Coralville unveils RAGBRAI theme Cheers to the Years, celebrating city and RAGBRAI history
Coralville's theme and logo as it serves as the fifth and final overnight stop for RAGBRAI July 28 will merge two momentous anniversaries: they city's 150th and RAGBRAI’s 50th, city officials and local RAGBRAI planners announced Friday.
“Cheers to the years” is the theme and the logo uses the numbers 1, 5 and 0 that form the shape of a bike in white and gold ― the same hues the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa is using in its own official logo. The city's was developed by local graphic artist Robyn Hepker.
“Coralville is celebrating our sesquicentennial, our 150 years of coming together as a community and in conjunction with that RAGBRAI is celebrating their 50th anniversary, so it is very special that we have RAGBRAI coming through this summer to enhance the celebration that we are having in our community,” Coralville Mayor Meghann Foster said at a news conference.
The last time RAGBRAI riders stayed overnight in Coralville was in 2015, and its first time hosting was two decades before that. The original ride in 1973 passed through Coralville and Iowa City enroute to the end point in Davenport, but the last overnight stop was in Williamsburg.
Riders will head into Coralville from Tama-Toledo on July 28, an 82-mile trek, passing through Chelsea, Belle Plaine, Amana and Oxford. The following day, riders will pedal through the University of Iowa campus and downtown Iowa City on their way to Muscatine and the traditional ride-closing Mississippi River tire dip in Davenport.
Coralville seeks 900 volunteers for RAGBRAI
Kelly Hayworth, Coralville city administrator, said there were 18,000 registered riders for RAGBRAI as of Thursday, with plenty of time for more to sign up before the May 15 deadline. The “sheer number of people” participating in RAGBRAI in 2023 is one of the biggest differences between this year's ride and the last time RAGBRAI came to Coralville, Hayworth told the Press-Citizen.
Coralville is seeking 900 volunteers to help with RAGBRAI, as well as residents willing to host riders in their homes or allow them to camp in their backyards.
As for food, Hayworth said the Coralville Community Food Pantry and the Coralville United Methodist Church, among other organizations, will provide a meal for 1,000 people,
Coralville Public Library to host a RAGBRAI retrospective event
Coralville has been celebrating its 150th anniversary since October with special events such as historical presentations, and will feature the history of RAGBRAI on April 24. Chuck Offenburger, former Des Moines Register Iowa Boy columnist and a host of the ride from 1983 to 1998, will conduct a RAGBRAI retrospective at the Coralville Public Library and discuss the history of Coralville’s involvement in RAGBRAI.
The free event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Hayworth said the city's entertainment plans for RAGBRAI will be announced the same day.
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: RAGBRAI theme for Coralville celebrates city and RAGBRAI anniversaries
