Home Care In Amana, IA

In the heart of the Amana Colonies, there’s a campground that’s not just spacious – it’s huge. The Amana RV Park & Event Center is a sprawling Iowa campground in the Iowa River valley that’s perfect for a getaway – it’s in a great location, has plenty of amenities and there’s a ton of room to stretch out.

Here’s why the Amana RV Park is a town-like campground you simply have to visit.

The Wonderful Lake Ahquabi State Park Campground Has Reopened For The Season

The campground is usually open from May 1 – October 31 and has discounts available for longer stays, but make sure to stay connected with them online to follow announcements and other important information about this RV park in Iowa. Have you ever visited an Iowa RV park? Let us know in the comments section.

If you’re interested in finding RV rentals, check out RV Share; they have a great selection of RVs for rent all of the United States.

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When one theater closes, a new performing arts venue opens.

When the Old Creamery Theatre in Amana closed its doors in early February, Iowa County patrons of the arts rallied. By mid-March, the Amana Colonies Performing Arts Council had been formed and began looking at ways to re-purpose the former Old Creamery building as a new entertainment and event-hosting option.

The newly established council is made up of members of area community organizations and businesses, ranging from the Amana Arts Guild and Amana Colonies Festivals to Fireside Winery and the former Iowa Theatre Artists Co. The building the Old Creamery Theatre had called home for three decades was owned by the Amana Society Inc. Still under ASI ownership, it has been christened the Amana Performing Arts Center and the council is moving forward with plans to update the 1990s structure for a variety of uses.

More:Old Creamery Theatre closes permanently, cites financial challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic

The former theater is located at 39 38^th Ave., directly across from the Amana RV Park and Event Center. While the RV park hosts thousands of campers and events throughout the year, from antique shows to dog shows to weddings, the theater building, with its stage, lighting, sound system, seating and dressing rooms, offers options beyond the what the park traditionally offers.

The 270-seat theater includes restrooms, a large lobby, parking and an outdoor courtyard. The Amana Colonies Performing Arts Council hopes to bring in outside theater performances, community events, corporate seminars, weddings and school events.

“Things moved really quickly,” says Jamie Scott, manager of the Amana RV Park and Event Center. “The Old Creamery closed in February and by mid-March, the Council was formed. Now, just a month later, we’ve got the first events scheduled at the theater.”

The Amana Performing Arts Center is operated under the umbrella of the RV Park and Event Center. Groups interested in scheduling an event at the theater should contact Scott at (319) 930-1030 or email her at [email protected] for rental rates and scheduling.

Two events are already planned: a “Weekend Comedy” production May 20-21, and a swap meet with vendors, music and food beginning in July.

New signage will be going up soon and plans are underway to give the structure an interior and exterior facelift. Scott said the future may also see displays showcasing the Amana Colonies’ art, history, culture and shopping offerings in the building’s lobby.

“We want it to be a community-minded space that celebrates everything about the Colonies,” she said.

The center will have its own website and Facebook page but for now, information can be found at https://amanarvpark.com/buildings-rentals/ or https://www.facebook.com/AmanaRVParkEventCenter.

Jeff Popenhagen wants those who come to the Amana Colonies to stay longer, and he's pretty confident Hotel Millwright is exactly the way to do it.

"We used a preservation strategy many historic (facilities) have used," explained Popenhagen, the Amana Society's director of marketing, during a press event Wednesday. "When a function of a building becomes less optimal, we look for a way to find a business that can come in and bring the building back to life.”

Although the hotel has been operating since early in the month (and the textile mill more than 100 years before that), the facility celebrated its grand opening Oct. 21, the fruition of a conversion years in the planning.

Remodeling a mill

“The history of weaving in the Amana Colonies goes all the way back to Germany," said David Retting, the executive director of the Amana Visitors Bureau.

The Community of True Inspiration, the religious group that founded the Amana Colonies, first arrived in New York state while fleeing religious persecution. After a time in Buffalo, they moved further west, bringing the tradition of wool weaving with them and building what is now the Hotel Millwright as a textile mill in 1855.

Although the edifice has been largely repurposed, its original intent has not been lost.

On Wednesday, while dozens celebrated the hotel's opening on the second floor of Amana's historic weaving building — a 7,000 square foot event center called The Merino Loft — textile workers were still using the first and third floors of the building.

“There’s a lot of synergy between the hotel and the mill," said hotel general manager Nicole Warner.

Although the need for what was once 13 buildings has diminished over the years for a variety of reasons, new blankets, bags and other materials are still being made. It's in those portions of the building still dedicated to weaving that bed scarves and other accent pieces for the hotel are made.

Those walking the halls of the hotel will see a variety of equipment from its past life. Things such as fans, drills and other industrial-era machinery furnish the space, displaying its history. Historic photos — both inside and outside the guest rooms — indicate what function that part of the building served in bygone days.

The lobby, for example, used to be a boiler room, and the Electric Thread Social Club is where the physical mill itself met the water.

