Halloween, time change, full moon, and the best fun in Pott. Co. all weekend!

It all starts today with the Cash Mob in Macedonia at The Painted Camel!  They open at noon and they are stockpiled and ready for visitors!  If you want to know more about the Cash Mob, go here.  But please consider getting there as these people’s livelihood depends on us.

Later today, you can take your favorite ghouls and goblins to trick-or-treat on Broadway in Carson!  The businesses all come out and give away fun treats from 4-6pm.  It’s beautiful weather – you won’t want to miss it!

Saturday is another big day in Macedonia!  Trick-or-Treat on Main Street runs from 5 to 7pm and while you’re there, swing through The Painted Camel for the Cash Mob and see the Stempel Bird Museum (perfect for Halloween) and the Pioneer Trail Museum, grab some treats at The Back Forty, and then you can listen to the last night of Grist Mill’s Ghost Stories in the Park in the Dark at 7:30!  Under the full moon!  How fun will that be?????

Of course, there are lots of other Trick-or-Treat options around the county, too!  Walnut will be having their trick-or-treat from 5 to 7pm also and be sure to swing through the Walnut Fire Station for free hot dogs and goodie bags while supplies last!  Way to go, Walnut Fire!

Hancock will host their town trick-or-treat from 6 to 9pm. 

Underwood will have a trunk-or-treat at the Underwood Elementary hosted by the Underwood Optimist Club and Friends of Underwood from 6 to 8pm with the first 200 kids getting free Halloween bags, too!

For you “older kids,” Crescent Roadhouse Bar and Grill will be throwing a Halloween Costume Party starting at 6 with drink specials and a pizza-beer combo special, too.  Cole Rath will be playing live at Hoots N Hollers in Shelby at 9, and The Bar’N and Grill will be having their 4th Annual Halloween Bash starting at 8. They even have t-shirts ready for those that “shoot the minnow!”

Sunday has plenty to offer, too!  You can do some art at the Walnut Market Village at 1pm. Sign up ahead though! 

From 4 to 6, you can get in on the drive-thru pasta feed fundraiser at the Minden Community Hall!  It’s $8 for pasta and dessert!

And you can end your night at the Masquerade Brawl in Treynor!  It starts at 7 and for all the details, check out my blog here.

So bring on your costumes, your treats, your drinks, and a fabulous good time!  Just be careful out there and mask up, friends!

Just when you thought COVID was boring, Treynor brings you the Masquerade Brawl!  Yes, that’s right, I said BRAWL!  Get in on some local professional wrestling!  The LWE is coming to the Treynor Community Center on Sunday, November 1st!  Doors open at 6 and bell goes off at 7!  Get in on all the action!

It’s an event that is destined to be some serious entertainment!  This female, family-owned association is hosting their first “brawl” since COVID so they are ready to go!  I found out that most of the guys you’ll be seeing are Midwesterners from Minneapolis, Chicago, Des Moines, and our very own Treynor-ite, Nolan Long aka Mack Riggs!  Most of them train year-round, a few even doing apprenticeships, with some just doing this for the experience and love and some hoping to move their careers towards the WWE, which means you can say you saw them here first!

For those of you familiar with the local professional wrestling circuits, you’ll be getting to see Yellow Dog- the Charismatic Canine, Donnie Pepper Cricket, Salty Dalty, and even MoJo McQueen will be making an appearance!  For those of you not as familiar, the wrestlers are fighting to get into the All-Star Championship in February. 

The organization prides itself on having an 80’s wrestling nostalgia mixed with 2020’s technology!  You’ll see super heroes, super naturals, psychos, and the highlight:  new mystery rivals!  The night will consist of a few matches and then it will culminate in the “royal rumble” with 25 to 30 costumed wrestlers in the ring at once with elimination by mask removal! 

Metro areas are getting flooded with a wave of independent wrestling professionals, but LWE said there’s a level of loyalty that comes from rural audiences that makes them want to be in small towns across the Midwest.  The flip side of that:  small town audiences get real personal interaction with the wrestlers and up-close views bigger organizations don’t offer.  The prices are reasonable, too!  Presale tickets are $8 (or $10 on event day) for adults with children being $6 presale and $8 day of with under 3 being free or you can get a VIP Table of 4 (for social distancing and it is ring-side) for only $35 presale and $45 day of.  That’s cheap for some live action you’ll have stories to tell about the next day!

Seriously, I have to say I think this is one you’ll remember for a long time!  Laughs, athletics, passion, and drama all wrapped into one! 

​Get your tickets here and give ‘em a Pott. Co. welcome!

Can’t wait to see your pictures!

