In addition to celebrating our ability to reunite on the second weekend in October, 2021, we look forward to celebrating one of our most important and influential citizens, George Stout. Well known in recent years due to his character’s role in the book and movie Monuments Men, George Leslie Stout was an American art conservation specialist and museum director who founded the first laboratory in the United States to study art conservation, as well as the first journalist on the subject of art conservation.

Stout was born in Winterset in 1897. He was the oldest of six brothers, the son of Lulu McBride and Abraham Lincoln Stout and the grandson of Margaret Ross and Micaijah Stout. Stout’s parents and grandparents and younger brother Robert are all buried in the Winterset Cemetery.

Festival Events Honoring George Stout

*The following is tentative and subject to change.

The Mayor’s Proclamation of George Stout Day
Time: 9:15 am, Saturday (immediately following the presentation of festival royalty)
Location: The Benge Family Stage (corner of 1st Avenue and Jefferson Street)

Exhibit of Historical Photos of George Stout
Time: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday,
Location: In front of The Iowa Theater at 121 John Wayne Drive (inside the festival grounds)

Unveiling the Historical Marker at the George Stout Boyhood Home, including meet & greet with the family of George Stout
Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Saturday
Location: 709 East Jefferson Street, Winterset

Art Conservation Demonstrations by Sara Boesen of SJ Fine Art
Time: Saturday from 10:00 to 11:00 and 12:00 to 1:00
and Sunday from 11:00 to 12:00
Location: The George Stout Tent in front of The Iowa Theater, 121 John Wayne Drive (inside the festival grounds) 

Free Showings of “Stout Hearted: George Stout and the Guardians of Art” documentary movie
Time: Saturday at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00, and Sunday at 2:00
Location: The Iowa Theater

Appearance by the family of George Stout in the Covered Bridge Festival Parade
Time: Starting at 2:00 pm
Location: Please see the parade route here.

“Conservation Materials for Preserving Artwork,” Art conservation workshops by Tom Koehler
Time: Saturday from 9:30-10:00 and 4:00-4:30. 
Location: Winterset Art Center, 224 S. John Wayne Dr.