Photographing the 5th Annual Raccoon River Palooza

The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce invited me to photograph the 5th Annual Raccoon River Palooza at Raccoon River Park, and I’m so glad I had the chance to be part of it. The event had a full schedule of activities, live music, and community participation from early morning through the evening.

Things kicked off at 8 a.m. with the Business Expo and continued with free boat rentals at the boathouse, breakfast and coffee food trucks, and family favorites like Touch-A-Truck and the Bike Rodeo in the Nature Lodge parking lot. ISU and University of Iowa mascots made the rounds early on and a full day of inflatables and kids' activities set up throughout the park, presented by Prevent Child Abuse Iowa.

The Microsoft Stage hosted three musical acts throughout the day: The Dan Medeiros Project in the morning, Sara Routh around midday, and Brian Congdon in the afternoon. One of the biggest crowd-draws was the boat race on the beach, where teams tested their homemade cardboard boats in front of a cheering audience. Everyone made it to the finish line… pretty much. I was surprised how well those things held up!

The food trucks stayed busy as the crowd shifted into lunch and dinner, and the day wrapped up with an outdoor screening of Shrek, giving families a chance to relax and wind down after a full day of activity.

Thank you to the West Des Moines Chamber for bringing me in to document it. If you like to see the full gallery, it can be found HERE.