See you at the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival

McCook residents do not have to leave town to find a good show, hear great music, enjoy a meal, take in art, learn some history or give children something memorable to do.

They can find all of that June 12-14, when the 29th annual Buffalo Commons Storytelling & Music Festival returns to McCook.

The festival has become one of the community’s signature events because it does something simple and valuable: It gives people a reason to gather, laugh, listen and enjoy the kind of entertainment that fits this region without feeling small or ordinary.

This year’s lineup is strong.

Dom Flemons, known as “The American Songster,” brings more than a century of American roots music to life through banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion and other instruments. Flemons is a Grammy Award winner and co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and his music connects history with performance in a way that should appeal to music lovers well beyond the traditional folk audience.

Andy Hedges brings cowboy songs, poetry and storytelling to the festival. He is a guitarist, reciter, storyteller and host of the “Cowboy Crossroads” podcast, with a repertoire that includes cowboy poetry, trail songs, Dust Bowl ballads and blues.

Wesaam Al-Badry, an artist, photographer and investigative journalist, will add another dimension to the weekend through his “Labor of Belonging” exhibit at ArtBank McCook. His work, rooted in photography and storytelling, explores the people and communities that make up Nebraska.

The schedule offers something for many interests and ages. Friday includes “The Canteen Experience,” a bus tour to North Platte’s Canteen District, where participants will learn about the World War II North Platte Canteen and the Nebraskans who greeted millions of soldiers with food, friendship and encouragement. Friday evening brings “Everyone Has a Story” to the Historic Fox Theatre, with stories, music and fun featuring Hedges and Flemons.

Saturday includes free events at the Museum of the High Plains, including presentations by Al-Badry, Flemons and Hedges, along with an open mic for stories, poetry and music. The McCook City Library will host Kids Fest, with stories, activities, crafts and a performance by guest artists. Lucy’s Bakery and Cafe will host a Cowboy Storytelling Dinner Cabaret, with dinner followed by stories and songs.

Sunday closes the festival with a Humanities Nebraska event at the Museum of the High Plains featuring writer and musician Deb Carpenter Nolting and the program “Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History.”

That is quite a weekend. For the full schedule, visit: https://buffalocommons.org/.

It is also the kind of weekend that helps a town feel alive.

Events like Buffalo Commons matter because they create energy. They bring people downtown. They put people in local venues. They support restaurants, shops, museums and gathering places. They give visitors a reason to come and residents a reason to rediscover what is available close to home.

Just as important, the festival is fun.

Not every civic event has to be described in grand terms. Sometimes the best argument for supporting something is that it gives families, friends and neighbors a good reason to get out of the house and enjoy themselves. Music, stories, food, art, history and children’s activities are not small things. They are part of what makes a community pleasant to live in.

The Buffalo Commons festival also reminds us that good entertainment does not have to be loud, distant or expensive to be worthwhile. A story well told, a song well played, a shared meal, a child’s craft project, a walk through an exhibit or a performance in a historic theater can be every bit as meaningful as a trip to a larger city.

McCook should be proud to host a festival that combines quality performers with local hospitality.

The organizers, volunteers, sponsors, venues and artists deserve thanks for building and sustaining this tradition. But the best way to thank them is not only with words. It is by showing up.

Buy a ticket. Attend a free event. Take children to Kids Fest. Invite a friend to the Fox Theatre. Visit ArtBank. Stop by the Museum of the High Plains. Make a reservation for the dinner cabaret. Listen to a story you did not expect to hear.

Next weekend, McCook will have music, art, history, humor, food and stories spread across town.

That’s a weekend worth enjoying.