National Cattle Congress Fair
Waterloo, IA · Festival
- When
- September 24–27, 2026
- Where
- National Cattle Congress Fairgrounds · Waterloo · IA
- Cost
- Not confirmed
- Status
- Confirmed from the organizer's published schedule
The National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo hosts its namesake fair each September, combining the Black Hawk County 4-H Fair with livestock shows, a carnival and concerts inside the historic Hippodrome arena built in 1919. It has run as one of eastern Iowa's major livestock and agricultural fairs for decades.
The history within reach
Cedar Falls throws its biggest community festival on the last weekend of June, with a parade, live bands on multiple stages, a classic car show, and an arts and crafts fair anchored at Overman Park.
Hillary Clinton's first attempt at Snapchat, filmed at arm's length on the Cedar River bank in July 2015, produced four words delivered directly into the lens.
The seven Amana Colonies villages, settled by German communal Pietists in the 1850s, mark autumn with a four-day Oktoberfest of German food, beer gardens, and folk dancing centered at the Festhalle Barn.
- Nordic Fest62 mi
Decorah's Norwegian heritage takes over downtown for a weekend of folk dancing, Viking battle re-enactments, and aebleskiver breakfasts, anchored by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
- Field of Dreams66 mi
A baseball diamond a farmer cut into his corn for the film and then, when he was supposed to plough it back under, could not.