Council Bluffs officials are unveiling plans for a two-week celebration this summer to debut the community’s newest attraction. Larry Foster, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, says the massive River’s Edge Park will open on Memorial Day weekend to much fanfare — and all events are free.
“We’re showing concerts and movies and soccer and sports activities and family things,” Foster says. “It’s a real facility actually for the entire Midwest.” The event is being called Loessfest, after the region’s rolling Loess Hills.
The string of entertainment will kick off May 25th with a free concert by The Beach Boys. “We have a great product,” Foster says.
“We have a great place. We have a great river. We have a great park. We’re going to have a great series of events to open it up.” There will be several more concerts, sporting events and entertainment for the celebration, running from Memorial weekend through June 8th. A unique, interactive light display will debut on May 25th on the park’s five-acre Great Lawn.
The permanent display, entitled Rays, is a half-million dollar installation, an eight-minute light show that repeats on the hour and half-hour. This is the first Loessfest, what’s planned to be an annual event.