Art Farm Iowa to host festival over Fourth of July weekend with local, international artists
Published 5:33 pm Tuesday, July 1, 2025
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British artist Lucy Sparrow makes full-scale felt sculpture exhibits and will be at Art Farm Iowa’s Artfarmaganza celebration over the Fourth of July. Provided
Iowa musician Dan Bern will hold two concerts during Art Farm Iowa’s Artfarmaganza festival over the Fourth of July. He will also be displaying his paintings at the event. Provided
Australian folk-noir musician Nigel Wearne will perform live music at Northwood’s Artfarmaganza festival over Fourth of July. Provided
Area art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to explore both visual art and musical performances in Northwood over the Fourth of July weekend as part of a new arts festival, Artfarmaganza.
Hosted by the nonprofit Art Farm Iowa, Artfarmaganza will bring together celebrated and internationally acclaimed artists for a one-of-a-kind event in the heart of the Iowa countryside, according to a press release.
The event will open after the Northwood parade, around noon Friday, and run until about 6 p.m. Sunday.
Art Farm Iowa President Steve Hanson said the event will bring together amazing and creative people.
This year, the event’s featured artists include British felt artist Lucy Sparrow, Midwest singer-songwriter Dan Bern and Australian folk-noir musician Nigel Wearne.
Hanson said this event has been years in the making, explaining he had been speaking with Sparrow about it for about four years.
Sparrow is known for her hand-sewn, full-scale art installations made from felt. This is also known as soft-sculpture work. She is the best-known felt artist in the world and made the world’s largest SPAM felt sculpture, Hanson said.
Sparrow will be at the festival all three days the event takes place.
Hanson said he has been a fan of Bern’s music for about 30 years. Bern has recently toured with Roger Daltrey and The Who and is a member of the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the press release stated. Bern will host two concerts, one at 7 p.m. Friday and another at 3 p.m. Sunday. In addition to his music, Bern will showcase his paintings, a collection of well-known Iowans or individuals from the area.
Hanson said Australian musician Nigel Wearne reached out to him to express interest in being at Artfarmaganza this year. According to the press release, Wearne’s music spans a variety of genres, including folk, blues and outlaw country, and he has performed at the Kennedy Center. Wearne will hold a concert at 3 p.m. Friday.
Artfarmaganza will be a family-friendly event and feature food trucks, open-air art stations and kids crafts. People can also buy art-related items from local vendors.
“It’s going to be a great time and we hope a lot of people show up,” Hanson said. He added the decision to hold the event during Fourth of July weekend was intentional as Northwood already has an ongoing celebration that brings in people from surrounding areas. It’s the most popular holiday that brings people back to Northwood, he said.
“It fits right in with what the community is already doing,” he said. “It just made perfect sense.”
Hanson said he hopes Artfarmaganza can become an annual event held during Fourth of July with increasingly more people participating as time goes on.
“I’m excited for people to come and see some really amazing and creative people… doing some really incredible things with their art,” Hanson said.
Attendance for this event is free with the exception of the Dan Bern performance on Sunday. Tickets for Sunday’s performance are $10 each and available at https://www.artfarmiowa.com/store.
Art Farm Iowa is at 4953 Olive Ave. in Northwood. Visitors to the event are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and picnic blankets.
People can visit artfarmiowa.com/events for more information.
