LOUP CITY – Loup City’s Polish Days celebration is set for June 2 through 4, the first weekend of the month. This year, it coincides with Sherman County’s 150th anniversary, and the Loup City Area Chamber of Commerce has put together a weekend with enough celebration for both milestones.
The celebration technically gets underway on Thursday at 6 p.m, with registration for the Polish Prince and Princess Contest for ages 0 to 5 at St. Josaphat’s Parish Hall; the royalty will be crowned at 6:30. The event is sponsored by the Rose Lane Home.
On Friday, the kolache bake-off begins at 10 a.m. with check-in at Day’s Auction Office; the entry fee is 3 dozen kolaches. First, second, and third-place winners will be announced after a 12:30 to 1:30 judging period. The judged kolaches will be available to the public for purchase between 3 and 5 p.m., with all proceeds going to the “Sherman County Sprouts” childcare initiative.
Friday will also include a quilt show, axe throwing, a mechanical bull, food vendors downtown, and a street dance at the Sons of American Legion Beer Garden starting at 8:30 p.m.
After an 8 a.m. pickleball tournament on Saturday, Polish Days’ parade will take place; the theme this year is “Visions from the Past – 150 Years of Sherman County.” Check-in is 9 a.m. at Loup City Lumber, and reserved parking is available downtown following the parade for classic cars and tractors.
The Loup City Diner will provide a buffet of Polish food from 11:30 to 2 p.m., and the Sherman County Historical Society will provide homemade ice cream and cookies as well as self-guided tours of historic buildings.
Saturday afternoon will also promise a kids’ tractor pull, a 2 p.m. cornhole tournament, and a family fishing event at Bowman’s Park, with tackle provided by Nebraska Game and Parks. The Songs of the American Legion will also hold another street dance at 8:30.
Sunday morning will kick off with a Polish breakfast buffet at the Loup City Diner, and at 10 a.m. the Polish Days Golf Tournament, a 3-person scramble, will have its shotgun start at the Loup City Golf Course. Registration is $50 per person and opens at 9 a.m.
An all-ages gemstone hunt will be held at Jenner’s Park between 10 a.m. and noon, and at 2 p.m. the Sherman County Historical Society will host Humanities Nebraska’s Sara Crook, who will give a talk titled “Nebraska’s Winding Road to Statehood: In the Footsteps of a Female Settler.”
The weekend will conclude with one more rendezvous at the Sons of the American Legion Beer Garden from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., featuring 3 Guys Polka. A full flyer is attached.