Although all 65 rooms at the pet-friendly hotel are unique, there are five different types of accommodations. These room options extend from the standard rooms (the Amana King and the Amana Two Queen) to the Tapestry and Craftsmen Suites, respectively — a pair for furnished three-room spaces located in the same building separate from the hotel proper.

The rest of the hotel boasts a number of indoor and outdoor spaces for renting events as well as a fitness center, a restaurant, two bars and other amenities.

“It is truly repurposed," Warner said.

The 'lifeblood' of the Amana Colonies

Although the Amana Visitors Bureau was founded in 1965, Retting says the collection of German colonies relied on tourism much earlier. According to Retting, people came the Amana Colonies for tourism even in the early 1900s.

“(There would be) trainloads of people coming from Cedar Rapids and Iowa City to see this different, communal style of living," he said.

Through the first third of the 20th century, the Amana Colonies operated as a church-led commune. It was in 1932 — a point referred to by Amana residents as "The Great Change" — when the community opted to adopt a more capitalistic model, leading to the creation of the Amana Society.

"To say that tourism is a lifeblood of this community is probably an understatement," Retting said. "We have approximately $20 million worth of revenue brought in by tourism to the colonies every year ... Without tourism, we would be looking at a very different place here in the Amana Colonies."

Now that the Hotel Millwright has been completed, Retting projects at least six more years of expansion of various activities in the Amana Colonies.

These projects include bike trails reach to Iowa City and Marengo — which should complement the hotel's planned bike rental program — and a general focus on eco-friendly outdoor activities that highlight the history of the Amana Colonies in a similar fashion to the Hotel Millwright.

“The customer (we have now) is different than the customer we had in 2000. And that customer is different than the customer we had in the '70s and '80s," Retting told those gathered on Wednesday. "People want more festivals; they want cultural events."

The expansion of Amana's festivals has already occurred. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Amana Colonies have introduced Autumn in Amana, a series of ongoing weekend events created in part to spread out the typical Oktoberfest crowds.

Although Oktoberfest is planned to be reincorporated next year, the series spanning eight weekends is one Retting believes could be continued into the future.

Whatever comes next, Amana organizations plan to work with the Amana Heritage Society so as to help highlight the history that makes their community unique.

"We want people to rediscover the Amana Colonies," Popenhagen said, "and I think this is going to be the vehicle to do that.”

Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Press-Citizen. Reach him at [email protected] or (319)-688-4247, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet.

You can support local journalism like this by subscribing to the Press-Citizen.

First show at revamped venue slated for May

The former Old Creamery Theatre in Amana is being reborn under a new moniker – the Amana Performing Arts Center – and will present its first show in May.

“We are hopeful that the theater can remain a positive asset for the Amana Society and the community,” Amana Society president and CEO Greg Luerkens said in an April 14 article in the Amana Society Bulletin. “It’s important to the Amana Society and to the community that the facility operates at a profit or at minimum, is self-sustaining, assuring it operates for years to come.”

Old Creamery, then Iowa’s oldest professional non-profit theater company, permanently closed in early February just short of its 50th anniversary.

“Like many other organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to temporarily close our doors in March of 2020,” read the notification on Old Creamery’s website from the group’s board of directors. “After an attempt at a partial re-opening this past fall/winter 2021 with roadshows, we had the hopes of putting on a regular season of shows in 2022. While the roadshows were considered a success, it was just too little, too late. The financial pressures endured during this extended closure have proven to be a catastrophe from which we could not recover. Coupled with the existing non-profit budget and all the usual expenses which were still incurred while closed, there was simply no way to continue to stay open.”

Staff members at the Amana Society, including Bruce Trumpold, Jeff Popenhagen, Dennis Hahn and Jamie Scott, began working to return the theater building to operation shortly after Old Creamery ceased operations.

“Despite being asked to leave things as they found them, the building and equipment were in disrepair and some vital equipment from the sound and lighting systems was unworkable or missing,” the Amana Society Bulletin reported. “But with a lot of hard work, brainstorming and calling in help when needed, the theater will be ready for bookings this year.”

The Performing Arts Center’s first show, “Weekend Comedy,” will be presented May 20-21. The show is described as a “hilarious comedy about two couples, one in their 20s and the other in their 50s, who book the same cabin for the same three-day weekend.” It’s written by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick and presented by TKM Productions, headed by Tom Milligan and Deborah Kennedy.

Jamie Scott, director of the Amana RV Park and Event Center, is handling all bookings for the Amana Performing Arts Center. She said the venue has already booked 10 different events, including theatrical performances, a kids theater camp and a series of weekend evening swap meets with live bluegrass music and a pop-up food vendor to be held in the back courtyard, similar to events in South Amana in 2018-2019.

The Amana Society is promoting the new venue’s availability, including working with The Hotel Millwright and the Amana Colonies RV Park to market the facility as a potential meeting site for corporate, business or club gatherings that require a large auditorium, the Amana Society Bulletin reported.

“The hope is that community groups can utilize the space in a wide array of ways,” Mr. Luerkens said. “In the immediate future, the Amana Society is working with TKM Productions (to ramp) up production of theater presentations. The hope is that this group can bring much of what the Old Creamery Theater has brought to the community in the past, maintaining Amana as a place that promotes the arts.”

