Dubuque, IA Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Dubuque City Code section 10-5B-16, Meetings And Gatherings, makes parks, parkways, trails, open spaces or portions of them available for reservation for group gatherings during the open park season, which section 10-5B-22.B defines as running from the first Saturday in May through the fourth Sunday of October, when restrooms and other amenities are de-winterized and pavilions become available to reserve. Reservations are made by contacting the Parks and Recreation Department Office directly, and section 10-5B-16 lets a group book as much as twenty-three months in advance of the event.

The section places the cleanup duty on the reserving party: the reserved space must be cleaned up after use, and litter, cans, paper, waste and refuse must go into the receptacles the city has placed in the park rather than being left behind. A reserved gathering still has to work around other article B park rules read alongside it, including the ban on placing an obstruction in a park without written permission from the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission (10-5B-9), the ban on posting signs or notices anywhere in the park (10-5B-10), and the restriction on selling anything in a park outside an authorized concession stand (10-5B-11).

A gathering large enough to need a street closure, tents, alcohol service or dedicated police or fire staffing moves out of this simple reservation process and into the parade and special event permit required by title 10, chapter 4.