Atlas Obscura’s Guide to Nebraska’s Wackiest and Most Wondrous Summer Events

Nebraskans know how to throw a party, and the weirder and more wondrous, the better. After all, this is where locals utilize steel water tanks for river floating, and an automotive replica of England’s Stonehenge rises from the plains. In fact, Nebraska’s wide-open landscape invites innovation – perhaps that’s why there’s so much of it.

Whether it’s a weekend perusing over repurposed relics on a farm reminiscent of Woodstock, or attending a family-friendly celebration devoted to bull testicles, there’s a little something for everyone in the Cornhusker State. Here are 10 wonderful opportunities to experience Nebraska in all its idiosyncratic glory this summer.

Junkstock

Waterloo | May 3-5, May 10-12

Each year, approximately 30,000 revelers make the annual pilgrimage to Junkstock, a one-of-a-kind celebration of repurposed relics. Think of it as a sort-of the love child between Woodstock and a massive flea market, with plenty of music, food trucks, and charming old treasures ranging from ice cream buckets and burned whiskey barrel signs to candy machines and mid-century furnishings. The event, which happens four times yearly, started in 2012 with about 29 vendors and now includes a curated selection of over 200, each one specializing in vintage, antique, or handmade artisan wares. Junkstock brings them all together on an old horse farm just outside Omaha, where festival founder Sara Alexander lives with her family.

NEBRASKAland DAYS

North Platte | June 12-22

For 10 days every June, Nebraska’s official state celebration puts on a show for the ages. This treasured festival of all things Nebraskan and Western began in Lincoln in 1965, but moved to North Platte—where showman William “Buffalo Bill” Cody debuted his “Wild West” show—a few years later. A NEBRASKAland DAYS highlight, the Buffalo Bill Rodeo is a descendent of that historic event. Some of the event’s additional highlights include an antique car show, a chuck wagon pork breakfast, and the interactive Frontier Revue musical, showcasing tales from North Platte and the Old West. Of course, big-name country musicians Parker McCollum and Jelly Roll will also be performing, and the festival’s annual parade features marching bands, dance groups, and decorated floats from around the state.

College World Series

Omaha | June 14-24

In the world of college baseball, all roads lead to Omaha. Since 1950, Nebraska’s largest city has been home to the NCAA Men’s College World Series—the culminating games of a 64-team championship tournament that occurs each spring. Once the teams are whittled down to the final eight, thanks to a series of double-elimination brackets (meaning that a team isn’t eliminated until it loses two games), these remaining teams then make their way to the 24,000-seat Charles Schwab Field Omaha to compete for the title of national champion. Along with the games, the ballpark also hosts a popular College World Series Fan Fest—complete with a home run derby for attendees and a chance to snap pics with the championship trophy—throughout the 10-day event.

Testicle Festival

Ashland | June 15

Every Father’s Day weekend, Ashland’s Round the Bend Steakhouse pulls out all the stops with a full-day extravaganza of live country music, loads of beer, and hundreds of pounds of bull testicles. These delicacies come sliced, breaded, and deep-fried, then served nearly a dozen at a time with a side of ketchup-based dipping sauce. Bull testacles are a by-product of the castration of young animals raised for meat, an event that typically occurs in late spring. They are also the featured “treat” at festivals across the U.S, stretching from Maine to California.

Ashland’s own testicle festival began back in 1993, and the family-friendly festivity has been attracting crowds since. Purchasable souvenir hats and tees, helpings of shaved ice, and evening fireworks are also par for the course.

Wayne Chicken Show

Wayne | July 12-14

A weekend dedicated to all things poultry, the Wayne Chicken Show is a full-on chicken fest. According to the city of Wayne’s website, “The Show hatched in 1981, when the Wayne Regional Arts Council cooked up ideas for an arts show.” The theme of chickens was chosen for their familiarity, and it stuck. Now more than four decades in, this free annual event is home to what’s billed as the “World’s Largest Chicken Dance”; an auction of hand-painted cement chickens; and egg-centric contests that run the gamut from rubber chicken throwing to a National Cluck-Off—the chance to do your best chicken impression (rules are it has to be heard park-wide for at least 15 seconds) for a prize. Of course, live chickens are also on hand to strut their stuff.

