Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
VERY SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL
VERY SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL. Started in Dubuque by Jacqueline MERRITT, the festival showcased the talents of handicapped artists and planned ways to involve both people with and without disabilities in art-related activities.
Sponsored nationally by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the festival was held every other year in Dubuque beginning in 1978. In 1988, on its tenth anniversary, the festival merged with Dubuquefest and received a $10,000 grant to bring nationally recognized artists to the combined festival. DUBUQUEFEST/VERY SPECIAL ARTS was the first of its kind in Iowa and one of two pilot mergers funded by Very Special Arts, U.S.A.