Cool concerts, ethnic fun, and city-wide celebrations in Nebraska

Nebraska’s warm weather has arrived and with it comes lots of summer fun. Take advantage of all that Nebraska’s communities have to offer, and check out our list of some of the state’s hottest festivals.   Playing With Fire Concert Series, Omaha, July 12–13 Free evening summer concert series located at Lewis & Clark Landing on Omaha’s Riverfront. The series features nationally acclaimed blues, rock and soul music. Headlining the 10^th anniversary celebration are Robert Randolph & The Family Band on Friday and the Otis Taylor Band on Saturday.   Fur Trade Days, Chadron, July 12–14 Fur Trade Days is a city-wide celebration of Chadron’s fur trading history, heritage, education, and agriculture. A parade is always part of the annual celebration along with good food, a classic car show, and the Colter run to celebrate mountain man John Colter.   Heritage Days, Alliance, July 16–21 Box Butte county celebrates their nearly week-long community festival by featuring a 5K and 10K run, craft fair, number of tournaments, parade, roping contest, and a carnival and entertainment in the park.   Cornhusker State Games, Lincoln, July 19–28 The Cornhusker State Games offers amateur competitors in 65 sports a chance to showcase their skills using more than 70 sites in Lincoln, Omaha and surrounding communities. The games attract more than 11,000 competitors who participate in traditional Olympic sports such as Track & Field, Gymnastics and Swimming—and lesser known events such as Horseshoe Pitching, Mallwalk and Chess. The games are kicked-off by a three-week statewide promotional torch run involving more than 700 runners and local observances in 10 communities along the route.   92nd Annual Nebraska's Big Rodeo, Burwell, July 24–27 The annual Burwell rodeo returns this year looking much as it did in 1921 when Homer C. Stokes started the town's first-ever rodeo with wild horse races, bronc riding and calf roping. Listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, the rodeo strives to maintain similarities to the original. The facilities boast one of the largest outdoor rodeo areas in the world which allows many events including a carnival, clown contests, and livestock events that all go on at the same time.   Wilber Czech Festival, Wilber, Aug 2– The Czech Capital of Nebraska features authentic food, dancing, music and costumes. Admission is free and families are welcomed to experience the Czech culture, parades, announcement of the 2013 Czech Queen, and of course, take part in kolace eating contests. Find more local festivals and things to do at visitnebraska.com.