McCook ready for big ‘Birthday Bash’ weekend

By McCook Gazette
Original article HERE

An action-packed week is in store as McCook prepares to host the community’s 48th annual Heritage Days celebration.

That was the focus Tuesday morning as police, chamber and community members gathered for the September “Coffee with a Cop” get-together at Sehnert’s Bakery and the Bieroc Cafe.

“Heritage Days is truly a community event,” said Jamie Mockry, executive director of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce. “It takes months of planning and many volunteers from a number of organizations. We couldn’t pull it off without lots of help from lots of people.”

This year’s celebration, with a “Birthday Bash” theme, swings into high gear Wednesday evening when the McCook National Bank hosts the Heritage Days Mixer. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., features the announcement of the Heritage Days honorees, including the Honor Family, the Parade Marshal and the celebration royalty.

As is tradition, Mockry kept the identity of the honorees secret, saying only that the 2017 selections are representative of the high quality of the selections of past years.

Other highlights of the 2017 Heritage Days celebration will be the Adam White Magic Show at the Fox Theatre Thursday night, beginning at 6:30 p.m.; the George Norris Prayer Breakfast at the McCook Christian Church Friday morning at 7 a.m.; the “Birthday Bash” parade, on Norris Avenue and C Street, starting at 10 a.m Saturday morning; and the Hotel California/Eagles Music Concert, beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

The activity-filled celebration will also include events at the Heritage Senior Center, the High Plains Museum and the Memorial Methodist Church, as well as the Saturday and Sunday Artisan and Crafters Fair at Norris Park, the Heritage Days 5K run-walk, the Heritage Days car show, Norris Bandshell entertainment, a Chamber-sponsored street dance Saturday night, and Sunday worship services at Norris Park.

New this year, with live actors, is the much anticipated Heritage Cemetery Tour, scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at McCook’s Riverview and Memorial Park cemeteries.

While there’s the possibility of showers, the celebration will go forward, Mockry said, saying weather’s impact is an ever-present chance at outdoor festivals.

As McCook’s largest gathering of the year, Heritage Days has attracted crowds of between 3,000 and 5,000 people through the years. For law enforcement, Police Chief Isaac Brown and Sergeant Kevin Darling said that means an all hands on board turnout for the parade on Saturday morning, with the Red Willow County sheriff’s department directing the start of the parade north of F Street and the McCook Police Department handling the parade activities on the march south on Norris and west on C Street.

Chief Brown and Senior Sergeant Darling, as hosts for Tuesday’s coffee, were joined for the discussion by Mockry, Sharon Bohling, Greg Hepp and Bill Longnecker.