Signs like this one at Bettendorf City Hall will be sprouting up across the city marking locations with festivities planned for the Zip Code Celebration. CREDIT CITY OF BETTENDORF
A city-wide scavenger hunt, a new special 5272Brew, live entertainment, drink and food specials, business open houses, and cash prizes of $527.22 are just a few of the plans on tap for Bettendorf’s Zip Code Celebration. On Friday, May 27, 2022, or 5/27/22, the calendar date matches the city’s 52722 zip code and that rare […]
A city-wide scavenger hunt, a new special 5272Brew, live entertainment, drink and food specials, business open houses, and cash prizes of $527.22 are just a few of the plans on tap for Bettendorf’s Zip Code Celebration. On Friday, May 27, 2022, or 5/27/22, the calendar date matches the city’s 52722 zip code and that rare occurrence is an open invitation for the city to celebrate. “We’re going to party like it’s 5.27.22,” Jeff Reiter, Bettendorf’s economic development director, said, referencing the event’s tagline. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate our zip code.”On Friday, May 27, through Saturday, June 4, dozens of Bettendorf businesses, organizations and others will host an event, activity or other festivities to join the city in marking the calendar oddity. “This is intended to be a communitywide open house to promote all the cool things Bettendorf has to offer. You don’t have to do any more than open your doors and welcome people in,” Mr. Reiter said, adding “you that “you can do as much or as little as you want.” Mr. Reiter said more than 60 businesses and organizations already have committed to being involved in the celebration.Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher is among the city leaders promoting the event to get businesses, nonprofits and others – small and large – to participate. “I think it’s a great opportunity for communitywide engagement,” he said. “So many of our businesses have already stepped up to be part of the day.” To create excitement and promote events, the city has launched a new website at www.bettevents.org.“The site is a countdown to the big event,” Mr. Reiter added. The fun will kick off on the Friday before Memorial Day – the actual Zip Code Day - and continue all the next week and culminate with the Be Downtown Fest on Saturday, June 4, hosted by the Downtown Bettendorf Organization (DBO). The mobile-friendly website boasts a searchable calendar of events. While many still are finalizing their ideas, Mr. Reiter said the city is actively hearing from businesses, organizations and a few commercial districts. “Every business calling us is super excited. It really shows a lot of civic pride.”He urges all participants to self-populate the new www.bettevents.org site with their events and activities, which must be open to the public. For the signature event, five Bettendorf breweries already are busy concocting their own new 5272Brew and will be serving them at their establishments leading up to the Zip Code Day. Each brewery will have a designated Friday between April 22 and May 20 to host a tasting party. They will be promoted on Fridays through Mr. Gallagher’s Mayor’s Message on Facebook. The fun kicks off May 27 when one of the brews will be announced as the official winning 5272Brew at a Tapping Party at The Tangled Wood, 3636 Tanglefoot Road, Bettendorf. Also that night, the Isle of Capri Bettendorf will host Arch Allies in concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center. To raise awareness, the city is delivering 500 yard signs, produced by HighTech Signs, Bettendorf, to participating locations. Mr. Reiter said the signs soon will blanket the city, sport the event logo and include a scannable QCR code that links to the event website. The city also will be giving T-shirts to participating businesses and organizations. “Open your door and do something fun, it’s a community-wide open house,” he said.There also will be several chances to get your name into a drawing for one of the 10 $527.22 – prizes being announced at the Be Downtown event, the finale to the zip code celebration. Among them are to complete the city’s scavenger hunt and find life-sized photo cutouts of the mayor, the city’s aldermen, a firefighter and a police officer – all hidden in discrete locations across the city. Find them all, snap a selfie and win a chance in the drawing. He expects several other city operations and business districts to unite to participate, including Duck Creek Plaza, the Learning Campus, Palmer Hills Golf Course and perhaps, the downtown. “Hopefully, everyone will take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate Bettendorf on May 27, 2022,” Mr. Gallagher said.
