The eigth annual Fry Fest offers Iowa citizens a chance to revel in Hawkeye history.
By Quentin Yarolem
Over the better part of the last decade, Hawkeye fans of the Iowa City/Coralville region have come together with pomp and circumstance for one day a year to celebrate their team and their school. This year, Friday — the eighth-annual Fry Fest — is that day.
“At this one-day event, you live, eat and breathe our beloved Hawkeyes,” the Fry Fest website reads.
Starting at 9 a.m. at 300 E. Ninth St. with the Fry Fest Blood Drive, organized by the UI DeGowin Blood Center, the festival lasts through 10 p.m., when the event will close with fireworks.
Other events include a Pep Rally, taking place at 6:30 p.m., the High Porch Block party, which opens at 4:00 p.m. and a display featuring all of the Hawkeye football trophies the team collected last season.
The festival also features a panel of guest speakers ranging from former athletes to current coaches. Among these speakers is the entire 2016 Hall of Fame class, including two-time Big Ten Player of the Year tennis player Tyler Cleveland, former WNBA player Toni Foster, Hawkeye football defensive lineman Dave Haight, golfer Sean McCarty, swimmer Kimberly Stevens, wrestler T.J. Williams, and softball head coach Gayle Blevins.
After the concert, a statue of Hawkeye legend and festival muse Hayden Fry, rocking his signature aviator sunglasses, is set to be revealed at its new home on Hayden Fry Way.
Fun and Hawkeye pride aren’t the only things the festival is about, though. FRYfest also acts as a fundraiser for the Fourth of July celebrations put on by the city of Coralville. All of the proceeds from the concert and beverage garden go toward the fund.
Fry Fest is one in a long line of Hawkeye traditions celebrating Hawkeye sports. Over the past seven years, the event has gone from a small, one-time festival to an annual tradition drawing more than 15,000 attendees last year.
While the 15,000 attendees are impressive, nothing, perhaps, is more so than the festival’s 2010 Guinness World Record for the largest Hokey Pokey, in which 7,384 people danced their hearts out.
“If your heartbeat escalates every time you hear ‘Back in Black’ by ACDC,” the site reads. “[If] black and gold clothing is part of your primary wardrobe, or you simply love cheering on the Hawkeyes, Fry Fest is a must experience for you.”