Cedar Rapids

Only an hour's drive from Des Moines, Iowa’s second largest metropolitan area provides a variety of activities for visitors. This regional center for arts and culture is home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Paramount Theatre, and the Theatre Cedar Rapids.  One of the oldest and most prestigious symphony orchestras west of the Mississippi is to be found here with Orchestra Iowa. See Cultural Corridor for the activities of over one hundred members, representing a spectrum of arts and cultural organizations in the region.

Iowa City

This nearby college town (University of Iowa), originally built to be the state capital (the government moved to Des Moines in 1876), has been acclaimed from several perspectives: City of Literature (UNESCO); 3rd Best Small Metropolitan Area in the USA (Forbes Magazine); and it ranked high in a list of "Gayest Cities in America" compiled by the Advocate, in 2010. Iowa City Pride takes place each year in mid-June.

Iowa City also has many cultural offerings, and a strong literary history. The city is home to the Iowa Writers' Workshop, with many prominent graduates; a Non-Fiction Writing Program; Playwrights' Workshop; Summer Writing Festival; and a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated International Writing Program. The 49 authors and playwrights honored by bronze relief panels in the Iowa Avenue Literary Walk, all have ties to Iowa.

Iowa City Summer of the Arts events include a jazz festival, a festival of the arts, open-air movies, and free Friday concerts in the Pedestrian Mall. The Landlocked Film Festival takes place each August, at the Englert Theatre, the grandest performing arts venue in downtown Iowa City.

The Bijou Theatre is a student-run art house cinema that screens foreign and classic films, many with gay themes, 123 2nd St SW, Mount Vernon, IA.

The Riverside Theatre stages plays, some of gay interest, and the Dreamwell Theatre has an award-winning group of volunteers.

The University of Iowa has a Museum of Art and a Museum of Natural History.

Gay Cedar Rapids & Iowa City

The gay community in the two cities is not large, even combined, but it is enthusiastic and well organized. The Cedar Rapids Gay Pride Fest is held the first week of each June. See the website of the Cedar Rapids G & L Resource Center for city information. Iowa City Pride takes place in mid-June.

 

Getting here

About 5 miles outside Cedar Rapids, the compact Eastern Iowa Airport  has a surprising number of flights, most of them from other cities in the Midwest. CR Transit bus number 11 operates to downtown every 30-60 minutes between 5:44am and 6:44pm, Monday - Friday; just 9 times on Saturday until 4:39. There is no bus on Sundays. Shuttle services operate from the airport to destinations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Eastern Iowa points. Finding fellow travelers to form a group for your final destination will spread the cost.

Alternately, you can fly into the much larger Des Moines International Airport and rent a car.

 

Getting around

You’ll want a car to get around, especially if you’re visiting other parts of the state, but the website of CR Transit has schedule and route info for the local Cedar Rapids bus company. For Iowa City public tranportation see the Iowa City Transit pages of the City of Iowa City website.

 

Media & Resources

Accessline is Iowa’s gay newspaper. It’s filled with current events, opinion pieces, arts coverage and community listings for Iowa cities and nearby Omaha. The paper can be viewed on their website.

See Downtown IC for Iowa City listings and events online.

For map locations and website links to the businesses below, and more, see our Cedar Rapids - Iowa City gay listings pages.

 

Cedar Rapids Nightlife

Belle's Basix (3916 1st Ave NE), entertainment variety, open stage drag shows, karoake, bingo, open daily from 5pm, dancing, undies nights, wet boxer contests, theme party nights.

Club CO2 (616 2nd Avenue SE), LGBT nightclub, mixed men/women, large screen sports, drag, strippers, karaoke, bingo, theme parties.

 

Iowa City Nightlife

Studio 13 (13 South Linn St), Tuesday - Sunday 19+ gay dance club, open stage drag kings and queens shows, karaoke, retro nights.

The Java House (211 E Washington St) popular Iowa City gay-friendly cafe and hang-out, with live music several nights of the week.

 

Iowa City Accommodations

Golden Haug (517 East Washington St; 319-354-4284), the Brown Street Inn (430 Brown St; 319-338-0435), and Bella Vista B&B (2 Bella Vista Pl; 319 338-4129) are three gay-owned or gay-friendly guesthouses in Iowa City.

 

Area Stores

Adult Shop (5539 Crane Ln NE), the main Cedar Rapids retail store for adult magazines, videos and accessories; arcade, cruising.

Artifacts (331 E Market St; Iowa City) an antique store gem, small but packed with unusual vintage items.

Prairie Lights Books (15 South Dubuque St; Iowa City) three-floor bookstore and coffeehouse; home to the readings series of up-and-coming and well-established authors & poets from around the world, heard on Iowa Public Radio. Archive recordings can be heard at the University of Iowa Library website.

Romantix Adult Boutique (315 Kirkwood Ave; Iowa City) adult toys, oils, lingerie, lotions, and adult XXX DVDs.

 

Sauna

Hole in the Wall Men's Club (Galesburg, Illinois) is the closest gay men's sauna to Iowa City, about 110 miles east, across the Mississippi River. Amenities include: Workout room with free weights, second floor play pen, Infrared dry heat saunas, large steam room, relaxation areas and hot tub.