ImprovFestivals.orgFloodwater Comedy Festival 2025
Archived. View current edition
| Dates | November 14-15, 2025 (most recent confirmed edition) |
| Location | Willow Creek Theatre, 327 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA, USA |
| Website | floodwatercomedy.org |
| Organizer | Willow Creek Theatre Company (volunteer-run, 501(c)(3)) |
| facebook.com/floodwaterfest |
Overview
Floodwater Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival in Iowa City, Iowa, that brings together improv, standup, and experimental comedy under one roof. Recent editions are produced by the Willow Creek Theatre Company, a local 501(c)(3) improv and live-theatre nonprofit, and held at the company's Willow Creek Theatre. The 2025 festival ran November 14-15 and featured local Willow Creek house teams (Lady Franklyn, Cool Shoes, Pope Cactus) alongside visiting improv troupes and performers from Chicago (including iO and Second City connected acts), Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Madison, and Minneapolis, plus a deep roster of touring standup comedians and improv workshops.
The festival traces back to the late 2010s as a larger multi-venue event across downtown Iowa City, returned in 2023 after a three-year pandemic hiatus, and has since been reorganized as a focused single-venue weekend at Willow Creek. Improv remains a core element of the program, billed first in the festival's own description and supported by improv classes and workshops run through the theatre. Dates for the 2026 edition had not been announced as of mid-2026; prospective performers and audiences are directed to the festival's mailing list for updates.