Look in the paper. See the full page of Sand Creek Summer Daze events and schedule for the weekend? Circle a few events. Go.
Two years in, Newton’s summer festival appears to have pulled out some of the stops from last year and has dozens of events, competitions, activities and concerts packed into a two-day period, all for the cost of a $5 button to support it.
Like parades, done. Like food? Free barbecue for the first 350 people with a button Friday night. Like music? Two different concerts Friday and Saturday. Have kiddos or grandkids? There will be massive amounts of activities, bounce houses and booths inside Centennial Park for them Saturday. If you like making boats out of cardboard and duct tape, you’ll even get a chance to see if you can beat our managing editor, repeat Cardboard Regatta Champion of Newton. You can dunk him, too, at the Harvey County United Way dunk tank.
Festival organizers, with the help of local organizations running and funding many events, have laid out an impressive framework for a weekend any city would be proud to host. Now all it takes is the people.
We spend this time encouraging people to go because the festival represents a few important opportunities.
One. Newton needs a festival and attendance supports it. All surrounding towns have one. They’re great. Most of us have memories of town festivals growing up. Our kids and grandkids should have such fond memories as well. They give us all something to look forward to happening.
Two. It represents important community building. Any time we can encourage people to get out of their houses and interact with fellow community members in a face-to-face, non-digital, manner we’re going to encourage it. See what Newton has to offer. See all the people working to make sure the community has a good time. Practice being civil to one and other. Smile. It’s infectious.
Three. Take some pride in the good qualities of Newton. This weekend will be a neat deal. It represents a few people wanting to do something great and then that sentiment snowballing and growing. It represents what we try to get across to people: that actions, no matter how small, matter and do make a difference.
Four. Simply, you’ll have fun.
In your personal life, in your work life, in the city as a whole, you’ll always see what you’re looking to see. If you want to find the bad, that’s easy to find. If you want to find the good, that’s there, too. This festival has the potential to continue to grow and be a signature event for the city. We’re going to do what we can to promote it and add another part of the city for residents to take pride in.
So kudos to all who are working to make it happen, organizers, volunteers and sponsors. Kudos to all who will show up this weekend as well. If you want more information or wish to sign up as a volunteer, check sandcreeksummerdaze.com
We hope to see you out there. Say “hi” to our team if you do.