Make plans to attend the Grand Opening of The Beauty Bar in Oakland this Friday, October 23rd from 4 to 8pm!  Kristie McCready will be setting up her hair salon in the back part of Blossoms (512 Dr. Van Zee Rd.) with a ribbon cutting at 4pm followed by refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and door prizes.

Kristie is a Riverside graduate, grew up in Macedonia, and graduated from the Salon Professionals Academy in Ames.  After doing hair in North Carolina, Kansas City, and taking a year-long adventure ride in a converted ambulance, Kristie realized it was time to come home. 

It was an easy decision to set up shop in Blossoms as it was the nicest, established, move-in ready facility to make her home area return.  For those who’ve known Kristie forever, they know that she gave her 1st haircut in 6th grade and never slowed down from there!  She loves being creative, loves people, and loves how her profession is always evolving with something new for her to learn.  Her passion right now is color and wedding hair. 

She will be open Wednesday and Thursdays 9 to 9 and Friday and Saturdays 9 to 6 and by appointment for regulars.  Mens’ cuts will be $20 including a face wash, hair wash, and warm towel.  Ladies’ cuts will be $35 with a warm towel and hand massage, as well.  All patrons will have access to free wine, beer, tea, coffee, and water as Ms. McCready wants her customers to get a high-end, comfortable, consistent experience every time. With Kristie’s personable and approachable style, there’s no question she’ll be booked!

Interested in seeing more of her style, you can check her out on Facebook: The Beauty Bar at Blossoms or on Instagram:  HairbyKristieMcCready.

Welcome back to Pott. Co., Kristie!  We’re glad you made your way home!

The Cash Mob is back and it’s happening at The Painted Camel in Macedonia!  After having success piloting it at Silos in Treynor, TS Bank and WIDA are taking it on the road to Macedonia Halloween weekend! 

What is a cash mob?  Well, think about a flash mob where everyone gathers to sing or dance.  In this case, we all gather to rally around a business hit hard by COVID and support local!  Since there are still COVID restrictions, we can’t really all be in one place at the same time, so instead we’re asking you to show up to shop at The Painted Camel any time throughout Halloween weekend (October 30th-November 1st)! (Or really any other time, too, but Halloween weekend is ideal!)

The Painted Camel will be open October 30th from noon to 5, Halloween from noon to 7pm, and November 1 (Sunday) from noon to 5.  They will be open longer on Saturday so you can shop and swing into the Stempel Bird Museum and the Pioneer Trail Museum between 5 and 7pm and catch a bite to eat at The Back Forty before making your way to the last Ghost Stories in the Park in the Dark event held by Grist Mill at the Olde Town Park in Macedonia at 7:30! 

Not familiar with The Painted Camel?  Well, Paul and Carol Jean are the amazing owners!  Paul actually is an artist himself and sells his pottery in the shop along with 30+ other artists!  People, I say this constantly, but you have to see it to believe it – the place is straight out of the Old Market!  It’s beautiful!  And they have a little of everything – inspirational kitchen towels, handmade jewelry, paintings, photos, books, ornaments, wind chimes, note cards, etc. and most all of it is one-of-a-kind and perfect for a Christmas gift! 

Here’s the deal, Paul and Carol Jean are staples in the Macedonia community and legends on the Southwest Iowa Art Tour.  They are wonderful people who couldn’t open their shop for months on end because of COVID, their sales took a drastic hit.  I can only ask that you take it upon yourself to drive to Macedonia and support people who graciously support their community by donating their time, gift cards, and pottery to major events.  

Supporting local has to go to a whole new level for us to keep our businesses here in Pottawattamie County where they belong and here is an opportunity for you to get something beautiful, see a place you maybe haven’t been to, and support people who truly love their home. 

Plus, you will get local swag for every purchase you make and you can sign up to win a great prize package from TS Bank!  Show up, support, and be part of the team!  You won’t be sorry!

​No longer is she known for her rocks, now she’s the Mask Lady!  Vicki Palmer of Oakland has gone from being a retired school nurse to the master of 712 Painted Rocks to supplying 5000 masks for those in need during COVID! 

When Vicki heard there was a need for masks, she remembered the 4 yards of softball fabric sitting in her closet.  From there, she expanded to making masks for neighbors, friends, family, doctors’ offices, several schools, a couple of ministries, homeless shelters, nursing homes and many other organizations through Nebraska Hands & Feet. 

She says it takes her 15 minutes to make a regular cotton mask and 30-ish to make the see-through mouth ones.  The amazing part is that Palmer doesn’t charge.  She’s become known for her “free mask” tote that often sits outside her home next to the street and sometimes she takes it to other towns to spread the love. Actually, she’s made them for people all over the country as she has family in Grand Island, NE, Fort Worth, TX, and San Antonio!

