Sumner Brings the “Good Ol’ Days” Back to the 4th of July

SUMNER–The small town of Sumner, Nebraska is bringing back many traditional activities to celebrate Independence Day after working with a modified schedule in 2020. The Sumner Fourth of July Celebration kicked off on June 27, with the Annual Commercial Club Dinner fundraiser and toad/turtle races.

The Annual Co-Ed Volleyball Tournament will take place on Saturday July 3 followed by the Cornhole Tournament. “Who knew Cornhole is such a big thing! This is the 3rd year for this event and people love it,” says Sumner Commercial Club President KristenTriplett.

“The 3rd is a busy day; the Sumner – Eddyville – Miller Schools Alumni Banquet is that evening at 5:30 pm; they will honor years ending in ‘00 and ‘01 since the banquet was canceled last year.” Also scheduled for the 3rd is the first performance of the rodeo and the street dance.

On Sunday the July 4, the day starts out with Community Church in the Park followed by the parade at 10:30 a.m. The parade theme is “Good Ol’ Days” and will kick off with the very popular flyover by Johnson’s Lake Flying Service. “We have parade judges and will recognize the best entries later on in the day and hope to have the 100+ floats, cars, tractors, horses and band entries that we have every year.”

After the parade there will be the traditional Foot Races, Egg Toss and Money Pile at the Football Field and the S-E-M Cheerleaders will serve lunch at the school. There will also be food trucks in town and Tub’s Pub will be serving good food and cold drinks.

“Last year we saw many picnics in the yard with friends and family; we hope to see that again this year but also have a ton of activities downtown and in the park to bring people together.”

The rodeo starts at 1:30 p.m. then at 3 p.m. the Sunday Fun Day Activities will be available until the fireworks start.

“We are very excited about the Sunday Fun Day Activities; the games are appropriate for all ages and free to the public. They were made possible by generous donors from the community. We couldn’t do any of it without them!”

There is a 25-foot rock climbing wall; a spider climbing net; bungee cord trampolines; laser tag, a mechanical bull and a Dolphin water slide.

Tub’s Pub will open their beer garden at 3 p.m. and there will be Karaoke inside starting at 4 p.m. Over at the park there will be live entertainment, parade winner will be announced, and raffle prizes drawn. The Sumner Firemen will serve a BBQ dinner.

“We are hoping to create a fun and festive atmosphere downtown and in the park until the fireworks at dusk,” says Triplett. The fireworks can be viewed at the Sumner Baseball field and there will be concessions available. Information about the celebration can be found on the Sumner Commercial Club Facebook Page or by calling Kristen Triplett at 308-360-0626.

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