Time and time again, I hear people say that there is nothing to do in McCook or Southwest

Nebraska. But if you need evidence that there is more than enough to keep you occupied or

entertained, just look at the upcoming events in June.

Kicking off the weekend early is Community Hospital Health Foundation’s 36th annual John

Mullen Pro Am Golf Tournament. Nearly three dozen golf pros will join a hundred local amateur

golfers for a day of golf Friday, June 6 at Heritage Hills Golf Course to benefit the hospital’s

foundation. The day wraps up with a horse race, where the golf pros hop around the putting

green on little hobby horses.

I’m joking. I believe the golf pros compete against each other until all but one is eliminated but

when I asked a local golfer why it is called a horse race, she said she was planning to attend but

didn’t know why it was called a horse race. Anyone who attends, just look in the corner for a

hobby horse please.

A few miles west, Pondstock takes over an open field west of Trenton with music over several

nights this weekend. For both events, I am sure organizers are torn between wishing for much-

needed rain but not wanting to deal with precipitation during their events.

The next weekend will be filled with stories, music and art as the 28th annual Buffalo Commons

Storytelling and Music Festival returns to downtown McCook. The three-day event kicks off

Friday, June 13, with a historical bus tour to Massacre Canyon near Trenton, which is seeing

record participants this year. I know the organizers don’t control the calendar but they are

traveling on a Friday the 13th to a site where hundreds died…I just hope no one is bringing

along a black cat or a ladder to walk under.

Not even a week goes by before another event takes over the streets of McCook. The June

Third Thursday is June 19 with the Norris Institute hosting the evening. Musician Daniel

Christiansen will be performing live in Norris Alley between the Keystone and Fox Theater.

McCook Volunteers is lending a hand for this Third Thursday, with all non-profits encouraged to

participate. The organizations can share more about what they are doing in the community and

where they have needs for volunteers. If anyone wants to be part of this Third Thursday or any

of the upcoming Third Thursdays, please visit mccookcreativedistrict.com for more information

(or just reach out to me and I’ll get you hooked up with the right person).

Speaking of the Fox Theater, many have likely noted that the marquee is lit up after nearly three

years of renovations. Unfortunately, there are glitches in the screen which is what you get when

dealing with technology and asking one piece of equipment to talk to a different piece of

equipment. But hopefully, the bugs get worked out soon and Norris Avenue is lit up every night

with a message, an announcement or an event on the new sign.

Lest we think there is a weekend in McCook without people coming to visit for an event, the new

McCook Aquatic Center will host its first official swim meet on Saturday, June 21. Half a dozen

surrounding communities will send hundreds of swimmers to compete in the Plains Tsunami

Swim League. This will be a good test of the pool, the bathhouse and the design of the area

surrounding the pool to see how everything stacks up to host a meet. The fact that my husband

won’t have to deconstruct part of the fence to create a temporary door and install a foam pool

noodle so swimmers don’t cut themselves is a plus. I wonder if the city knew we did that for

every swim meet the past few years? Cat is out of the bag now.

And the month of June wraps up with what could be one of the biggest events in downtown

McCook in recent memory on Saturday, June 28. Wagner’s are hosting the 9th annual Cruisin’

on the Bricks car show and cruise night with cars on display along C Street all afternoon and

then taking to B Street and Norris Avenue for a few hours of cruising.

The McCook Chamber is working alongside them for Bash on the Bricks, which has been held

at the golf course the past few years but returns to its original intended site down on the bricks.

The bash includes food trucks, vendors, a beer garden and music. Several blocks will be shut

down to traffic, allowing people to wander, eat, socialize and just enjoy the community. A shout

out to Sarah Schneider at the Chamber for all her work to make this event a success.

And if that wasn’t enough, let’s throw a couple hundred bicycle riders into the mix. The 37th

annual Tour de Nebraska bicycle ride comes to McCook for the first time in its history. The riders

will arrive Friday, June 27, riding from Cambridge that morning. On Saturday, they have the

option of riding west to Culbertson and Trenton and back or they can take the off from riding and

just hang out in McCook. But that evening, they will be part of the downtown festival with music

starting at 4 p.m., followed by a second band at 7 p.m.

While the concert is scheduled to go until 11 p.m., I am highly doubtful many of the bikers make

it that long since the next morning on Sunday, June 29, they have to mount their bikes for a ride

north to the finish in Curtis.

These are just a few of the events taking place over the next month. There are more things

happening from baseball games to summer reading programs to bible schools. Please make an

effort to attend these events and programs. All of these activities take people to organize them

and I thank them for all their time and effort that goes into making these things happen, which in

turn make McCook an even better place to call home.