Fall Fun Fest and More!

The Fifteenth annual Fall Fun Fest runs September 8 – 17 in North Platte. Originally begun as a collection of events sponsored by local non-profit organizations, Fall Fun Fest is now that and much, much more. There are still plenty of fun and quirky non-profit fundraising events, but also many other events everyone will enjoy.

Friday September 8th’s events include city wide garage sales (which run through the 17th), PTA clothing exchange, BPW wine and cheese tasting party, NPHS tailgate party prior to the NPHS-Lincoln East football game, and a teen street dance.

Saturday September 9th opens with a 5K fun run & walk, Farmer’s Market, Colonel Cody’s cruise show & shine, “Barks in the Park” and “Drool in the Pool” (I’ll just let everyone guess what those are), Paws-itive Partners Humane Society “raising the woof”, chuckwagon cook-off and two performances of the Nebraska State Rodeo Finals.

Sunday brings an archery shoot, Arts in the Park, fishing in the park at the Cody Park swimming pool, a continuation of Col. Cody’s Cruise Show and Shine, and another performance of the Nebraska State Rodeo Finals.

The following weekend starts with the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning, followed by a multi-cultural art show, high school rodeo, Master Gardener demonstrations, the Ducks Unlimited Banquet and auction, with another performance of the high school rodeo on Sunday.

And if that isn’t enough for you, September 22nd and 23rd mark the 4th annual North Platte Literary Festival. The theme of “murder in the heartland” will thrill you with all of the mystery and mayhem that can happen in small rural towns. Workshops at the North Platte Public Library on the 22nd include: writing your own epitaph, old time embalming practices, tombstone rubbings and stories in stone – what the words and symbols on a tombstone tell about the person buried there.

At 7:00 p.m., Winfield Delle will present Nebraska History in Cemeteries at A to Z Books.

Saturday starts with lunch with international bestselling writer Alex Kava at 11:00 a.m. at the North Platte Community College South Campus Little Theater. This is followed by a living history presentation of “Voices from the Grave”, a historical cemetery tour at the North Platte City Cemetery from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. The day ends with a reception and open mic at A to Z Books at 8:00 p.m.

A little further afield, and you can attend the Grand Duke Alexis Rendezvous at Hayes Center, only 50 or so miles from North Platte. Held on September 29th – October 1st, the Rendezvous commemorates the buffalo hunt hosted by Buffalo Bill Cody for the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia.

All of this fun, coupled with the fall sports of golf, football and cross country makes this one of the busiest times of the year in Lincoln County. Get out of the house and enjoy one of these great events or your local sports team in the beautiful autumn weather.