Heritage Days

If you missed last night's Art in the Park and "Deal or No Deal" at Norris Park, you have already missed out on a couple of great activities that make up the 2008 Heritage Days. The chamber mixer at McCook National Bank and the Norris Foundation Prayer Breakfast are also history at this point.

If those events are any indication of what is to come -- you will want to be sure to make room on your busy weekend schedule to take in as many of the remaining events as you can.

You can get up early Saturday morning and participate in the United Way 5K run and walk. Now in its 8th year, the event helps kick off the annual United Way Fund Drive and brings awareness of the many local agencies the United Way supports. And word has it that the T-shirts that go to all participants are really cool this year.

After the run, you'll be ready for Dr. Batty Breakfast Burritos. The McCook Rotary Club will be serving the burritos in the Keystone Hotel parking lot. All proceeds will go to Rotary's PolioPlus fund, whose goal is to do away with the crippling disease once and for all.

This year's Heritage Days parade promises to be an excellent one with more than 80 entries. The Grand Marshall, Parade Marshall, Honor Family and Royalty have all been practicing their parade waves and smiles. Not to mention, it'll be a great time to check out those new McCook High School band uniforms.

By the time the parade is over, the Batty Breakfast Burritos will have worn off. Not to worry -- food is in abundance during Heritage Days. The only problem is deciding what foods to choose. The Methodist Church? The First Church of Nazarene? The many vendors at Norris Park? That is your personal decision, but we would recommend trying a little bit of everything (you did get in your exercise already after all).

Arts, crafts, and entertainment in Norris Park, car show at Barnett Park, quilt show at the Norris home, displays at Museum of the High Plains, and a tennis tournament at MHS tennis courts all round out the afternoon.

And, just in case you're still hungry, a tailgate BBQ will start at 5:30 followed by big screen football. Watch the Huskers go for 4-0 against the 3-1 Virginia Tech Hokies with a few hundred of your closest friends right there in Norris Park. Or, if you have a more refined taste, you can attend the Big Apple Review at the Fox Theatre. Either activity is sure to be entertaining.

Sunday also promises to hold more of the same fun, with the added bonus of the Punt Pass & Kick clinic and competition at Weiland Field starting at 1:30.

Heritage Days is an annual event -- a time for families, friends, and neighbors to come together and have a blast. Laugh at and with each other. Share a hug and some great food. Be amazed by the talent of our citizens, young and old. But most importantly, it is a time to shrug off the laundry and yard work and sit back and enjoy the "good life" that Southwest Nebraska has to offer.