Saturday Sept. 4

• This is the final weekend of the first Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island, Neb.
  The Midway will open at 11:00a.m. In addition to rides for all ages, the midway has a wide range of food to satisfy anyone's taste buds including cotton candy, caramel apples, snow cones, cold drinks, popcorn, corn dogs, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, chili-cheese dogs, nachos, and more.
  There is live entertainment daily in the beer garden.
  On Saturday at 1 p.m you can watch the Galaxy of Stars Talent Search on the Bristol Stage. Nebraskans have the opportunity to sing, dance, or play their way for a chance to win over $5,000 in cash prizes, recording sessions, and trophies. Contestants compete in three age divisions: Comets (12 & Under), Shooting Stars (13-18), and Novas (19 & over).
  Miss Nebraska State Fair and Miss 1868 Pageant will be crowned Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Heartland Events Center. A local, preliminary pageant to the Miss Nebraska and the Miss America Pageants is open to women between the ages of 17 and 24. The pageant includes interview, on-stage question, evening wear, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit, and talent competitions.
  Eight busses will run from the shuttle sites outside the fair grounds to ease traffic congestion. The shuttles make a round trip every 15-30 minutes. The public can park and ride the buses from Wal-Mart South, College Park, Central Community College, Westgate Plaza, Conestoga Mall, Sam's Club and the parking lot at Locust Street and Highway 34.
  Information: www.statefair.org

• Septemberfest is a weekend chocked full of fun at the Qwest Center Omaha's Parking Lot D.
  The Midway will be open from noon to midnight.
  Live entertainment on Saturday includes: Vago from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.; Cheshire Grin from 8:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and L.A. Guns from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
  Members of the Omaha Wild Clown-Dum will be entertaining in the Kiddie Kingdom. Kids will be able to participate in activities including face painting and creating art work.
  King and Queen and DUO of Karaoke will be crowned Saturday and you can see the NightHawks at the competition. New this year is the 1st Annual Rib-Eye Steak Cookoff in the afternoon.
  Carnival ride lovers who attend Septemberfest can get a Megaride Pass for the Midway that will allow them to ride every ride as many times as they like all five days of the festival. The tickets are available at Hy-Vee stores for $26.50; at the gate they will cost $31.

• Saturday kicks off the college football season for teams in the area.
  -- Nebraska takes on Western Kentucky at 6 p.m. The game is available on pay-per-view.
  -- The Iowa Hawkeyes host Eastern Illinois at 11:05 a.m. The game is available on the Big Ten Network.
  -- The University of Nebraska at Omaha will host the University of Nebraska at Kearney at 6 p.m. The game is also available on the radio, KVNO 90.7 FM
• If you are in the mood for something other than football there are options too.
  -- The Creighton men's soccer team plays UNC Greensboro at Morrison Stadium at 7 p.m.
  -- Bellevue West will play host to a 16-team high school volleyball invitational. Seven of the World-Herald's top 10 Class A teams and the top two Class B teams will participate.

• Start your Big Red Tailgate Saturday at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.
  Since the Husker game isn't until 6 p.m., families can begin their day at the zoo, 1222 S. 27th St. in Lincoln, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The zoo's Safari Café will have a special tailgate menu available, including grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The North Star High Cheer Squad and Marching Band are scheduled to perform in Zooville Square at noon.
  Anyone wearing Husker gear will receive $1 off regular admission.
  For more information, visit www.lincolnchildrenszoo.org.

• If you love all things Italian, head on over to Omaha's La Festa Italiana .
  This year, the American Italian Heritage Society's annual event is being held in a new location, the National Guard Readiness Center at 116th Street and Rainwood Road.
  The festival will offer authentic Italian food, a variety of entertainment and lots of fun from 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Entertainment includes big-screen Husker football game, 6 p.m. and High Heel at 8:30 p.m.
  Admission will be $6.50 at the door, but it's free for children younger than 12.

• If you're pretty good at solving the multicolored box, you might want to enter Nebraska's first World Cube Association Rubik's Cube competition Saturday.
  The speed contest will begin promptly at 9 a.m. in the retreat center of All Saints Episcopal Church, 9302 Blondo St. So far, 22 people ranging from a 4-year-old girl to college-aged kids have registered for the event. Winners will get certificates.
  To compete, people must pay a $5 entry fee for the first event and $2 for each additional event. Anyone can register the day of the event. Spectators are welcome.
  Information: www.cubingusa.com/nebraska/index.php.

• Great Plains Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association & Ditmars Orchard Present a music festifal Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
  Come listen to: Little Family Band, Flatwater Drifters, Mr. Baber's Neighbors, Rivertown String Band and Sandy Creek Pickers.
  Tickets are $10 for adult, children 12 and under free. The festival continues on Sunday and 2-day passes are $15. Don't forget your lawn chairs.

