Don’t miss the 5 Year Anniversary Celebration and Open House!

August 29, 2010

3 PM - 6 PM

Saying THANK YOU to all for an amazing 5 years! Take that old fashion Sunday afternoon drive (or walk) and stay for the afternoon or just come say hello.

Live music under the Award Winning Burr Oak Tree w/ Chris Saub & Daniel Christian.

Sugar Clay Winery & Vineyards will be pouring and selling their wines and are donating a pot of sangria!

Warehouse antiques @ 609, one of Nebraska City’s local antique stores, will have a display of antiques from the era

Good old picnic snacks like watermelon slices, peanuts in the shell and rainbow sherbert will be served!  Lemonade, tea and water also available. You can bring your own snacks and drinks if you prefer.

Have a little fun with the horseshoes and lawn darts - and maybe even a sack race!

Hope to see you there!

Lemon Days
Lemon Days is the time for sales in Nebraska City. We are promoting sales and in-store specials Thursday, August 5th – Sunday, August 8th. With sidewalk sales on Saturday, August 7 and Sunday, August 8 during regular business hours.
A one day special event on Saturday, August 7th, join us for a day of sidewalk sales and cash rewards, featuring a Shopping Rewards Program with Chamber Bucks give-aways.

Wine Under the Pines 12 PM - 7 PM
Nothing says “summer” like a wine festival, and we’re planning a fun one for Saturday, August 7th in Nebraska City, rain or shine.

The 3rd Annual Wine Under the Pines Festival will be hosted at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard again this year, with lots of sites, sounds, and activities.
Come and enjoy:
· wines and beer from six Southeast Nebraska wine and beer producers
· cooking demonstrations at 2:00 and 4:00
· a Lucy-style grape stomp at 5:00
· live music all day long
· vineyard tours
· a Good Wood Best BBQ Challenge
· plenty of shaded seating and free parking
The trolley will be running all afternoon making stops between Kimmel Orchard, Arbor Day Farm, and Downtown.

Sidney, Iowa Championship Rodeo run August 3 - 7 with nightly performances at 8 PM.  A dance featuring Jake McVey follows the rodeo events on Friday and Saturday nights.

Book your room here on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday night.  Sidney is only 16 miles from Nebraska City and Whispering Pines B&B.
For more details on the Sidney Rodeo

August 29th, 2010 celebrates Jeanna Stavas’ 5 year anniversary as Innkeeper and owner of Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Jeanna will host a picnic behind the pines as a thank you to the Nebraska City locals, previous guests and anyone who wants to tour the B&B.

Bring your quilt, blanket or lawn chairs and spend an afternoon relaxing or just stop by and say hello. There will be live music, wine tasting, picnic snacks & games, door prizes and giveaways.

The event will be held from 3 PM - 6 PM.

Hope you can make it!

Sounds like ‘hunting season’ open, but there really is so much to see and do here in Nebraska City, I just have to share and it is about this time of year when many of the museums open and extend their hours.

This past weekend Mayhew Cabin at John Brown’s Cave had their grand opening celebration and I took a break from planting my gardens to pop over there for the ceremony.

To help you experience what was a daily experience for many at that time, they have provided shackles for you to try on.  Maybe my pigtails and hat were of the times, but I’m quite certain there were not Teva’s or painted toe nails, and likely not smiles on their faces, but I think you’ll get the jest of the idea.  Wow! Trust me they were NOT comfortable, but come try them on for yourself!

The new building with exhibits and the village tell such an amazing story.  I saw this as a child in 5th grade, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to tour the facility since being back.  As I had to rush back home and finish the garden planting and greet my guests, I’ll look forward to spending an afternoon back there one day soon and taking it all in.

Listed here are the hours for some of the museums that recently opened for ’season’:

Mayhew Cabin: Monday - Saturday, 11 am - 5 pm, Sunday 12-5

River Country Nature Center:  Friday - Sunday, 12-4 PM

The Nelson House: Friday - Sunday, 12-4 PM

Old Freighters Museum:  Friday - Sunday, 12-4 PM

Nebraska City Museum of Firefighting: Wed-Sat 11 AM -5 PM  Sun 12-4

Reserve your stay at Whispering Pines B&B and get a taste of Nebraska City History!

Website links for most of these attractions are available here from my Local Area Page.

The Mayhew Cabin and Historic Village Foundation

2012 4^th Corso Nebraska City, NE 68410

Phone: 402-873-3115

Mayhewcabin.org

They are currently remodeling the brick building into new museum exhibits. Our organization will host a ceremony to dedicate the new building.

The Grand Opening Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 22nd from 2-4 p.m. This event will commemorate the acquisition of the brick building and the unveiling of the new exhibit area for the Mayhew Cabin. The ceremony will include a ribbon cutting at 2:30 p.m., special tours, refreshments, and a short presentation about the future of the Mayhew Cabin historic site.