Why has she done all these masks?  Not only does she like helping others, she knew there was a need, and she mentioned that it filled a void at just the right time after her retirement from Riverside last year.  She’s used everything from flamingos, baseballs, paisley, and her favorite, a black with lavender and blue floral print (shown in the photo) to make the masks.  And she’s still sewing!  She just got done making some clear-fronted masks for families in Scottsbluff with hearing-impaired members and touts that she will keep going strong till there is no need! 
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Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift.  The purpose of life is to give it away.”  Well, Vicki, you have done just that! 

Thank you for doing your part to make Pott. Co. and the world a little better place to be!

The place to be this weekend:  the Fall Antique Festival in Walnut!   With beautiful weather on tap and possibly the largest set of vendors ever for the fall event, you won’t want to miss the 14th Annual Fall Antique and Stoneware Festival this Saturday and Sunday (October 10&11). 

So Walnut is expecting 60 outdoor vendors and 10 indoor dealers from 10 states to arrive Friday and be ready to show you the best wares they have to offer!  In fact, the festival will be expanding further on Antique Drive than it ever has!  After so many festivals like this being canceled this year, the vendors are beyond excited to see you!  Plus, all the local antique shops will be open, as well, which if you haven’t been in them – you need to!  As someone who likes to give the perfect Christmas gift, the shops at Walnut truly are spectacular.  They are full of one-of-a-kind items, many of them nostalgic in nature but lots of upcycling, too.  And they will all be open all day on Friday if you want to get an early start!

The Fall Festival features stoneware. If you’re unaware of what stoneware is, well, it includes crocks, water coolers, pitchers, butter churns, etc.  but they will have all kinds of antiques – toys, furniture, primitives, etc. for you to lust over this weekend!

It is free admission, rain or shine!  The hosts have made wash stations available in the American Legion building where all the indoor vendors will be housed as well as offering free masks for all patrons. The public restrooms will be open for all those attending.

Of course, I love going for the food, too!  The Fire Department will be hosting a pancake breakfast both mornings from 7am to noon at the Fire Station and B&L Diner will be open on Main Street.  Emma Jean’s out next to the Interstate will be available, too.  Plus, there will be cotton candy, pretzels, brick oven pizza, kringles, and more!  Do a little browsing and grazing! Lol.

Both days kick off with the “crock parade” at 7:45am when the trailer of crocks pulls into town!  And be sure to stop by the middle of town square where an antique fire truck will be displayed and ready for all your Fall Festival 2020 selfies!
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It’s going to be a great weekend in Walnut!  Make sure you’re part of it! 

Get yourself to the grand opening of Tillie’s Salon and Boutique in Avoca this Thursday, October 8th at 4pm!  A ribbon cutting will take place at 4 and then she will be celebrating her grand opening for 3 days with giveaways, snacks, and more:  Thursday 4-8pm, Friday 4-8, and Saturday 9-4pm.

For all of you familiar with Avoca, Taylor Engel just took over an Avoca Main Street mainstay, The Hairloom, at 117 N Elm Street.  Taylor is a young entrepreneur originally from Avoca, a graduate of AHSTW, and a graduate of EQ School of Hair Design.  With dreams of being a hair stylist and a boutique owner, she jumped on the opportunity when it came her way! 

Why Tillie’s?  Well, her great grandmother was Tillie and her parents often teased her she acted just like her so it seemed only fitting that she honor her with her new place.  Tayler has lots of family ties to the Avoca area and clearly values them and her hometown.  She said that she loves the feel of Avoca Main Street and all the renovations have made it a fun, beautiful place to be.  Well, said, Tayler!

As Ms. Engel embarks on her new, exciting adventure, she offers not only a place to get your hair done, but also a boutique business that includes women’s clothing, home décor, and accessories at a time when availability in small towns is hard to come by.  Plus, she posts online on her Facebook page for those of you wanting to see your options.  As we head into the holidays, this could be just the place to support local and get Christmas gifts you can see and touch in person!

It sounds like Tillie’s is about to become the next legendary place in Avoca.  When I asked Tayler what she hoped to provide for the community, she said she hopes they leave Tillie’s “feeling relaxed, happy, stress-free, and beautiful!”  I’m pretty sure everybody else is hoping for that, too! 

Congratulations and best of luck on your new business venture, Tayler!  Pott. Co. will be cheering for you!

#SupportLocal #SmallTownLifeIsTheBestLife #PottCounty