 for the Longest Marathon Playing Cornhole (bags) for a continuous 26 hours, 12 minutes, and 44 seconds.

August 31, 2018 marks the 10th Annual FRYfest, presented by MidWestOne Bank.