TRAER – Don’t call it another lonely day; in fact, everything’s waiting for you at the 28th annual Winding Stairs Festival set for Aug. 7-10 in downtown Traer. And while you certainly could ‘go your own way,’ like Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 classic implores, Winding Stairs organizers are instead hoping everyone will stick to the 2025 festival theme and Glow Your Own Way at the four-day bash.

“A couple things to highlight for this year’s festival [include] live music on Friday [with] local favorite Grand Marshal. There will be a glow foam blaster for both Friday and Saturday nights to coordinate with our [theme]. [And] there will be additional live music during the day this year on Saturday by Traer native Robert Yeltman,” Pam Ewoldt, a member of the festival committee, told the newspaper in a recent email.

Grand Marshal will perform from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Aug. 8, on the main stage. The band bills itself as central Iowa’s “premier variety band,” performing “100% live” with “no backing tracks.”

Yeltman’s performance will take place the following day on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 1-3 p.m. on the west stage located at the end of Second St. Yeltman is a member of the North Tama Class of 2000. Per his website, he “brings West Coast flavor to any occasion with covers from the 90’s [sic], classic rock, folk, punk and acoustic finger-style guitar.”

In her email, Ewoldt also gave a glowing endorsement of Saturday evening’s (8 p.m. to midnight) main stage act, The Schmidt Brothers, a cover band hailing from nearby Vinton. The trio – Stephen, Sam, and Gabe Schmidt – has been performing both as a group and separately throughout eastern Iowa (and beyond) since childhood, covering a variety of genres including country, pop, and rock.

2025 Winding Stairs Festival Grand Parade route.

Rounding out the festival’s music lineup, The Dueling Pianos with Andy Anderson and Mike Leeds performs ahead of the Schmidts from 6-8 p.m. on the east stage.

Parade route change

A significant change to the festival this year is the parade route which was altered due to the construction around the North Tama Community School District campus.

Lineup for the Grand Parade begins at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, on the south end of town at St. Paul Catholic Church (1102 Walnut St.) with the parade commencing at 4 p.m. After a quick jog down Toledo St., the parade will head north on Mill St. before turning east onto First St. and then south on Walnut St. for a few blocks. The parade ends along Third St., west of US 63.

Ahead of the Grand Parade, the Kiddie & Pet Parade will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. in front of the Memorial Building with prizes awarded for best decorated. A Little Miss & Mister of Traer Contest for ages 3-10 will take place following the kiddie parade on the main stage at 10:15 a.m., and a free kids pedal pull sponsored by Mitch Wieben takes off shortly thereafter at 11 a.m. on the west end of downtown.

More Saturday fun

Before all the parade excitement, Saturday morning kicks off bright and early with a pancake breakfast and open house hosted by the United Presbyterian Church in honor of its 150th anniversary. The 8-11 a.m. event is sponsored by the congregation along with Traer United Methodist Church and Ripley United Church of Christ with donations earmarked for C.H.A.T. (Christian Hands Across Traer).

Also at 8 a.m., the North Tama 5K Competitive Run/Walk will take off from Dennis Field. Proceeds from the race will benefit both in-school athletic programming and the newly-established Our North Tama Girl Scholarship – a fund dedicated to recognizing and rewarding outstanding student athletes. To preregister, contact Patty Calderwood at pattycalderwood@gmail.com.

From noon to 9 p.m., the carnival (rides and games) space will be open downtown (Friday from 5-9 p.m.). A variety of free kids activities will also take place downtown including a water ball fight from 12:30-2 p.m. for ages 8-18 on the east end; balloon twisting, face painting, and caricatures; and a free petting zoo sponsored by the Dan Ewoldt family from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the west end.

“As always, look for local food vendors downtown to grab something to eat,” Ewoldt added. “We are providing new and more vendors this year!”

Gratitude

As part of her email to the newspaper, Ewoldt expressed gratitude to all the volunteers and sponsors who have contributed to the 28th annual Winding Stairs Festival.

“We would like to thank all of our wonderful local businesses that have been sponsors this year and who have sponsored events for this year’s festival,” Ewoldt wrote. “We would also like to thank the City of Traer for issuing the festival the local (option sales) tax grant which provides funds for the carnival each year. Your continued support allows the festival to keep providing free entertainment for all who attend.”

On the festival’s Facebook page, a recent post delved further into the grant.

“This grant helps pay for the entire Carnival for the festival. The Festival would not be possible [without] the hard work of the city workers for helping us close down the street, cleaning the street, putting out electrical boxes, and everything else that goes unnoticed to help with festival each year.”

“We also want to thank all the volunteers that help make this festival possible [including] beer tent volunteers, ticket booth volunteers, and parade volunteers,” Ewoldt continued. “Let’s show what a great small town festival looks like!”

For more information on the 2025 Winding Stairs Festival including a full schedule, refer to the organization’s Facebook page, Winding Stairs Festival, Traer, Iowa.

Nothing much left to do now but ‘glow your own way’ and wind up in Traer Aug. 7-10.