Ann Virden, 23, Marion

Community Relations Director @ Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival

Before she started working for the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, Ann Virden worried that she might get sick of red, white and blue.

But as she kicks off her third festival as the Community Relations Director, Ann is proud to say she’s very fond of those colors.

This year’s Freedom Festival runs from June 18 to July 4, and it promises to keep Ann very busy. At times, she’s on the clock from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next day. “If we are wiped out at the end of the day we’re up and at it the next day and the next day,” she says. (Perhaps that’s what a little added patriotism can do.)

But planning for those 17 days honestly keeps Ann—and the rest of the Freedom Festival staff—busy all year long. “A lot of people know what the Freedom Festival is, but a lot of people don’t know what we do,” she says. “It’s just nice to tell them what you do year-round. People are actually surprised at how much work goes into it.”

Ann’s job starts to get “hectic” in the spring.
 
“Crazy busy time starts at the beginning of May and then especially after Memorial Day when the buttons go on sale,” she says. 
 
Perhaps that’s because Ann is in charge of getting some 60,000 Freedom Festival buttons out to the 100 retail locations around the Corridor. And once you pick a button you’ll notice it’s also comes with $100 worth of coupons to local businesses (thanks to Ann.) It’s the family-friendly, affordable aspect of the Freedom Festival that makes her most proud. 
 
But button management, if you will, is only one of Ann’s patriotic duties. 
 
Each year the Freedom Festival works with some 40 organizations to put together the 60 to 80 events that take place.
 
“I recruit those organizations, figure out their needs and figure out how their event fits into the Festival,” she says.
 
She also manages the volunteer program, which includes more than 800 volunteers each Festival. “We have a cool volunteer program,” Ann says. Through corporate sponsorships volunteer teams of ten are able to earn $250 that they in turn donate to a local non-profit organization or their choice. “It’s nice to see so many people want to volunteer and give back to the community.”
 
It’s a community Ann is certainly familiar with. She’s a graduate of Washington High School and actually started working with the Freedom Festival as an intern in 2007 while going to Coe College. She remembers watching the fireworks from the top of the First Avenue parking ramp while in high school and wondering who pulled off the event each year.
 
“I thought, ‘How does this even get put together?’ I never realized I’d come to plan it.”
 
Ann says so far it hasn’t gotten to her that she’s working when everyone else has the day off.
 
“Even though it’s a holiday and I’m working, it’s as much fun,” she says. “It’s nice to see other people enjoying the Fourth of July.” 
 
That is perhaps the most ironic part of Ann’s job. She’s usually so busy during the fireworks that she doesn’t get to sit and enjoy the main event. But she’s surely looking forward—as much as anyone—to the grand finale

Did you know: 
The Balloon Glow (scheduled for June 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Brucemore) is Ann’s favorite Freedom Festival event. 
 
What she can do for you:
Looking for discounts to some of your favorite retailers plus something to do over the Fourth of July holiday? Pick up a Freedom Festival button packet for just $3 (check www.freedomfestival.com for locations) and you can thank Ann for all the fun and deals (but wait until August, OK?)

— KATIE