The Riverside Roundhouse is shown after the 2008 flood and before it was dismantled to make way for a new location for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, seen in the background. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

CEDAR RAPIDS – Fans of farmers markets at the Riverside Roundhouse can help bring the venue back to Czech Village and enjoy a new music event at the same time.

Czech Village Blues will be 6-10 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, along 16th Avenue SW in Czech Village. The event is a one-day blues music show to help Friends of Czech Village raise funds to reestablish the Riverside Roundhouse in Czech Village.

Related: Resurrecting the Roundhouse

Friends of Czech Village, a nonprofit launched to support the rebuilding efforts, reported $966,000 had been committed as of June toward the estimated $2.5 million cost. The roundhouse opened in 1963 as a site for farmers markets and other events. The building was deconstructed after the 2008 flood and has since been in storage, while the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was moved to higher ground where the roundhouse once stood.

Plans call for the circular building, which would be enclosed for a year-round venue,  to be located in a new site behind 17th Avenue SW, along what had been B Street SW. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June 13, 2018, the 10th anniversary of the flood, with the grand reopening of the restored Roundhouse set for June 2019.

The Linn County Blues Society teamed up with Friends of Czech Village to start the new blues tradition in Cedar Rapids. When the Linn County Blues Society’s Bluesmore ended its 21-year run in 2015, the all-volunteer group began looking for a new venue for the event. This year, they found it.

Czech Village Blues will feature International Blues Slide Guitarist Joanna Connor, and The LCBS Allstars, featuring eight Iowa Blues Hall of Famers. Attendees at Czech Village Blues will see the same excellent caliber of performers as were seen at Bluesmore.

COST: $15 advance, $20 at the door. Ages 12 and under free with paid adult ticket. (Or, pay for a one year membership to the Linn County Blues Society at $20, and get a ticket for $10!)

Gates open at 5 p.m. and music begins at 6.

TICKETS: CzechVillageFriends.org/events or at White Lion Treasures, Parlor City Pub & Eatery, Checkers, O’Malleys Irish Bar, Cedar River Landing, Dick’s Tap & Shake Room, & QDogs.

Learn more about rebuilding efforts: Group seeks to rebuild Riverside Roundhouse