Many of you may remember this as John Brown’s Cave when you were younger.  This grand opening and the efforts that have been put forth over the past year is very exciting for Nebraska City and I’m proud to be a supporter and promoter of this important piece of Nebraska history.  Maybe I’ll see you there!

Join us on May 13, 2010 from 7:00 PM TO 9:00 PM

The Otoe County Genealogical Society will host it’s 2nd annual ‘Walk Through Wyuka’ tour at the Wyuka Cemetery in Nebraska City on May 13th at 7:00 pm. Wyuka Cemetery historian, Don Hegr, will be our tour guide and will guide us through the many historical internments in Nebraska’s oldest public cemetery. Don’s tour will cover the history of the cemetery, and will also showcase numerous graves of Nebraska City’s prominent (and sometimes not so prominent) people that are buried within the cemetery. If you would like to join us on this tour, please meet at the maintenance shed inside the cemetery at 7:00 pm. There will be someone at the main entrance of the cemetery to guide you once you arrive, and parking will be on the south side of the maintenance shed.

There’s still room at the B&B if you’d like to make a night of it.  Book now or just come around for the evening.

Maybe I’ll see you there!

JOIN US FOR THE ANNUL ARBOR DAY RUN/WALK

Run/Walk in the footsteps of J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day, around Historic Nebraska City.

A few changes this year have made the Arbor Day run just even better!

It’s the weekend BEFORE the Arbor Day Celebration to allow those running the Lincoln Marathon to participate AND there is now a 10K!

Early bird registration is April 5 has entry fee of only $19 which includes a long sleeve t-shirt and yummy treats after the race.

Having run many a race mile, Jeanna, the Whispering Pines Innkeeper knows about races, running and what’s important - I think it’s covered!  Let me know if I missed something!

• A cozy, comfortable bed the night before AND the night after the run
• An early morning special runners breakfast such as fruit, yogurt, homemade granola, muffins, peanut butter!  I’ll do my best to accommodate other special food requests with advance notice.
• A convenient four block walk to the start line
• Hot tub and robes

Get a great night’s sleep the night before the race and a special runner’s breakfast will be ready for you at your requested “early” time.

A two night stay lets you enjoy all the runner’s treats after the race, gives you a chance to come back to your room, hot tub and relax on the porch or shower up and go out and about  - either way, enjoying a beautiful Springtime day in Nebraska City, a relaxing evening and another great night of sleep!  Oh, and a full, leisurely, gourmet breakfast on Sunday - no skimping here!
There will be an early bird runner’s discount of 20% off your second night of a Friday/Saturday stay, April 23/24 if booked by April 5th, 10% if booked after April 5th.  Based on limited availability, so reserve your room now.

Official registration available here:  Arbor Day Run Registration

Hope you’ll join us!

The Mayhew Cabin will have a spaghetti feed fundraiser on Sunday, March 28th from 11-1 p.m. Afterwards Mr. James Patrick Morgans will speak at 1:00 about the Underground Railroad in this region. He has written two books about the UGRR and is involved with the Tabor (Iowa) Historical Society. Mr. Morgans lives in Council Bluffs, IA and his first book John Todd and the Underground Railroad: Biography of an Iowa Abolitionist  was published in 2006. His second book The Underground Railroad on the Western Frontier was released this year. The meal is a free will donation with all proceeds going to the Mayhew Cabin Foundation. Contact Bill Hayes at 873-3115.

The third annual Laurine Kimmel High School Art Exhibition showcasing artwork by juniors and seniors in ten southeast Nebraska schools opens on Monday, March 15, at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts gallery in Nebraska City. The Laurine Kimmel Exhibition features a variety of works by more than forty student/artists.

The works on exhibit are selected by art educators in the participating high schools: Auburn Public, Falls City Public, Falls City Sacred Heart, Johnson-Brock Public, Johnson County Central Public, Lourdes Central Catholic, Nebraska City Public, Pawnee City Public, Sterling Public, and Syracuse Public. 

The Richard P. Kimmel and Laurine Kimmel Charitable Foundation sponsors this exhibition in memory of Laurine Kimmel, an artist herself, and graduate of Nebraska City High School. The exhibition is made possible through the cooperation of Nebraska Educational Service Unit 4, art teachers in participating schools, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.

In addition to displaying the talent and hard work of area students, the Laurine Kimmel High School Art Exhibition offers participating schools the opportunity to apply for monetary allowances to support art education in their classrooms.

An opening reception in honor of the student/artists, their families and art teachers is open to the public on Saturday, March 20, from 1 – 3 p.m. at the gallery. The exhibition runs through April 24th. The gallery will be open on Saturday, April 24^th from 1 – 3 p.m.

The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Gallery is located at 801 3rd Corso in Nebraska City and is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. Appointments at other times are welcome: please call ahead. Both the exhibition and the reception are free, handicapped accessible, and open to the public. For more information, call 402-874-9600 or visit www.khncenterforthearts.org.