Summer of the Arts ready to rock downtown Iowa City festivals

Iowa City is gearing up for a Summer of the Arts 30th anniversary free smorgasbord of artistic flavors filling the downtown with everything from movies to music, fine arts and food, as well as Hancher collaborations.

New to the lineup is the Iowa Soul Festival, bringing gospel groups, drums and dance and funky vibes from Sept. 13 to 15.

"Our goal is that everyone has soul, and we in Iowa City uniquely have the ability to bring people together to celebrate the greatness that diversity brings to our community, brings to the region and brings to Iowa," says Chad Simmons, executive director of Diversity Focus in the Corridor, which is presenting the Soul Festival.

One thing that won't be filling downtown streets this year is sand. Debuting in 2009, Sand in the City became "logistically challenging for us," according to Lisa Barnes, Lisa Barnes, executive director of Iowa City's Summer of the Arts. That event is moving up to Cedar Rapids as a new Freedom Festival attraction.

Also new is a partnership between the University of Iowa and Summer of the Arts to bring under the umbrella the MusicIC chamber music and literature festival June 13 to 16. Among the highlights are the musical setting of a new poem by Marvin Bell and the return of Iowa City natives Conor Hanick on piano and soprano Meagan Brus.

The mainstay events are bringing out the heavy-hitters, with the Old 97's cowboy rockin' the Iowa Arts Festival on June 8 and for the sizzling hot Iowa City Jazz Festival, fireworks on July 5, Dr. Lonnie Smith on July 6 and Pharoah Sanders on July 7.

The Friday and Saturday Night concert series bring out the best in local and regional bands across all genres. The Friday series is expanding into September, launching May 17 with a Hancher concert by Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience.

The ever-popular Free Movie Series opens with "Victoria/Victoria" on June 15, coinciding with Iowa City's Pride Fest, and closes Aug. 22 with "The Hunger Games." In between are movies targeting various ages and interests, from Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" to the animated "Ice Age" and "Monsters Inc." Films are shown on a big screen outside Macbride Hall on the UI's Pentacrest.

It's still early in the season, so some festivals will be adding shows to their lineups in the coming weeks. Want to get in on the action behind the scenes? It takes more than 450 volunteers to make the events run smoothly. Check

Summerofthearts.org for updates and volunteer opportunities.