CELEBRATING HISTORY
DQ owner plans 3-day event with tunes, ice cream
COMMUNITY
It will be a first-time event for Fremont. From Friday, Aug. 11, through Sunday,
Aug. 13, the New Fremont Dairy Queen will host a three-day celebration with free live music and children's activities, along with a dunk tank fundraiser. Activities for Fremont DQ Days begin that Friday morning and end at Sunday evening.
All activities will take place in the DQ restaurant or in the Masonic Park off 23rd Street, behind Eternal Tattoo & Body Piercing.
DQ owner Charlie Pleskac explained the event's purpose.
"It's meant to be a community celebration put on by the Dairy Queen – kind of a party/appreciation event before we get to the end of summer, before kids start to go back to school," he said. The event has taken place in other locations. "We've done them in our other Dairy Queens in some form or another and we've had a lot of good success, good feedback, good involvement in the community. We're bringing that to Fremont for the first time," Pleskac said.
Times and days are: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 13. Admission is free.
Inflatables will be set up in the park throughout the weekend, starting at 11 a.m. that Friday. Attendees can sign up for a raffle. The party kicks off that Friday with a concert for all ages from 7-10 p.m., featuring the Omaha band, Red Delicious. The band plays classic rock, country and modern hits.
The DQ will have giveaways inside the restaurant. Free face painting will be available for kids on Saturday in the park.
That Saturday and Sunday, the DQ will have a dunk tank for charity. Pleskac has contacted community individuals willing to get dunked.
"While they are on the dunk tank, they will get to choose which charity all of the money raised goes to," Pleskac said. "So there's going to be multiple charities that are going to be benefitting from this."
Participants pay a $5 charitable donation to receive a certain number of balls to throw at a bullseye.
"If you hit them every time, you'll be able to dunk the person multiple times," Pleskac said. "100% of whatever dollars come in for that will go to the charity of choice by the person sitting on the dunk tank."
Those who miss the bullseye still will be thanked for their donation.
Another live concert is set from 5-9 p.m. Saturday in the park. DML-Down Memory Lane of Fremont will perform. This group plays classic hits and a little country music.
The dunk tank for charity will be available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the park. Face painting will be offered from 1-5 p.m. in the park. Attendees can sign up for the raffe until 5 p.m. The raffe drawing will be at 6 p.m.
From 2-6 p.m. that Sunday, solo artist Patrick Conrad of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who sings a variety of music, will perform in the park.
"We're going to go out with a bang on Sunday," Pleskac said. "From 2 to 4 p.m., we're going to recreate the history of how Dairy Queen got started, which involves the original sale that started it all in 1938, with 1938 pricing."
In 1938, John F. McCullough came up with the recipe for soft, frozen product. He had a friend to offer their new frozen, soft-serve dessert at his store for all you-can-eat for 10 cents.
"In two hours, they handed out over 1,200 servings," Pleskac said.
They went on to open the first Dairy Queen.
"And the rest is history," Pleskac added.
The treat to be served during the local DQ Days will be a modified version of the "All-You-Can-Eat-For-10Cents sale" product. Pleskac said it will be any size cone or dish for 10 cents.
"Any there's no limit on how many you can buy," Pleskac said.
Pleskac anticipates a busy time during that activity.
"It's going to be crazy," Pleskac said. "I've done it before. It's kind of crazy."
Pleskac enjoys DQ Days. "I like it, because it's really a way to have the community come together and have a big, nice, all-ages, family fun event," he said.
He hopes the public attends.
"We're not requiring anybody to buy anything," Pleskac said. "You can just come and have a good time."
Pleskac said he hopes to provide the message that the DQ in Fremont is a locally-owned, family-centered business that wants to be a member and active place in the community.
"Dairy Queen has a long history in Fremont," Pleskac said. "For a lot of people, it was their first job. We want to be embedded into the culture of the community and we want to be thought of as a very active and supportive part of the community, not just a business that's trying to purely make money. We want to give back to the community that supports us."