Nebraska Star Party

Valentine | July 28-August 2

The remote sandhills of north-central Nebraska are home to some impressively dark skies, making the region’s 3,000-acre Merritt Reservoir the perfect place for the week-long Nebraska Star Party. This state recreation area is a designated International Dark Sky place where you’ll have an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of sky exploration with a telescope or without, discover how to identify star patterns right from your own backyard, and showcase your best space images in an astro photo contest. While the bulk of programming—including night-time constellation talks—take place at a telescope-equipped observation field beside Merritt Reservoir’s Snake Campground, there’s also a special kid’s midweek activity program that will be held at nearby Valentine High School. Projects here include everything from studying craters to making bottle rockets.

A one-time Star Party registration fee is good for the entire week, and meals are available for purchase. For those looking to stay overnight there’s the campground, as well as motels and B&Bs within an easy drive.

Old West Balloon Fest

Mitchell | August 7-10

Each August, dozens of colorful hot-air balloons brighten the skies of western Nebraska, set against the majestic sandstone backdrop of Scotts Bluff National Monument. Now in its 10th year, the four-day Old West Balloon Fest features morning mass balloon ascensions and evening “glows,” in which skilled pilots blast their balloons with propane bursts, illuminating them randomly like paper lanterns as they hang overhead. The festival also includes a remote-controlled miniature balloon flight, collectible trading cards handed out by the pilots themselves, and plenty of food trucks and craft vendors. The final evening’s grand finale even features a show of 200 drones depicting iconic scenes from western Nebraska.

Remember that hot air ballooning is weather dependent, so be sure to check ahead before arriving at Mitchell Recreation Field, where many of the events are held. Also, bring along a blanket or camping chairs and secure your spot for prime balloon viewing.

Kool-Aid Days

Hastings | August 16-18

When Nebraska-based chemist Edwin Perkins first introduced Kool-Aid to the world in 1927, he likely had no idea it would become a part of the American lexicon. Nearly a century later, Perkins’s powdered drink mix is still quenching thirsts. Hastings’ Kool-Aid Days celebrates Nebraska’s official state soft drink in the same town where Perkins first developed his beloved refreshment.

Held at the Adams County Fairgrounds, the weekend-long festival features live music and fireworks, “kardboard” boat races, and a “kwickest” Kool-Aid drinking contest, as well as ample samplings of Kool-Aid’s many flavors, such as strawberry kiwi sugar-free tropical punch. But it’s the Grand Parade that marks the official arrival of the beverage’s most iconic figure, the Kool-Aid Man—an anthropomorphic glass pitcher sporting a wide smile and a full supply of Cherry Kool-Aid (the drink’s original flavor).

While in town, be sure to stop by the Hastings Museum for a look at its permanent exhibit, Kool-Aid: Discover the Dream. It tells the story of Perkins and his invention through displays that include promotional items like coolers and frisbees, and an interactive Kool-Aid stand for kids. The Kool-Aid Man’s footprints—a pair of smiley-faced ovals originally cast in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood—welcome visitors outside the museum entrance.

Nebraska State Fair

Grand Island | August 23 - September 2

As with most state fairs, Nebraska’s annual 11-day gathering is pure Americana at its best. This much-loved conglomeration of equine and livestock exhibitors, carnival rides, “dirt” events and motorsport competitions, and delicious eats like fried Twinkies and Mango-on-a-stick has drawn more than four million visitors since relocating to Grand Island in 2010.

Back-to-back nights of bull action kick off the fair’s opening weekend, with a Stampede Series that includes Friday’s Ultimate Bullriding Tour on Friday and Saturday’s Ultimate Bullfighters Tour, in which bullfighters have 60 seconds to score points by performing stunts as close to the bull as possible without getting hit—or harming the animals. A demolition derby closes out the festivities come Labor Day.

Arbor Day

Nebraska City | April 25, 2025

Celebrate the power of trees in the same city where Arbor Day began. In 1872, local newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton first proposed the idea to set aside one day annually for the planting and preservation of trees. Today, Arbor Day is a global event that takes place toward the end of each April, with plenty of activities to look forward to in 2025.

Nebraska City’s own weekend-long festivities take place at various locations around town, with seed packet giveaways at local libraries, a commemorative tree planting ceremony, and a 10-block-long parade featuring floats, bands, and fire trucks. There’s also 72-acre Arbor Lodge State Park and its 52-room mansion, which happens to be the former home of J. Sterling Morton and his family. Admission to the mansion—filled with antique artifacts and an abundance of Arbor Day memorabilia—is free to visitors all weekend long.