Make New Memories at the 54th Annual Madison County Covered Bridge Festival While Reliving Those from the Past

A community tradition since 1970, the annual Madison County Covered Bridge Festival is right around the corner! On Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 and Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, the Winterset Courthouse Square is cordoned off and the streets around the historic Madison County Courthouse are lined with over 140 arts, crafts, food and beverage vendors. In keeping with the authenticity and history of the festival, all vendors (apart from the vendors located in the Winterset Livery) are required to have no less than 50% of their merchandise made by their own hands and the majority of the festival’s vendors are local to Madison County or Iowa. In addition, there are a handful of craftspeople who demonstrate old-fashioned skills such as blacksmithing, weaving and sewing, and festivalgoers can even try their hand at slicing through a freshly felled log with a two-man crosscut saw.

Live Entertainment at the Covered Bridge Festival

Live entertainment on the Benge Family Stage will be near constant both days of the festival with headliners, The Bird Hunters, taking the stage on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Other local and regional artists include Day’s Live Music, Liv McNair, Chris Powell, Emma Butterworth and Maxwell Aden.

Covered Bridge Tours

Travel out to see the real stars of the festival, the world-famous covered bridges of Madison County! The Winterset Rotary Club offers two-hour tours on school buses that depart between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to Noon on Sunday. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Rotary booth on the SW side of the festival grounds on West Washington Street near the Winterset Livery. Proceeds benefit Winterset Rotary.

Free Activities at the Covered Bridge Festival

The Madison County Historical Complex hosts its annual free activities during the festival. Festivalgoers can take the free shuttle buses between the festival grounds and the Historical Complex on Saturday and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and tour the museum and Bevington Mansion, enjoy a free horse-and-wagon ride around the grounds, watch reenacted Civil War Skirmishes and partake in free s’mores and popcorn on Saturday evening starting at 6:45 p.m.

Sunday Events

While Saturday is popular with festivalgoers who want first dibs at the shops and booths around the festival, Sunday’s additions make it worthwhile to attend for a second day! Registration for the massive Annual Madison County Car Show, located around the grounds of the Winterset Elementary School, opens at 8 a.m. Hosted by the Central Iowa Auto Club, judging begins at 1:30 p.m. and awards are presented at 3 p.m. At 3 p.m., the Covered Bridge Festival Parade also begins. Festivalgoers won’t want to miss it!

Admission to the Madison County Covered Bridge Festival is $3 or two for $5 at any of the festival gates.

Of course, there is much more entertainment and activities throughout the weekend. For all the details, head to exploremadisoncounty.com!

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses, including Chamber luncheons, roundtables and ribbon cuttings. You can also find live music happening each week thanks to the “Live Music This Week in DSM” blog series.