September 21, 2020

Happy Fall! As the weather cools, it is a great time to get out in our communities and appreciate the season. There are many opportunities around our beautiful district to enjoy both this time of year and each other.

Indian Cave State Park has events on the second, third, and fourth week of October for its 25th Annual “Haunted Hollow.” On Friday nights at 7:30 p.m., there will be a Pasture Movie. Be sure to bring your chairs and blankets, and get ready to cuddle up and enjoy some Halloween classics, such as Casper, Halloween Town and Hocus Pocus. It will be fun for the whole family! 

On Saturday nights, the park will have a Haunted Drive-Thru for $15 a vehicle. The park will begin selling tickets on October 1st, and they will not be sold on site. Tickets are limited, so be sure to call 402-883-2575 to get yours as soon as possible! 

The park will have a Halloween Scavenger Hunt, which will be a ton of fun for everyone! Finally, the park is hosting a Campsite Decorating Contest on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weekend of the month. Judging will be at 10 p.m on Saturdays, so be sure that you are there early enough to get your decorations up! 

Also, be sure to check out the Harvest Celebration in Nebraska City! Events are still on despite the recent fire at Porter’s and the Apple House Market. Events will include wine tasting, hard cider tasting, live music, and much more. Tickets for all the attractions and activities will be available to purchase at least one week in advance. New for this year, you are not required to have Tree Adventure admission to pick apples and pumpkins! Just go to the orchard and purchase as many bags as you need to pick apples to your heart’s content. Pumpkin picking is expected to begin early- to mid- October.

AppleJack activities during the Harvest Celebration will be spread out over three weekends instead of one to give our communities more time to enjoy the excitement. Get your fill on apple pie, apple cider, donuts, candy apples, caramel apples, and everything apple that you can imagine. AppleJack’s kick off weekend was this past week, so the fun is in full swing! 

I think that we can all agree that a great fall day also includes a great game. Our students at all levels are playing hard in football, volleyball, and other sports across our district. Be sure to go support your local school’s sports and cheer on our youth! Please double check the school’s most recent COVID protocols for athletic events to ensure admission is open to the public before attending.

Fall is a beautiful time of year, and it definitely is a time to get out and enjoy the outdoors before the chill of winter comes. Plan to join events in your community, so you can fully experience this season!

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov