By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

The calendar has turned. Labor Day is in the rear-view mirror, and kids are back in school, but Northwest Nebraska offers a full slate of fall and winter events to enjoy.

The fun begins this week with the first-ever Open Frontier Fest Creative District Showcase to celebrate the Nebraska Arts Council’s designation of a creative district in Chadron. Open Frontier Fest will take place in Downtown Chadron Oct. 4 from 5-8 p.m. Come out and watch Consuming Fire Dance students practice on their viewing monitors, take in the live screen-printing demonstration at Outlaw Printers and enjoy pop-up performances by Panhandle Gymnastics students.

Stop by Chadron Open Art and enjoy the open mic performances – or give it a go yourself – while admiring the work of local artists in the Summers End Community Art Show. Get creative and head over to Madison Quilting and Yarns for Painting with Wool ($10 each), or decorate a mini-pumpkin with Golden Acre Farms ($5). Join the CSC Art Guild for sidewalk chalk art, get a Twisted Braid in your hair or stop by for a micro tattoo or permanent jewelry by Siren Tattoo.

Shop the Friends of the Chadron Public Library booth – they have a surprise item to offer – or grab popcorn at Eagle Theatre, which will be open for its regular showings. Grab a bite to eat or a beverage or get in some retail therapy at Bean Broker, Bloom, Fryday’s, Just Love Coffee, Molcajete’s, The Game Changer, The Ridge, The Wandering Lilac, Wild’s Bar and Grill. Food trucks by Grandma’s Kettle Corn and Grumpy’s Lemonade and Jimmy L’s BBQ will also be onsite.

The next day, Oct. 5, head out to the Dawes County Fairgrounds for the Harvest Moon Fall Festival. The event brings thousands to the fairgrounds each year to enjoy shopping and activities. Kick off the day with the Hangry Cow 5K by Chadron Rotary at 9 a.m., or stop by the Community Health Fair for blood draws from 7:30-10 a.m. (registration at https://WHF.as.me/ChadronNE 800-979-3711 Ext 1). The Health Fair will also help you dispose of expired medications, get a select list of immunizations, and offer eye screenings or the chance to visit with a pharmacist about your prescriptions.

The Airlink helicopter is scheduled to make an appearance, and the Nebraska State Patrol will have a driving safety simulator. Local fire and rescue and police department units will be on hand, as will a Forest Service engine, along with Smokey Bear, who is celebrating his 80^th birthday. Nebraska Public Power District will bring a bucket truck to see up close, too.

Stop in to the Event Center and get a henna tattoo or have your face painted or your caricature drawn. Decorate a pumpkin, enter the cookie contest and then visit an extensive list of vendors offering unique items in the Event Center and Big Barn. Kids will enjoy the penny carnival in the 4-H building and the free play games and bounce houses in Earl Park.

The arena will feature the haunted hay bale maze, BB and archery shooting, axe throwing, a petting zoo and goat roping. Challenge your friends to a costume chicken race, or swing by the teepee for storytelling with Dallas Chief Eagle.

A line-up of performances on the stage includes the costume contest at 9:30 a.m. (registration at 9), drumline performances at 9:45 and 10 and traditional Lakota dancing by Dallas Chief Eagle at 10:30 a.m.

How’s your throwing arm? Several local celebrities will be sitting on the dunk tank behind the grandstands. Listen for the “Cotton Eye Joe” and head to the south side of the Event Center for Keep Chadron Beautiful’s can stomping event. And, of course, the food court is back with lots of delicious offerings.

Visit https://discovernwnebraska.com/calendar-of-events-2/ for details on all of our fall and winter events.