Many gathered for fun in Campustown on the evening of June 13 at the fourth annual Campustown Action Association Summerfest event.

The free celebration included a 5K race, five musical acts and more than 20 booths representing local businesses and organizations. Approximately 1,500 attendees were expected by event organizer Liz Jeffrey.

“We had a 1,000 people here last year when it was raining, so we’re hoping for 1,500 or so this year,” Jeffrey said.

The event was started four years ago to promote the businesses and amenities Campustown has to offer.

“We really thought it was a good idea to draw attention to Campustown,” said Brenda Freeman, manager of Jeff’s Pizza.

Most booths had unique attractions to draw the attention of the most important partygoers: the kids. Cookie decorating, face painting, bingo and storytelling were popular with the children in attendance, along with the free pizza and ice cream.

“My favorite is the face painting and the juggler,” said 8-year-old Ava Knoll.

While the event was a hit with kids, adults were not left out of the Summerfest fun. A beer garden and live music all evening proved to be popular with many.

“Beer and live music — it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Brian Nutting of Ames.

Summerfest included live performances by Isiserettes, Tony Bohnenkamp, Sidecar Rallye, Mighty Shady and Decoy.

Another popular attraction was Screechy, a 15-year-old screech owl from the Iowa State Wildlife Care Clinic.

Owl handler Sarah Kolb said the Wildlife Care Clinic, as a nonprofit organization, is “always looking for ways to promote the clinic and what we do there and Summerfest is a great way to do that.”