While featuring theater productions is important because offering good entertainment is a natural draw, Mr. Luerkens said the Amana Society believes widening what can and will happen at the venue will help sustain its future operations.

The Amana Colonies is also studying the possibility of the area around the theater as an agritourism destination that could include attractions such as a corn maze, petting zoo, produce gardens and other family-friendly activities, The Gazette reports.

The 300-seat Performing Arts Center is located at 39 38th Ave. in Amana. For more information, check out the group’s temporary website at amanarvpark.com/amana-performing-arts-center/, call (319) 622-7616 or email [email protected]

Old Creamery was founded in 1971 in a former co-op dairy building in Garrison and moved to the Amana Colonies in 1988. At its peak, Old Creamery presented up to six mainstage shows each year, adding children’s productions to the mix in 2007.

The theatre had terminated all its staff, except for general manager Pat Wagner, in July 2020 in an effort to remain financially viable, but even receiving a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant from the federal government wasn’t enough to fully address Old Creamery’s financial woes.

Friday's football game between Clear Creek Amana and Iowa City Liberty was expected to be a battle between the Lightning's strong offense and the Clippers' soild defense.

But it didn't take long for Liberty's offense to get the advantage.

The Lightning made it clear early on that they had no intention of losing back-to-back games, defeating the Clippers 55-7 on Clear Creek Amana's home field.

Trey Gregoire has become an x-factor for Liberty

Much of the attention this season has gone to Liberty's junior starting quarterback, Graham Beckman, and rightfully so.

Friday was Beckman's fourth varsity start, but he has maintained his poise. He picked apart the Clippers' secondary for much of the contest.

Trey Gregoire is another new starter worth mentioning. Against CCA, Gregoire had two rushing touchdowns, doubling his season total. He powered through tackles and created first downs, something that the Clippers' defense had done a fine job of limiting in their previous three games.

Liberty coach James Harris knew that he could not shy away from the run if the Lightning wanted their offense to flow properly.

"I am so happy for Trey to see that success," Harris said. "That all starts with the offensive line up front. They also helped our backup running back, Anhlyan Peoples, have a big run. It is good to see us play that complementary football."

If Gregoire can continue to make big plays when his number is called, that will lead defenses to try to load the box in an attempt to stop him.

That means more single-coverage opportunities for his passing game to exploit.

The Clippers' defense needs balance

Entering Friday, Clear Creek Amana's defense had allowed an average of just 4.3 points per game. You wouldn't have guessed that based on the Clippers' Friday performance.

Their defensive front had some nice plays early, including a quarterback hurry by sophomore defensive end Brody Clubb that forced an intentional grounding on third down.

CCA's defense deteriorated over the course of the game, particularly in the second half when it was clear that the Clippers were getting tired.

The secondary did not fare much better, as the defensive backs were routinely beaten downfield, particularly in the second half when they allowed multiple touchdowns of 30+ yards.

"We could never get off the field on third down," Clippers coach Matthew Haddy said. "That has been one of our trademarks up until this point, but we could not do that tonight. They did some nice things, which put us in tough spots defensively that they were able to take advantage of areas that we were not very sharp in."

Though one game does not negate all the work that the Clippers have done this year, they have to work on their balance to get back to their previous high level of play.

If Liberty can get the deep ball going, good luck to its opponents

Beckman had three touchdown passes in the second and third quarters, all coming from 25+ yards from the end zone.

The recipient of two of those touchdown grabs was senior wide receiver Gregory Gregoire, brother of Trey.

The chemistry between Beckman and his wide receivers make it difficult for defenses to cover them one-on-one downfield. If defenses elect to sag off and give him space, Gregoire said he is happy to make them pay.

"When the ball gets into my hands, I make plays."

CCA's offense begins and ends with Jackson Schmidt

Another new starting quarterback, senior Jackson Schmidt, has been the catalyst for the Clippers' offense with his ability to make defenders miss whenever he decides to scramble.

Friday was another example of that as he used his legs to help drive his team downfield. A great example of that was a 57-yard run that helped to set up the Clippers' lone touchdown of the game.

While that leads to a lot of exciting moments from the signal caller, it can also lead to some dry spells if he is unable to make magic happen.

Haddy said those dry spells were compounded by the fact that his team had a difficult time getting into a rhythm.

"It was a thing of us never being able to get into an offensive rhythm that we had been able to the past few games," Haddy said. "The first drive we missed an open guy on a bootleg pass. Then we ran a couple of wrong routes in other situations. That's a real credit to Liberty and some of the things that they did as well as areas we have to clean up."

Combine that with Schmidt leaving the game in the third quarter with a toe injury, and it proved to be too much to overcome.

Hoping to avoid another painful loss like this, CCA will hopefully have a player emerge in the following week of practice that can help to alleviate the weight from Schmidt's shoulders and help get this offense back where it would like to be.

Raven Moore covers high school sports for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. You can reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @Raven_XReport.