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Party in the Prairie Oct. 14 to honor milestone with outdoor celebration
In honor of five decades of creating Champions of Nature, Indian Creek Nature Center is holding its 50th celebration event, Party in the Prairie, from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Amazing Space campus at 5300 Otis Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids.
Hundreds of like-minded nature lovers will gather to honor the past 50 years of providing environmental education in the Cedar Rapids area, celebrate the nature center’s bright future, and enjoy the present with good food, great music and amazing company.
If you go
What: Indian Creek Nature Center Party in the Prairie event
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14
Where: Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300 Otis Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids
Phone: (319) 362-0664
Cost: $50 for a Celebration Ticket that grants access to the event and includes a free drink; $100 VIP gets you into event at 5 p.m. and an open bar with live music
Tickets: indiancreeknaturecenter.org/50th-celebration
Details: Food and drinks will be available from local caterers and beverages from area breweries. Auction items will be available. There will be live music. 20 child care spots will be offered on a first come, first served basis.
Guests can enjoy portable food options from local caterers and beverages from area breweries. A barbecue-inspired entree in a food boat from Blend Events, charcuterie cups from The Hangry Lady and hand pies from The White Tree Bakery allow guests to eat, mingle and explore at their leisure.
Beverages from fan-favorite breweries like Lion Bridge Brewing Co. and Big Grove Brewery will be on tap at the outdoor bar, which also will serve non-alcoholic options, including Indian Creek Nature Center’s signature honey lemonade.
Guests can bid in a live auction for one-of-a-kind items and experiences with all the proceeds going directly to support the nature center’s nonprofit mission to create a more sustainable world. Auction items include a hot-air balloon ride courtesy of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, three original tree prints, a private Farm-to-table dinner for 12 guests, an organic produce package and personal tour of Etzel Sugar Grove Farm, and an original painting of Penningroth Barn by local artist Bill Stamats, son of one of the nature center’s co-founders.
The Dandelion Stompers, named “Best Local Band” by Little Village Magazine in 2022, will get guests on the dance floor with its New Orleans-style of traditional jazz.
Cost of the event is $50 for a Celebration Ticket that grants access to the event and includes a free drink. Guests who wish to start the party early can buy a $100 VIP Ticket, that grants access to an exclusive VIP reception with an open bar and live music from Marc and Brandi Janssen beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at indiancreeknaturecenter.org/50th-celebration. Guests can save when they bring their friends. Anyone who buys nine tickets for their group will receive a 10th ticket for free.
Need child care? There are 20 child care spots available on a first-come basis. The children will spend the event in our classroom indulging in the nature-based programming area children have been enjoying at the Nature Center for the past 50 years.
The idea for a nature center started when Junior League member and conservationist Bette-Barron “B.B.” Stamats visited one in the Twin Cities and brought the idea home.
They started the nonprofit on city-owned land at Bertram and Otis roads in southeast Cedar Rapids, where the city offered to lease the 140-acre wooded site, once a dairy farm, for $1 a year. Today the nature center has nearly 500 acres of land under its management, and the nature center hosts thousands of visitors each year for nature-based programs and activities.
Its mission is to promote a sustainable future by nurturing individuals through environmental education, providing leadership in land protection and restoration, and encouraging responsible interaction with nature.
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