Freedom Festival ends holiday with flourish in Cedar Rapids

Freedom Festival Executive Director Robyn Rieckhoff said she was tired after her two-week-long event culminated with last night's fireworks.

But the exhaustion was worth it.

Rieckhoff said the festival's numbers were up this year and said the event “went really well.” With all the events - including last night's fireworks - put together, Rieckhoff estimated the celebration's attendance eclipsed 100,000.

One of Rieckhoff's goals was to boost the sales of the festival's buttons, which provided access to special events and other deals for attendees. Rieckhoff said she wasn't sure if officials reached their goal of selling 60,000 buttons, said they sold “way more than before.”

“I feel great about that,” Rieckhoff said. “Next year, that's going to be an even bigger number. The awareness of the festival is greater.”

Rieckhoff said the Jo Dee Messina concert at Kirkwood Community College and the Dock Dogs event were among her personal favorites this year.

The Cedar Rapids native, who's in her first year as executive director, said she hopes to bring new events to the festival next year. She wants to draw more youth since she always hears there's not a lot for kids to do at the festival.

The sweltering heat at many of the festival's day events did affect attendance slightly, Rieckhoff said, but it didn't detract from the experience.