135 Iowa high schools had groups selected as “Outstanding All-Staters” at the 49th Annual IHSSA All-State Large GroupFestival held on February 17 at The Iowa State Center in Ames. Approximately 24,000 students started at the district level from 484 school memberships. Approximately 1,870 students earned the right to be named as Outstanding All State Nominees.
The following schools were selected as Critic's Choice for the IHSSA Large Group All-State Festival. This Critic's Choice is selected by a professional in the specific field as a top performer in the State of Iowa in that performance area for 2024. The Sweepstakes Award, named after E. Wayne Cooley, is awarded to the school with the most entries performing at the All-State Festival. Listed below are the recipients of the awards for 2024.
2024:
ONE ACT PLAY: Dubuque Senior
READERS THEATRE: MOC-Floyd Valley
CHORAL READING: Siouxland Christian
ENSEMBLE ACTING: Siouxland Christian
GROUP MIME: Grinnell-Newburg
SOLO MIME: Cedar Rapids Washington
TELEVISION NEWSCASTING: IKM-Manning
GROUP IMPROVISATION: LeMars Community
MUSICAL THEATRE: Decorah
RADIO BROADCASTING: Decorah
SHORT FILM: Greene County
E. WAYNE COOLEY SWEEPSTAKES: Dubuque Senior