Up, Up, and Away with the Upcoming Quad Cities Balloon Festival

If you’re looking for an event to get your family outside and into the fresh air, then the Quad Cities Balloon Festival is the perfect choice! This year’s festival will be in Davenport, Iowa, held at Rhythm City Casino Resort from August 13 - 14, 2021.

Admission is FREE but in lieu of admission they ask that you bring donations from the Quad City Animal Welfare Center Wish List or donation at the event.

Friday, August 13, 2021
4:00pm-Gates Open to Public
6:00pm-Balloon Launch (weather permitting)
Dusk (between 7:45 - 8:45 p.m.) Balloon Glow

Saturday, August 14, 2021
4:00pm-Gates Open to Public
6:00pm-Balloon Launch (weather permitting)
Dusk (between 7:45 - 8:45 p.m.) Balloon Glow

What Makes Hot Air Balloons Special?

People have been using hot air balloons for hundreds of years to fly around. Hot air balloons don’t require an engine to work, but they do need a source of heat—in some cases, a propane burner—to make them fly. Invented in France in 1783 by Joseph-Michel Montgolfier as part of his experiments on manned flight, hot air balloons were once used for exploration and transportation purposes before being adopted by pilots as a recreational activity.

How Can I Volunteer?

If you love balloons, volunteering allows you to play a role in creating an exciting event for everyone who attends. If you’re interested in volunteering your go to http://www.quadcitiesballoonfestival.com/volunteer.html

Can I Take a Balloon Ride?

The Quad Cities Balloon Festival doesn't have public balloon rides during the event. They do have a few recommendations for places to get a balloon flight throughout the year.

Galena, Illinois: buyaballoonride.com
Cedar Rapids, Iowa: buzzardsgloryballoons.com
Indianola, Iowa: serenityballooning.com

Check Out the Best-Selling Album From the Year You Graduated High School

Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen's SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.

Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.

Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.

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