Jammin' on the Snake

Packed with music and art of all kinds, the Snake River Roaring Youth Jam is a free event put on by the Idaho Falls Art Council for the entire family to enjoy.

“It gets to highlight our community, it gets to highlight the beauty of the Greenbelt and people get to come down and have experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have,” said Brandi Newton, the executive director of the Idaho Falls Art Council.

This year’s theme is American Artists & Innovators — an all-out celebration of the country’s creative heritage.

Georgina Goodlander, the Art Council’s visual art director, said this year’s youth jam has been biggest yet, with 24 vendor booths in addition to the Art Council’s 11.  Each booth has at least one free activity, and many of those booths are focused on contemporary and historical artists and innovators, with activities ranging from art projects to science experiments.

The Greenbelt Main Stage will be alive with activity all day long with local performers, including bands, choirs, cheer squads, dance groups and anyone else who wants their chance in the spotlight.

Tonight’s entertainment marks the return of the extremely popular Battle of the Bands, where all participants in each band must be under the age of 21.  The bands, which play anything from rock to folk, are judged by local professional performers.

Tomorrow, expect another packed schedule of art and entertainment as well as a splash on the West side of the river, marking the annual Idaho Falls Duck Race.

Put on by the Idaho Falls Rotary Club, the duck race is now in its 26th year of raising funds to help beautify and improve the Greenbelt.

Grand prize is a 2016 Ford F-150 pickup donated by Broadway Ford. Other prizes include a TERYX off road vehicle donated by Idaho Central Credit Union,  jewelry by Ingram's and Alpine jewelers, dinner certificates from local restaurants, a Yamaha outboard motor from Precision Products, gifts cards from Blacker’s and Sam’s Club, a painting by Gloria Miller Allen and a pair of season golf passes from the City of Idaho Falls.

“What we love is that you can do things on both sides of the river [Saturday] and spend the entire day on the Greenbelt exploring everything,” Newton said.

Newton said the Youth Jam alone pulls in about 200 volunteers and has a few really great sponsors because they wouldn’t be able to put on this free event without them.

“I think that really shows something about the heart of Idaho Falls,” she said. “People care enough about the city to actually make it better, not just sit back and wait for someone else to do the work.”

[Editor’s note: Portions of this article originally appeared in our 2015 Family Fun Guide.]