Warren County OKs Dad’s Rock Festival at Justice Center; organizers must coordinate with farmers market, sheriff

At a 2025 meeting of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, the board approved an application from the Indianola Chamber to use space at the Warren County Justice Center for the Dad’s Rock Festival on June 14, 2025.

The festival’s organizer, Amanda Swanziger, president and CEO of the Indianola Chamber, told supervisors the family-oriented event will include three bands, children’s crafts, food vendors and contests. “We are super excited to be bringing a whole new experience to Warren County,” Swanziger said, describing a “backyard barbecue” area and a large screen truck planned for viewing the U.S. Open and other activities.

The board’s discussion focused on logistics: allowing picnic tables to be placed overnight on the northwest lawn, whether a large video truck could fit in the northwest parking lot, protecting judge and emergency parking, and coordinating street closures with the farmers market. Joe (staff member) told the board the county could likely accommodate two parking spots for the truck and asked organizers to “leave what would be the east side of that parking lot open for the judges” while the truck would occupy only a couple of spaces. Heidi Blanchard, representing the farmers market, stressed the market’s lease and said the market runs until noon; she asked organizers to coordinate set‑up times so vendors are not blocked.

Swanziger said inflatables would not use stakes, the DJ would not be present during the farmers market, and the truck would arrive Saturday morning and depart by about 5 p.m.; she also said she could provide a picture of the truck to county staff to confirm fit. The supervisors urged coordination among the Chamber, sheriff’s office, and farmers market to avoid conflicts during set‑up and street closures.

A motion to approve the application passed on a roll‑call vote. The board did not place conditions beyond asking the organizers to coordinate directly with county staff and the farmers market to reserve specific parking spots and ensure judge/emergency parking remained available.

The board’s approval allows the Indianola Chamber to use the concrete and adjacent street areas in front of the Justice Center and to load picnic tables into the northwest lawn overnight; the organizers were told to confirm truck dimensions and parking arrangements with county staff before the event.