EntreFEST comes to Cedar Rapids in 2018

After years in Iowa City, a large conference for Iowa's entrepreneurs and start-ups will make its way north.

EntreFEST will hold its two-day long event in Cedar Rapids next year, organizers announced Monday. The 2018 event will be the first time EntreFEST has been in Cedar Rapids since 2013.

The event began in 2008, hosted then by the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, and moved to different cities in later years. It turned to Iowa City in 2014 and 2015, but took a year off in 2016. NewBoCo and the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance took over the event's organization and returned it to Iowa City in May of this year.

EntreFEST has been marketed as a gathering for Iowa's entrepreneurs, investors and those seeking to join the state's startup community or start a business.

Organizers in a statement said they also will have programming 'that offers relevant professional development for all career stages and industries.”

'We want all who attend to walk away from EntreFEST with actionable items or ideas they can implement within their own professional lives and organizations,” NewBoCo Events Director Jill Wilkins said.

Organizers expect 600 people to attend EntreFEST 2018, scheduled for May 17 and 18. A venue was not provided.

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