Hiawatha Lions Club Cancels Hog Wild Days

There'll be one less traditional summer fest for Eastern Iowa families this year, and future years, as the Hiawatha Lions Club has announced the end of Hog Wild Days.

It was a sad shock to us as we were checking on dates for the area summer festivals, as came across the statement at HiawathaLionsClub.org:

We are extremely sad to announce the end of the 30 Year event. The Lions Club wants to thank everyone who supported our community event. Even though the event is done, OUR MISSION to support our community continues. Looking forward to your support in our future activities.

~Hiawatha Lions Club

A 30 year end of June tradition, gone. No parade, no carnival, no fireworks, nothing. It's especially hard to take considering Hiawatha will be getting a nice boost from being a RAGBRAI stop this year, just a few weeks after when Hog Wild days traditionally is held.  So what happened?

While this came as a shock to us, it's actually been something known for some time in certain circles.  In fact, the Lions Club made the decision, and the announcement to the City Council back in December.  There were numerous reasons cited for why the Lions Club made the decision.  According to an article in the Corridor Business Journal, the Club felt a strained relationship with the city, partially due to a new city deposit requirement and the ongoing inspections that continuously threatened the carnival. The Mayor denied any relationship strain.  The rumored other reason for the Lions Club passing on the event was simply the dwindling numbers of club members, making the annual event too big for too few members to operate successfully.

Hope is not lost though on some kind of rebirth for the event, as it appears the city may be willing to take the event on themselves.  However with the RAGBRAI stop on the plate this year, there's just not room for the city to handle both.  We'll keep our fingers crossed for next year.

While this summer festival might be over, a new one is starting up this year.  Don't miss out on the NewBo Music Festival August 8th at NewBo City Market, featuring Young the Giant, Allen Stone, and more up and coming alternative rock artists.  Get your tickets now.