Visit our full events calendar
All events are free unless noted
Lake Area Quilt Guild Annual Show
Experience vibrant fabric creations and intricate designs come to life. This year’s showcase features a stunning array of quilts, from classic patterns to contemporary masterpieces, all crafted by local talent.
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Exhibit runs through October 5th, 2024.
Visit the Clear Lake Art Center’s website
Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 S 4th St
Growth Paradox: A Collection of Drawings and Sculptures by Katie Walberg Opening Reception
This exhibition features a diverse collection of drawings and sculptures by Katie Walberg – Don’t miss the opportunity to meet the artists and learn more about their creative processes using mediums of paper and wood. The Growth Paradox exhibit will be on display until October 25th.
Arts Center is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Exhibit runs through October 25th, 2024.
Visit the Clear Lake Art Center’s website
Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 S 4th St.
NOW PLAYING: The Wild Robot (PG)
From DreamWorks Animation comes a new adaptation of a literary sensation, Peter Brown’s beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot. The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. The Wild Robot stars Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, The Black Panther franchise) as robot Roz; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as fox Fink; Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek, Best in Show) as opossum Pinktail; Oscar® nominee Bill Nighy (Living, Love Actually) as goose Longneck; Kit Connor (Heartstopper, Rocketman) as gosling Brightbill and Oscar® nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, this summer’s The Fall Guy) as Vontra, a robot that will intersect with Roz’s life on the island. The film also features the voice talents of Emmy winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, The Boy and the Heron), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, The SpongeBob Movie franchise) and Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible films, Pulp Fiction). A powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things, The Wild Robot is written and directed by three-time Oscar® nominee Chris Sanders—the writer-director of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch—and is produced by Jeff Hermann (DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby 2: Family Business; co-producer, Kung Fu Panda franchise).
Monday-Friday at 7:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, & 7:00 PM
Purchase tickets online
Lake Theatre, 4 N 4th St.
$5 adults, $4 children 12 & under
Cards & Creativity
Cards & Creativity meets every Thursday that the library is open at 1:00 p.m. This is a weekly opportunity to meet up with others to play games or engage in your creative outlet of choice. You can work on fiber art, writing, music, drawing, or anything else that inspires you! We’ll provide coloring supplies and cards for you to use!
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Visit the Library’s website
Clear Lake Public Library, 200 N 4th St.
Bluey’s Big Play
Join Bluey and Bingo as they pull out all of the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag. Bluey’s Big Play is a brand new theatrical adaptation of the Emmy® Award-winning children’s television series, with an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm and new music by Bluey composer Joff Bush. Join the Heelers in their first live theatre show made just for you which will feature brilliantly created puppets. This is Bluey as you’ve never seen it before—brought to real life.
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 6:30 PM
Click here for tickets
North Iowa Community Auditorium, 500 College Dr., Mason City
Tickets start at $35
Karaoke at TAP’d
Karaoke is back home to Thursday nights & is really starting to heat up! Jared & his crew are constantly updating the song book & coming up with new on stage effects to make it so much fun!
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 8:00 PM – Midnight
Visit the Facebook event
TAP’d, 313 Main Ave.
North Iowa Art Studio Tour
Artists from all over North Iowa are opening their studios and art practices up to the public! This annual event is a great time to meet local creatives and experience the beauty of fall in North Iowa.
Friday, September 27, 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, Saturday, September 28, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM, and Sunday, September 29, 1:00 PM-4:00 PM
The tour includes 11 North Iowa Studios. You can pick up a brochure with locations and artists at the Clear Lake Arts Center and Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center.
Follow North Iowa Studio Tour on Facebook
Live Music at TAP’d
You don’t want to miss Friday night when we bring back Midwest CMO New Artist of the Year, Mr. Jordan Beem! Jordan plays a wide variety of music from classic rock to all kinds of pop and country! Jordan takes the stage at 9 and he’ll keep the party going all night long!
Friday, September 27, 2024 at 9:00 PM
Visit the Facebook event
TAP’d, 313 Main Ave.
When Pigs Fly & Kiss A Pig Contest
Get ready for a squealing good time at the 3rd annual When Pigs Fly fundraiser, benefiting the North Iowa Children’s Museum! Plain Ol’ Pumpkins Your ticket gets you an entry into the main event (& Plain Ol’ Pumpkins for the day)—a pig drop from an airplane at 10am! Each foam pig is numbered, and the three that land closest to the target win amazing prizes! First prize: Gift cards to North Iowa businesses valued at over $500! Plus, your ticket includes admission to Plain Ol’ Pumpkins on the day of the event. We’re HAMMING it up with a “Kiss a Pig” contest! Our brave local celebrities are competing for your votes, and the one with the most money raised will pucker up to kiss a pig at 11am. Tickets and voting: Get yours now at https://givebutter.com/WhenPigsFly2024 Don’t miss out on a day of Pigs, Planes, and Pumpkins—it’s going to be a blast!
