At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the City of North Liberty will post a clue. It points to a gold medallion hidden outdoors on public property somewhere in town. The first person to find it and carry it to the Recreation Department front desk at 520 W. Cherry St. wins that week's prize. Four more clues follow that one. Once the last medallion turns up, the hunting moves indoors to local businesses and runs until two days before Christmas.
North Liberty's biggest free winter festival is off this year. What the city has put in its place is spread out over time and over the whole map.
The Festival That Isn't on the Calendar
Fire & Ice used to pack the city's winter into a single afternoon. The last one ran from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at Penn Meadows Park, 355 E. Penn St. That year's version added Snowzilla, a slide almost 35 feet tall and 90 feet long, plus a 2,000-square-foot synthetic ice rink with skates provided.
The city's Fire & Ice page says the festival "will not take place in 2026" because of city staff capacity, and that it's expected to return in 2027.
So the cold-weather calendar between now and New Year's runs on smaller events. Fire & Ice gave you six hours in one park. The hunts stretch from Nov. 3 to Dec. 23, they're mostly free, and the city has chosen to scatter them on purpose.
November Happens Outdoors, One Tuesday at a Time
The Golden Turkey Hunt is part of the City Slate, the city's lineup of free events that runs all year and is paid for by local businesses and organizations. The city's November highlights post, published Oct. 15, gives this year's clue schedule:
- Tuesday, Nov. 3
- Tuesday, Nov. 10
- Tuesday, Nov. 17
- Tuesday, Nov. 24
- Friday, Nov. 27, the Black Friday bonus
Every clue goes up at 9 a.m. on the city website and the city's Facebook page. The city's Fall 2026 Activity Guide also says clues go to people who subscribe to its special event emails. That guide, printed in July, mentions four turkeys. The October post adds the Black Friday bonus, so plan on five chances.
The rules on the event listing explain why it works as a citywide game. Medallions go only on public property: parks, trails and the outside of other city buildings. If nobody claims one within roughly 72 hours, the city posts more clues. Each household can win one prize package per year. That limit keeps one sharp family from taking all five weeks, so prizes spread around town.
The city's packing list is practical: "a sharp mind for unraveling clues, good shoes for walking to hiding spots, clothes that can get muddy, and an eagle eye." Leashed dogs are welcome if you clean up after them. Tobacco, nicotine and vaping are banned in North Liberty parks, on its trails and in public recreation areas. If the clue sends you somewhere you haven't walked before, the city's park and trail network is worth a look on its own. We covered it in North Liberty Parks, Paths and Everyday Living.
The first clue day also lines up with something else at the Community Center. On Nov. 3, the Aquatic Center has extended school-break open swim from 1 to 4 p.m., at $3 per child and $4 per adult, and it repeats on Nov. 18 and 25. If you find a medallion that morning, you'll be turning it in at the same building.
The Prize Lists Read Like a Local Business Directory
The city hasn't announced 2026 prize packages yet. Past years show what kind of hunt this is, though. Most of the prizes have been things you can only use in North Liberty.
Iowa City Today covered the first hunt in 2022. Its prize packages were built around local businesses and the city's own events. KGAN's report on the 2025 hunt listed a shorter set of prizes, with more of them tied to city recreation passes.
| Year | Prize examples reported |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $50 gift cards to Mirabito's, Sugapeach, Rusciano's and Sushiya; a $50 Heyn's Ice Cream gift card and a $50 Geek City Games and Comics gift card; two family meals from Z's Catering; an annual family Black & Gold pass with a $100 We Run gift card; Colony Acres season passes; Blues & BBQ food vouchers |
| 2025 | A $200 El Azul Catering gift card; a family pool pass for summer 2026; a one-year, two-member Recreation Center All Access Pass; four $50 gift cards to local North Liberty businesses; a private indoor pool party for up to three hours |
Those are past prizes. They don't tell you what will be in this year's packages. The fall guide gives only examples, such as a Black & Gold Family Annual Pass and a North Liberty year-long event fun pass. Across both years, the prizes send the winner back into town, whether that's a restaurant on a Friday night or a summer of pool visits.
December Moves the Hunt Inside Local Storefronts
The day the last medallion clue drops, the second hunt starts. The Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 23 at "select local businesses," and it's free. You visit each participating business, find the elf, and ask the staff to stamp your guide. Bring a full guide back to the Rec Center and you get a prize.
The city puts it this way: "take your time while hunting elves to support participating businesses." It also asks hunters to stay out of areas closed to the public. The turkey hunt sends people to the parks. The elf hunt sends the same people into shops on the busiest shopping weeks of the year, beginning on Black Friday. The list of participating businesses isn't out yet, so the guide is the thing to pick up first.
Between the turkeys and the elves, the Community Center at 520 W. Cherry St. is where you turn things in and pick up prizes. December fills that building with more events, all listed in the city's Fall 2026 Activity Guide:
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 a.m. to noon: Holiday Vendor Fair. Local vendors sell in Roberts Gymnasium.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 a.m. to noon: Breakfast With Santa. It's free for infants through age 10 and includes a hot meal from the Lions Club, photos, crafts, a model Christmas Village and a model train. It's capped at 700, registration closes Dec. 1, and there are no walk-ins. The guide's opening date for registration doesn't match the 2026 calendar, so check the city's registration page in early November.
- Dec. 9 through 23, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.: Santa's Workshop. Hot chocolate by the fire, letters to Santa and holiday activities.
- Dec. 11, 5 to 7 p.m., and Dec. 12, noon to 5 p.m.: Life-Sized Candyland. The Gerdin Conference Center becomes the board game, and it's free with registration.
Santa's Workshop closes Dec. 23, the same day the elf hunt ends. That's the last day of the city's holiday run.
Before the First Clue Drops
Two city events come first. Grave Rave is at the Hy-Vee Center on Friday, Oct. 30. We wrote about that building's busy off-season in The Hy-Vee Center's First Off-Season Looks a Lot Like a Town Hall. Citywide trick-or-treat follows on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 5 to 8 p.m. at houses with their lights on. Children must have an adult with them.
Three days later, the first clue posts at 9 a.m. on the city website and the city's Facebook page. The fall guide says clues also go out to people subscribed to the city's special event emails. Keep your shoes by the door. Medallions are found on the ground, not online, and there's only one winner per clue, so whoever reaches 520 W. Cherry St. first wins.
At Blank and McCune, The Real Estate Company, we've been following North Liberty's calendar for decades, from Fire & Ice at Penn Meadows to this year's medallions on the trails. If a clue has you puzzling over which park it means, or you'd like to talk about the town beyond the hunt, our agents are happy to help. Find Your Agent.
