Making every day a holiday parade in your community

In October, Norris Avenue was shut down for several hours as the Heritage Days parade streamed down McCook’s main street. People lined the streets for blocks with kids darting after candy while adults visited with friends and neighbors as part of the McCook Chamber’s annual event.

Less than a week later, an entire block of Norris Avenue was again cut off from vehicle traffic for the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s annual Community Celebration, an evening of fun, music, games and food.

Then in December, traffic came to a halt through downtown McCook as the Christmas parade took over the street on a beautiful December evening. I should say that traffic “mostly” came to a halt. One unfortunate driver somehow found themselves in the middle of the parade, stuck between a trailer pulling a fully-lit Christmas tree and in front of a public power district truck with the boom ladder hovering close to the back window the undecorated sedan. Most likely, the older couple just wanted to get to the Mexican restaurant but somehow became entry No. 8 in the parade.

And before and following the Christmas parade, the streets around Norris Park were cordoned off with cones so the horse-drawn carriages could safely travel around the square.

Some might see shutting down the streets for these events as an inconvenience. Perhaps even going so far as to say that the disruption isn’t worth the benefit.

But anyone standing on the sidewalk after the holiday parade would have heard both the young and old alike saying they wished the parade had gone on longer and they appreciated the effort which went into making Noel on Norris happen. During the community celebration, kids wandered up and down the bricks from game to game or stopped by the portable dance floor in the middle of the street. And every year after the Heritage Days parade, people linger on the sidewalks talking to friends they hadn’t likely seen in months.

These are some of the best days in the community and why? Because all of these events promote gathering together as a community and they provide a reason to get out of your vehicle and enjoy what is taking place.

Why would we not want every day to be like this?

I’m not talking about full-blown events every day of the year, but instead creating an atmosphere where people want to do these things on a regular basis. For a few nights during the year, they were willing to give up their video games for the night, they stepped away from their streaming television shows, they quit staring at their phones for a few hours. We need to consider how to create a community where people are willing to do that on a regular basis.

And we have these events to learn from.

Because of these events, we know that people are willing to walk to get to where they are going rather than having to park directly in front of the store or restaurant they are going to. This means that converting parking spaces into outdoor sitting areas could be an option.

Because of these events, we know that people want areas to gather and hang out. This means creating spaces with benches and tables where lunches can happen and conversations can take place.

Because of these events, we know that people want to do things together. This means that we need creative activities readily available such as giant chess sets in the park for families to play together or pianos along the sidewalk to tinkle a toon as you walk by.

All of these events show that it is possible to change things up, that people want to do things, that they want to be out and about in their community, and that they want their community to be successful. Moving forward, we need to figure out how to take the enthusiasm and excitement at a holiday parade and apply it to every day in our community.

As we celebrate the holiday season with family and friends, we need to take a few moments to be thankful for everything we have and we can reflect on all that we accomplished to make our community one to be proud to call home.

And as we prepare for the upcoming year, we can look forward to several projects already in the works which may bring significant change to the community. These are changes that will make us appreciate what we already have in place, improvements that will make us better utilize what has already been accomplished and additions that will make McCook and Southwest Nebraska an even better place to call home.