WEST BRANCH —  The City of West Branch, Iowa, will celebrate Herbert Hoover’s 150th birthday at Hoover’s Hometown Days, Friday-Saturday, August 9-10. There will be free entertainment for the whole family. There will be inflatables, crafts, and activities for children on Main Street and in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Live music, beer gardens, food trucks, vendors, a parade, historical talks, demonstrations, and more will be available during these fun-filled days. Free music will be available throughout the celebration. Rock, bluegrass, big band, jazz, Classical, indie, pop, and more will be performed throughout the festival grounds. The performances will be capped with a concert by Shades of Blue, the Air Force Band of Mid-America on Saturday night. This will be a rare free performance by this top military group.

Adults can also partake in “Thirty-One,” an exclusive beer brewed in honor of Hoover’s 150th birthday by Big Grove Brewery and available only at Hoover’s Hometown Days.

There will be many free fun options for children. The Herbert Hoover Library and Museum will have a scavenger hunt and STEAM stations throughout the museum. On Main Street, kids will be entertained with a parade, bounce houses, giant bubbles, face painting, balloon twister, water-ball fights, Hoover-Ball clinics, a petting zoo, and more!

For those interested in history, there will be interpretive talks given by National Park Rangers from Shenandoah National Park and the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site. There will be blacksmith demonstrations by the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site at Jesse Hoover’s Blacksmith Shop. We will have reenactors representing Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover throughout the day. On Saturday, there will be free admission to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. On Saturday at 1:00, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.

Hometown Days will also host the annual National Hoover-Ball Championship. There will be opportunities for children and adults to participate in this unique tournament event. To learn more and register, visit hooverdays.org/hoover ball. This multi-day event is coordinated by local volunteers in partnership with Main Street West Branch, the Hoover Presidential Foundation, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, and Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. It is supported by their generous stage sponsors Altorfer Ag Products, Green State Credit Union, Maisi, Nordex, Acciona Windpower, and West Branch Animal Clinic. For more information on festival events, visit www.hooverdays.org.

About the Foundation The Hoover Presidential Foundation promotes and supports the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum, National Historic Site, and other programs that enhance the understanding of Herbert Hoover as president and humanitarian.