Cedar Falls to Hold ‘Celebration of Life’ for Victims of Maquoketa Caves Tragedy

On Tuesday, August 2nd the city of Cedar Falls will host a 'Celebration of Life' for the Schmidt family.

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Last month, we shared details about how you can support Arlo Schmidt, the survivor of the tragic events at the Maquoketa Caves State Park. Family and friends of the Schmidts have put together a GoFundMe to raise money for the 9-year-old.

"Arlo lost both of his parents, Sarah and Tyler Schmidt, and his 6-year-old sister, Lula, to a senseless act of violence during a family vacation at a state park in Iowa on July 22. Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can."

This fundraiser has raised $270,716 for Arlo as of August 2nd.

Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green has been publicly commenting on the tragedy and trying to show his support for the family while also trying to help heal the community.

The mayor announced that there would be a 'Celebration of Life’ for the family on August 2nd. More details have come out about this celebration.

It will be held at Overman Park from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM and the Mayor will be emceeing the event.

From 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM the park will be reserved for neighbors to get together for fellowship. Usually the park space is reserved at this time for the free municipal ensemble performance.

This performance has been pushed back to 7:15 PM.

In a followup statement, the mayor said that the family plans to have a private funeral,

"Anticipate a private funeral and memorial service for Tyler, Sarah, and Lula, at the family’s request. To respect their privacy, I won’t be sharing any details about that, but rest assured that the city take the best care of them that we possibly can