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 9:00 AM-12:00PM
Click here for tickets
Plain ol’ Pumpkins, 4333 260th St.
1 Ticket for $25 or 3 for $60 (your ticket gains you admission to Plain ol’ Pumpkins for the day)
Farmers Market
Come out to the Clear Lake Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings! With 50+ vendors each week, you’ll find fresh produce, baked goodies, meats, handmade crafts, coffee, lemonade, and more. Grab a bite from food trucks, enjoy live music, and let the kids have a blast with fun activities. It’s a great way to support local and have a good time!
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Visit the Farmers Market on Facebook
Surf Ballroom Parking Lot – 460 N Shore Dr.
Soiree at the Square
Join us for a glamorous night at the Square! Our inaugural event is Saturday, September 28th from 6 – 9 PM. There will be fabulous food made by Cynthia Lewerke, a line-up of local musicians playing up and down the 1912 Streetscape, live & silent auctions, drinks created by local celebrity mixologists, free ice cream and more! Purchase your tickets online or at The Music Man Square.
Watch this event for more details (including auction items!) The Mason City Foundation, which oversees The Music Man Square & Meredith Willson’s boyhood home, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Visit the Facebook event
Music Man Square, 308 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Mason City
Tickets are $76
Live Music at the VFW
The Sweet Nuthins return to the Clearlake VFW on Saturday, September 28! Come join us!
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 7:00 PM
Visit the Facebook event
VFW, 219 Main Ave.
Live Music at TAP’d
We have some amazing country talent coming back over from Fort Dodge in 2023 Midwest CMO “Maverick of the Year Nominee”, Jesse Wilson! Jesse has some originals to share with us to go along with some great rock and country covers! Jesse takes the stage at 9!
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 9:00 PM
Visit the Facebook event
TAP’d, 313 Main Avenue
Writing Group
Bring a pencil and some paper (or grab your laptop) and join a community of writers. Use the time to work on a project or join in on the prompts and games provided. The group meets from 6:00 – 7:00 pm on Monday nights whenever the library is open.
Monday, September 30, 2024, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Visit the Library’s website
Clear Lake Public Library, 200 N 4th St
LEGO® Derby
All ages are invited to build a Lego Derby car and race it down our Pinewood Derby track. Families can race against each other, friends, or strangers during this hour-long program. Registration required. All ages welcome to race, but children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. If registration online has closed, please call the library at 641-357-0315 to inquire about space availability!
Monday, September 30, 2024, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Visit the Library’s website to register
Clear Lake Public Library, 200 N 4th St.
Mystery Book Club: Eleven Days
The Mystery Book Club meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm in the library. October’s selection is Eleven Days by Donald Harstad. Summary: Life in Maitland, Iowa, is usually predictable, even for a cop. But all that changes the day Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman’s dispatcher receives the terrifying 911 call. The day cops find the mutilated bodies at a remote farmhouse. The first of eleven days Carl will never forget. As hotshot investigators fly in from New York, Carl and his fellow cops use old-fashioned detective work to piece together clues. But to turn suspicions into suspects, Carl must search among his closest friends to find a killer who has shocked and bewildered cops who’d thought they’d seen it all. And before it’s over, Carl will be forced into an unrelenting spiral of chaos, coming face-to-face with evil he never dreamed could exist in Maitland…or anywhere else.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Visit the Library’s website
Clear Lake Public Library, 200 N 4th St.
Clay with Jude: Beginner Throw on the Wheel
Join our immersive four-week clay class and delve into the art of intricate ceramics making. You’ll try your hand at beginner friendly to advanced techniques. Become detailed in hand-building and precision wheel throwing. Each session will focus on refining your skills to craft your unique pieces. (Adult Class)
6-week course on Wednesdays through October 9, 2024, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Visit the Clear Lake Art Center’s website
Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 S 4th St
$125 registration fee + $35, 25lb clay fee
Stand Up Comedy Open Mic Night at the Boulevard
Every First Wednesday @ The Boulevard Bar & Grill in Clear Lake Iowa.
An Open Mic for Stand-Up Comedy hosted by Matthew Douglas.
Sign up before 7pm before the open mic or anytime online.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Click here to sign up
The Boulevard Bar & Grill, 1311 Bayou Rd.