Summer sets up shop in La Vista today through Sunday with the annual Salute to Summer.
The festival is a reflection of the city’s efforts to honor active-duty military and veterans as well as the fact that Salute to Summer kicks off the season for the metro area.
The festival will begin with the Hometown Heroes Event, on Thursday, May 25, at 6 p.m. at the Blue Star Memorial in the southeast corner of the City Hall parking lot. This will include a special speaker from the Army National Guard, musical performances from students from Papillion-La Vista High School and ROTC demonstration from Papillion-La Vista South High School. In the event of inclement weather, this event will be held inside the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
The carnival and vendor booths will open Thursday, May 25, at 5 p.m. in Central Park and Hot Wheels races will take place at 6 p.m. that evening in the Community Center Gym.
The annual Community Cookout, car show, concert and fireworks display, sponsored by the La Vista Community Foundation, ACCESSbank (formerly Bank of Nebraska), La Vista Keno and Bellino Fireworks, will be held beginning at 6 p.m., Friday, May 26, at the City Hall Complex, 8116 Park View Blvd., and La Vista Keno, 7101 S. 84th St. This event will feature:
- Free hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks beginning at 6 p.m. Bring a non-perishable food item for the Tri-City Food Pantry and a lawn chair for watching the concert and fireworks.
- Activities for the whole family including fun games, climbing wall, bounce houses, fun with chalk art, and free books.
- The car show will take place in the La Vista Keno parking lot and is open to all makes, models and classes. Advance registration is not required.
- The band “Velvet Crush” will give a free concert from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Fireworks display, provided by Bellino Fireworks, over La Vista Falls Golf Course at dusk.
The Beer Garden will be open on Friday and Saturday night at the Central Park Tennis Courts. DJ K DuB will play music on Friday and “Johnny Knucklehead” and “Charm School Dropouts” will be playing on Saturday.
The parade, sponsored by ACCESSbank will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday at 87th Street and Park View Boulevard, proceed across 84th Street on Park View and end at 75th Street.
The City will also be honoring a Military Family of Year, who will be Romie and Karen Brown, longtime La Vista residents who served and retired from United States Air Force.
The festival will close with the Family Pool Party Sunday, 1-4 p.m., at the La Vista Municipal Pool. Come for a free afternoon at the pool and enjoy a live DJ and music!
For more information about the Salute to Summer Festival, click here to visit the festival’s website.