The University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium has partnered with the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the Stanley Museum of Art, and the Iowa City Public Library among many others to put on the “Infinite Dream Festival,” a two-week festival this fall that will celebrate music and culture.

The announcement was made in a press release from the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement on Wednesday morning and provides exciting new insight into the event’s lineup and important dates. 

The festival will officially begin on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, and conclude on Saturday, Oct 21. Through a variety of performances, workshops, and conversations, the festival seeks to explore the “American story,” according to the press release.

The overarching theme of the “American story,” which will be delivered in a two-week festival, will not just tell one American story: it seeks to tell as many as it can, the press release read.

“The festival’s theme serves as a reference point for the performances and conversations — a loose frame for artists and patrons to consider as they share and experience transformative work,” André Perry, Hancher’s executive director, said in the announcement.

The lineup will include orchestral, jazz, and alternative music performances from a diverse group of artists and groups — The Sphinx Virtuosi, Love in Exile, and Kurt Vile to name a few — and conversations with John Irving, a University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate, and Lan Samantha Chang, an author and Writers’ Workshop alum. These events are not restricted to just Hancher Auditorium, with some events being held at Englert Theater and Gabe’s, among others.

The centerpiece performance installation by interactive-electronics artist Andrew Schneider, “N O W I S W H E N W E A R E (the stars),” will take place at Hancher during the last days of the festival, from Oct. 18-21.

Festival passes go on sale Friday for Hancher donors and will open to the general public on Monday, June 19. Individual tickets for donors and the general public will be available for purchase on July 17 and July 31 respectively. Festival passes will cost $85 for adults and $35 for minors and UI students. 

There are many free events and performances included in this festival that will be open to the public. More information regarding these events will be released in the fall.