• The 19th annual Oregon Trail Rodeo in Hastings, Neb., will host a Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night on Saturday. For every fan who wears pink that night, $1 will be donated to the Morrison Cancer Center at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital.
  More than $40,000 will be up for grabs for each of the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women's Pro Rodeo Association competitors. The rodeo will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Adams County Fairgrounds.
  Tickets are available at Orscheln Farm and Home in Hastings and at the fairgrounds. Call 402-462-3247 to purchase tickets with a credit card.

• Proud of your tomato crop? “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” tomato contest will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Benson Farmers Market, on Military Avenue and Maple Street.
  Two classes of tomatoes — miniature and standard — will be judged: best looking, best tasting and brix (sugar content) in miniature; best looking, best tasting, brix, biggest and ugliest in standard. Ribbons and medals will be awarded. There is no limit to the number of varieties one person can enter. The entry fee is $5 for each variety.
  Pre-register by Friday by calling 553-5627 or e-mailing www.bensonfarmersmarket.org. The fee can be paid the morning of the competition.

• “Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes” will open Saturday at the Strategic Air & Space Museum.
  The display tells the tale of Hughes' secret life under the assumed identity of Verner “Nik” Nicely, as told by his widow, Eva McLelland. She did not know she was married to Howard Hughes until they had been married for several years.
  In 2001, after her husband of 30 years died, she told her story to Maj. Gen. (ret.) Mark Musick, who had befriended her when she needed assistance for her husband. Musick spent six years researching her statements before contacting Douglas Wellman to write the book.
  The museum is at Interstate 80, Exit 426, at Ashland, Neb. For more information, visit www.SASMuseum.com.

• A Celebration of Love and Life will mark the 25th anniversary of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha.
  The international medical conference, family fun day, banquet and reunion will be at Qwest Center Omaha. The free family fun day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Exhibit Hall B. Enjoy inflatables, pony rides, firetruck, smoke trailer, police car, anti-crime dog, face painting, clowns, music, unicyclists and arcade games.
  For more information, visit www.popepaulvi.com.

• Celebrate the Labor Day weekend at Fort Kearny outside Kearney, Neb. The dedication of Garrison Lowe's Eagle Scout Project, a group shelter, will take place at noon. There will be a living history soldiers camp with demonstrations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
  A Nebraska state park sticker, $4, is required for admission.

• Nebraska/Iowa Railroaders have a huge 6000 sq. ft. working display of model trains that include Thomas the Tank engine! It's FREE, but donations are appreciated. See it at the Nebraska Crossing Factory Outlet Mall-Gretna from noon to 4 p.m.
  The outlet mall is located on just off I-80, at exit 432. For more information, http://www.ne-ia-railroaders.com/.

• How in the world do you tag a butterfly? Find out at the annual Monarch Tagging event at Hitchcock Nature Center. Discover more about monarch butterflies, their unusual lifestyle and life cycle, and miraculous migration to Mexico.
  Learn how to catch and handle monarchs, determine gender, and properly tag them in the wild as part of a national research project. All monarchs will be released after they are tagged. Bring a butterfly net if you have one, or share a park net if you don't. Tags and refreshments provided.
  Pre-registration is required by September 1st. Cost day of the event: $6 per person, if space is available. Please call 712-328-5834 to register for either the 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. event.

• Join a classic backroad bike ride, a 22-mile bike ride through western Iowa. This event is a fundraiser for Panama's Young Mothers & Others, a nonprofit that does numerous things to keep small town Iowa thriving.
  E-mail pkwingert@iowatelecom.net for more information.

• Or try the Bancroft Bayliss Loop Bike Ride. At 10 a.m. artists and bike riders participate in weekly rides from Bancroft market in Omaha to Bayliss Park in Council Bluffs, stopping for lunch before biking home.
  Questions, emial Jody Boyer at mettasmama@hotmail.com.

• Hop on the South 24th Street Omaha Walking Tour. It's a 60- to 90-minute guided tour from L Street to P Street commercial district noting arts, architecture, business, culture and history. Fee charged.
  Meet on steps in front of El Museo Latino, 4701 South 25th St., at 11 a.m. For more information, http://south24thomahatour.com/.

• Labor Day weekend means another year of fun, food, and festivities in Essex, Iowa, during their annual Labor Day celebration.
  Saturday the events begin with a golf outing at 9 a.m., followed by a motorcycle poker run at noon. At 5 p.m. the carnival opens, as well as the food stand serving burgers, hot dogs and other treats. A street dance, featuring “Midnight Express” starts at 9 p.m. in downtown Essex and ends the first day of activities.
  This is the 100th annual community celebration for the small town of Essex. For more information on events and activities, go to www.essexiowa.com.

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