Last night many people filled the Heatilator Performing Arts Center, not for a concert but for a RAGBRAI townhall. Rachel Lindeen with the Mt. Pleasant Chamber was joined by Lisa Oetken with Main Street Mount Pleasant as they facilitated the evening meeting which was full of important information.
If you haven’t heard by now, RAGBRAI will be passing through Mt. Pleasant as an overnight stop on Friday, July 26th, which will see 20,000 plus riders looking for a place to lay their head. This also means they will be looking for a place to shower, entertainment, and food. The theme for the overnight stop is “Make Yourself at Home in Mount Pleasant” which is designed to showcase the charm and warmth of our quaint town. As said last night, picture a hallmark movie scene, that’s the setting they are looking for in July.
So where do all of these people sleep? Well, there’s a few answers to that question. Midwest Old Threshers campground will be the main area, with the old Iowa Wesleyan Campus and Mapleleaf also being converted into a campground for a night. If you’ve been wanting an excuse to camp on your lawn, why not allow some tired cyclists the same opportunity? Please contact Lois Roth if you’d be able to host some riders, either on your lawn or inside. Her email is ljrteach@gmail.com The cyclists will arrive sometime in the mid-afternoon and depart by 9:00am the next day.
The Downtown festival will see two bands take the stage. Blake Jack and South 35, a group from Des Moines, mainly plays country music such as Brooks and Dunn to Jason Aldean. The Spazmatics are the main act, and they bring all of the good from the 80s and leave the bad in that decade.
Shelbi Remick spoke about the need for volunteers, from greeting riders to helping in the beverage garden and giving out information, they need you. Please email info@mpiowa.org if you are interested in volunteering. Remember, it will be 80 with a light tail wind on Friday, July 26th, atleast one can hope!