Crazy Days Celebrates Community Collaboration

From June 17-22, McCook will be as close to a wedding setting as it could be without the tulle and twinkly lights. There will be something new, something old, something borrowed and something blue. Except there won’t be a bride and groom taking center stage.

Instead, this celebration will be the up-sized, week-long Crazy Days organized by the McCook Chamber of Commerce. And like most weddings, there will be food, music, games and maybe even a crazy uncle making a scene on the dance floor.

The something new will be the Prairie Plains CASA’s Corporate Games. Kicking off Monday, the teams will divide up into two-person team every day to tackle a different sport each evening from golfing to axe-throwing. I believe the entries are full but perhaps if you beg organizer Caitlyn Whitehead, she could find room for your team. Or she could at least mark you down to remind you to sign up early next year and not be left out.

Something old is the Community Hospital’s 50th anniversary celebration, which marks 50 years since the hospital moved from St. Catherine’s to its current location on the east side of McCook. The celebration will take over Norris Alley and Norris Avenue as June’s Third Thursday event June 20. The evening will include live music, free food including anniversary cake and a beer garden.

The Creative District committee, which is organizing the Third Thursdays, truly appreciates Community Hospital hosting the event and bringing a fun and entertaining evening to downtown McCook.

The something borrowed is the McCook Chamber’s Bash on the Hill on Saturday, June 22. The Chamber is “borrowing” the use of the Heritage Hills Golf Course to feature not one but two bands for the evening. The event is “borrowing” the BBQ contest, which originated with the Prairie Roots Music Festival which ceased last year. But through the perseverance of Tammy Bruntz, the Great McCook-Off BBQ contest continues and will feature talented local and regional BBQers. And while they will receive awards for their efforts, the public is actually the big winners as the BBQ will be served during the Bash on the Hill starting at 6 p.m. with music to follow. Get your tickets online before the event or get them at the door. Either way, bring a chair and bring a friend and be ready for a fun night of entertainment.

And then there is the something blue….and something red….and something yellow…and something black…all as part of the 8th annual Cruisin’ the Bricks Car Show and Cruise Night. Taking place throughout the afternoon and into the evening on Saturday, June 22, Cruisin’ the Bricks will include games, train rides, face painting, and prizes for both car show participants and spectators.

The cruise night harkens back to a simpler time. A time when driving from one end of town to the other side was how you located your friends because you didn’t have cell phones. A time when you showed off your new ride because you weren’t posting about it on social media. A time when you spent countless hours just hanging out with friends and neighbors talking about everything from the cars to the weather.

Spend the day showing off your special automobile or admiring someone else’s precious vehicle and then head to the golf course to celebrate the end of Crazy Days.

But what is truly great about this year’s Crazy Days is its evolution into a multi-day event that highlights collaboration between a wide variety of organizations and businesses.

Each of these groups could have hosted their event on their own. They could have done their events the same week but without connecting to each other. They could even have been resentful that someone was infringing on their event and opted not to do anything.

Instead, they came together to create a week of fun for the community. This is a partnership between Community Hospital, the McCook Chamber, the McCook Creative District, Heritage Hills, Wagner’s, CASA, the City, the EDC…the list goes on and on.

Will all these events be perfect? Maybe not but they will be fun. Will there be lessons learned? Of course and things will evolve moving forward. And just like a wedding, people are coming together to celebrate, to create something new and to make something that makes our community an even better place to call home.

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