While guests cannot consume what the competitors
are preparing, with the exception of course of the Backyard People’s
Choice event, there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to
enjoy some great food.
Downtown eateries
Downtown eateries will be open and will offer a wide variety of
items according to their particular specialty. Guests can drop in in
the a.m. at Guest House or Deep Roots or the Arcade and grab a
favorite coffee blend, a sweet treat to hold over until lunch, or
get a full breakfast.
Deep Roots, Sorrento’s, Spirited Republic, The Arcade, and Guest
House are all located right on the Historic Logan County Courthouse
Square. Veer off the square a little bit and you’ll find other bar
and grills that will be happy to serve you as well.
Festival food vendors
For those who have a hankerin’ for lip smacking, finger licking
gooood BBQ, look no further than the streets of the P&S Festival, as
several vendors will be on hand serving up some great food.
Local BBQ vendor Nuthatch Hill will be on hand with his freshly made
pork rinds, a ribeye steak sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, smoked
chicken wings, hot dogs and strawberry lemonade!
Look to the Country Fryer for those giant turkey legs he brings us
every year, along with fried turkey sandwiches, BBQ pork chops,
ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, turkey hot dogs and lemon shake-ups.
Another local vendor, Lincolnland Catering will be there with
walleye sandwiches, walleye nuggets, lemon shake-ups, iced tea and
sweet tea.
Pauly’s BBQ is going to be offering some really great items such as
their tasty Piggy Mac smoked mac and cheese with pulled pork
topping, the Hough Trough that includes potatoes, peppers, onions,
pulled pork, cheese and sour cream. Other great items from Pauly’s
will include fried mushrooms, fried pickles, and funnel cake fries.
A long-time favorite will be on hand – Culler's will be there
offering their much loved French fries. Also look for the Wood Fire
Pizza stand where you can purchase a pulled pork pizza, Italian
beef, or a meatball sandwich.
Local shopping opportunities
After all that food, you’ll need to walk it off, and it is going to
be warm this weekend, so doing that walking inside where it is cool
could be a good idea.
Check out the stores on and just off the square. Lincoln has a
thriving downtown area with many retailers that offer a wide variety
of items, from Abe’s Carmelcorn Shoppe that offers not just popcorn
but a wide choice of upscale kitchen and home wares and gift items,
beautiful decor and gourmet foods at Beans and Such, and a fully
stocked Hallmark, to the downtown thrift stores, there is plenty to
see and much to buy, so be sure to bring along that credit or debit
card or a nice supply of cash.
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Once you’ve cooled down, check out the retailers who
have displays set up on the first block north of the square on
Kickapoo Street. Speaking with Chris Graue of the Up in Smoke BBQ
Committee recently he noted that the retailers on Kickapoo Street
will be a new addition this year. He credited Heather at Flossie and
Delzena’s for suggesting that some of the retailers not directly in
the downtown area might want to have a presence at the Festival. As
a result, the one block north of the square will be blocked off to
traffic, and as of last week, Ace Hardware, Jake's Furnishings, and
Big R had made commitments to come and set up displays along that
street.
Streets will be closed around the Historic Downtown Lincoln Square
on Friday and Saturday and also on Kickapoo from the Pekin Street
intersection all the way south to the Clinton Street intersection.
This means that visitors can walk safely all the way around the
festival area, from the north near Latham Park, all the way to the
south to Scully Park.
At Scully Park, there is going to be a lot going on, so don’t forget
to check it all out.
Oasis Flea Market
Returning this year after a couple of years rest, the Oasis Senior
Center will be hosting a Flea Market in the park on Saturday only.
Scully Park will offer more than 40 vendors who will be selling
everything from flea market-style items, to hand-crafted items,
woodworks, and direct sales or home-based business merchandise.
Peruse the park and be sure to take in all that is offered.
In addition to the sales, there will be bounce houses and other
inflatables in the park. Wrist bands will be sold for a full day of
play or for a 30-minute admission. The inflatables are being
provided by and sponsored by All About Fun Inflatables of Lincoln.
Ritchart’s Petting Zoo will also be in Scully Park, sponsored by
Brady Realtors of Lincoln. The zoo will offer free admission and
everyone is getting a special invite to “Come meet Larry the
Kangaroo!”
Scully Park is a beautiful part of our town with plenty of shade, a
lovely fountain with seating area and plenty of room for a large
event such as the Oasis Flea Market. The activities at Scully will
be family oriented, and for the avid shopper taking a trip around
the park could fill a lot of time on Saturday. The fun part of the
park activities is that while some may want to watch the BBQ
competitions, others may want to seek other sources of
entertainment. Bringing back the Oasis Flea Market will add to the
diversity of the festival and offer an opportunity for visitors to
find many, many aspects of the festival enjoyable for the whole
family.
[Nila Smith] |