Two more area towns have community celebrations planned for this weekend.
Valley and Prague will each have a variety of activities going on throughout their communities, from car shows and pancake breakfasts to parades and kids activities.
Here’s more information about those events:
Valley Days
Valley Days – An End of Summer Celebration – will kick off Thursday when Classics with a Cause at Quasar Drive-In Theater, 13427 N. 300th St., near Valley will feature Library Night.
Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” will be shown at dusk, or about 8:45 p.m. Admission is free. Donations will benefit Valley Public Library. Members of the Omaha Astronomical Society will have telescopes set up focused on celestial bodies for viewing by the public.
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The Ellsworth Crossing Farm to Fork Market Backyard BBQ Contest will take place Friday on Spruce Street, the location of many of the weekend’s events. Fourteen local residents will be cooking Boston Butts donated by Ellsworth Crossing. From 6-7 p.m., anyone attending will be able to sample the BBQ for $5 per vote.
You can sample and vote as many times and you like. Each vote also gets entered into a raffle for some Ellsworth Crossing gear. Cash, check, PayPal and Venmo will be accepted.
Traynr Band will provide live music from 8-11 p.m. The beer garden will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight while food trucks will be available from 6-10 p.m.
From 8-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church will be hosting a pancake breakfast at Valley Veterans Club. The parade along Spruce Street will begin at 11:30 p.m.
Wildlife Encounters will show off a variety of animals during presentations at noon and 1 p.m. There will be bounce houses and kids activities from noon to 4 p.m., pony rides and a petting zoo from noon to 3 p.m., and free swimming at the Valley pool from 1-7 p.m. A teen pool party is set for 7-10 p.m.
The Valley Community Historical Society Museum will be open from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and will have an ice cream social and special presentation at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The beer garden will be open from noon to midnight on Saturday while food trucks will be open from 2-10 p.m. Trent Brown will be playing music in the beer garden from 8-11 p.m. A fireworks display will begin at 10 p.m.
Valley Days wraps up on Sunday with a car show and craft and vendor show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Car show awards will be presented at 3:30 p.m.
Kids ages 4 to 12 can participate in a sanctioned pedal tractor pull at noon to qualify for the Nebraska State Fair. Adults also can pull for fun. No pre-registration is necessary.
Woody will be performing from 4-7 p.m. at Spruce Street Tavern. Dogs are welcome to take a swim in the Valley swimming pool from 5-6 p.m. before it closes for the season.
Beer Barrel Days
Prague will be celebrating its annual Beer Barrel Days from Friday through Sunday.
The Prague American Legion Post will be sponsoring a burger bash from 6-8 p.m. on Friday while Randy Vavra provides music from 5-8 p.m. in the park tent. The beer garden will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Route SixSix will play from 8 p.m. to midnight. An auction of the VIP area for 2024 will begin at 9 p.m.
Saturday’s festivities will begin at 7 a.m. with an adult and youth fishing tournament at Czechland Lake near Prague. Registration for the catfish tournament will begin at 6 a.m. at the south entrance of the lake. The 11th Annual Run to Rescue will start at 8 a.m. at Czechland Lake.
The beer garden will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight and there will be a bloody mary bar from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Addie Hejl Band will be providing entertainment from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A Czech Heritage Celebration is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. John’s Parish Hall. Admission is free.
The celebration will feature a Czech dinner of pork, dumplings and kraut, and kolaches. The Prague Czech Brass Band will play at noon and 2 p.m. Czech dancers will perform at 3 p.m.
A kiddie parade down Main Street will begin at 11:30 a.m. with registration from 11-11:30 a.m. A watermelon feed will follow the kiddie parade at noon.
The horseshoe tournament will start at 11:30 a.m. Face painting will be offered from noon to 2 p.m. while a Bohemian water fight, sponsored by the Prague Volunteer Fire Department, will begin at 1 p.m. A barnyard pedal pull is set for 2 p.m.
An ice cream social will begin at 3 p.m. prior to the start of the parade at 4 p.m. Barry Boyce will play from 4-8 p.m. A cornhole tournament will begin at 6 p.m.
The Saunders County Livestock Association will be sponsoring a Saturday night supper from 6-8 p.m. Side Hussle will perform from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
On Sunday, the Prague Fire and Rescue Department will be hosting a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon at the fire hall. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy will be served for a freewill donation. Takeout meals will be available.
LifeNet 1-3 Columbus is planning to land the helicopter at 9:15 a.m. at the ball fields. The crew will then head to the fire station for breakfast and then go back to the helicopter around 10:15 a.m. to show off the helicopter to the public. Everyone is welcome to watch the crew land, see the inside of the helicopter, and watch them take off once they are done.
The 12th Annual Prague Nebraska Car Show, sponsored by Seven Mile Ride Z and Flagmen Car Club, will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Prague. Registration, which is $20, will be from 9-11 a.m. Awards will be presented at 4 p.m. Proceeds from the car show will go towards the Mitchell Ostry Memorial Scholarship.
American Legion 254 Auxiliary will be offering lunch and root beer floats at noon. The beer garden will be open from 2-10 p.m.
St. John’s Parish Hall will be hosting bingo and a bake sale/nacho bar from noon to 2 p.m. Bounce houses will be set up from noon to 5 p.m. in Prague Park.
A wine and beer tasting festival will take place from 2-5 p.m. in the park. Jessica & Co. will be providing live music from 2-5 p.m. while Angie Kriz & Polka Tunes will play from 6-10 p.m.