News Releases

Ice Fest Wins Iowa Tourism Event of the Year

Dubuque, Iowa – Oct. 24, 2008—The Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of Iowa presented 20 awards to industry members on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, during the Iowa Tourism Conference in Sioux City. The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium received the Event/Festival of the Year Iowa Tourism Award for its January 2008 Ice Fest event.

The Ice Fest event was chosen among community entries with populations more than 10,000. The winning event/festival was based on several criteria including outstanding performance in 2007-2008, outstanding economic impact and effective marketing.

"Tourism is a year-round industry in Iowa and the Ice Fest is a great example of that," said Iowa Tourism Office Manager Nancy Landess. "Nearly 5,000 people visited [the Museum & Aquarium] over three weekends in January to see ice sculptures, bowl on ice, view bald eagles and meet a champion Iditarod racer."

Landess, along with Travel Federation of Iowa President Kathy Dirks, presented 20 Iowa Tourism Awards at the conference. Professionals representing different facets of the Iowa tourism industry judged the nominees.

The annual three-day conference, sponsored by the Iowa Tourism Office and Travel Federation of Iowa, brings together more than 300 industry representatives from across the state to network, attend educational sessions and discuss emerging industry trends. To see the complete list of Iowa Tourism Award recipients, you can read the news release available at traveliowa.com.

The Museum & Aquarium has scheduled the next Ice Fest for Jan. 10 through Jan. 25, 2009, which will feature an appearance by Dubuque native and Arctic explorer Troy Henkels. Henkels sailed to Antarctica in February 2008 and became the first person to kite surf inside the Antarctic Circle.

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