Of
the vendors in attendance on Kickapoo, one was the Railsplitter Coin
Club, an organization dedicated to the selling and collecting of
coins and paper money. They were inviting members of the community
to come to their monthly meeting, held on the third Thursday of each
month at the American Legion. They were also advertising an ice
cream social that they will be hosting on the 15th of August at 6:30
pm at the American Legion.
Along the same street were stalls for several of Lincoln’s churches,
including Crossway Church and First United Methodist Church. The
Methodist Church stall was run by several of the church's board
members, as well as their pastor Dr. Binu B. Peniel. They were also
giving out goodie bags to people who stopped by their stand.
Walking down Kickapoo a bit farther were the Lincoln Village
Healthcare Center and Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC). The
Lincoln Village Healthcare Center provides for the physical recovery
and wellbeing of the people who come there, while ROSC helps people
recover from substance addictions.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/23/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Also on Kickapoo was a newcomer to the Third Friday
scene, Emilie Joye. Joye was selling her artwork in several forms,
including prints and t-shirts. Joye is a Lincoln native, so much of
her artwork is inspired by local sights. Joye shared that while she
has been drawing all of her life, she only decided to start selling
her art in the last month or so. The t-shirts she was selling had a
very beautiful and original Balloons over 66 logo printed on them,
and some of her other art showed interpretations of locations such
as the Tropics sign and the Brew 66 mobile coffee trailer. To view
or purchase some of her art for yourself, you can
follow this link.
There was also a table for the Abraham Lincoln National Railplitting
Festival that is held each year in Lincoln. Their sign reminded
everyone that this year’s festival will be held on September 21-22.
They were also giving away lollipops and popcorn, as well as some
other small snacks and treats.
Guesthouse was out once again with Under the Sea themed cake pops,
as well as a drink that they called a Mermaid Lemonade. The drink,
which came in strawberry, passion fruit, or blueberry, was a
flavored lemonade with some edible glitter that made it sparkle in
the sun.
On Broadway, were more stands and food including a family stand with
two businesses, Artist’s Attic Designs and Pinstripe Solutions.
These stands, while largely different in what they offer, are run by
husband and wife team Andy and Becca Brant. Becca runs Artist’s
Attic, which sells all kinds of jewelry and art made from recycled
metal, glass, leather, textiles, wood, and paper. Pinstripe
Solutions is a handyman service that Andy offers. He shared that he
has over 20 years of experience working maintenance. Andy offers all
kinds of handyman services such as drywall, plumbing, painting, and
electrical work. Anyone interested in Becca’s artwork can email her
at artistsatticdesign@gmail.com or call at (217) 819-7716. If
interested in hiring Andy for a project, email andy@pinstripesolutions.org
or call at (309) 839-9387.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/23/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_052824.png)
Also on Broadway were a host of
kid’s activities. There were a couple of inflatable slides that
had water running down them. Kids would climb to the top and
then slide down the waterslide. Next door was a station for
Froggy Ball, which was very busy. The Lincoln Fire Department
also had a stand set up where kids could use a mini firehose and
douse pretend fires. This station became very popular as the
night went on.
Sorrento’s was also set up selling pizza by the slice. You could
also go inside to purchase their Luau pizza to go with the
night’s Under the Sea theme. This pizza was topped with BBQ
sauce, ham, bacon, pineapple, French fried onions, and
mozzarella cheese. Brew 66 was also around, selling soda floats
in several flavors including Coca-Cola, blue raspberry, black
cherry, root beer, and cream soda.
Turning onto McLean, there were many stands set up with people
selling different kinds of hand-made goods. Free henna tattoos
were once again being offered. Right across the street, Holly
from Warfood Farms was once again offering face painting. The
stands on this street offered many different goods from
crocheted pieces to 3D printed items.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/23/images/ads/current/lcsheriff_sda_HEALTH_2024.png)
Around the corner on Pulaski Street was a car show,
with all kinds of vintage and high-end vehicles on display. One
could have also go down the street a bit, and gotten some ice cream
from Top Hat. They too, had an Under the Sea themed item, which was
blue raspberry Dole Whip with multicolored Swedish Fish on top. Down
the street a bit, Amigos World was set up at a stand selling walking
tacos and rice bowls. One patron of this stand called the walking
taco she purchased “delicious.”
Throughout the night, one may have run into one of two mascots that
were walking around the square. Scoopy from Culver’s was taking
pictures with people, and so was Heartland Community College’s
Hunter Hawk.
Finally, at the corner of Pulaski and Kickapoo was the music,
provided by The Original Skazz Band. The music flowed through the
streets, as the musicians did an excellent job with their
performance. Their range of skill was clearly displayed with their
performance of many modern hits, such as Wagon Wheel by Darius
Rucker, in big band style. They even played a rendition of the Bluey
theme song, a popular children’s television show, at one point. They
ended the night by both playing the Cha Cha Slide mixed with
portions of Uptown Funk and dancing along with the audience.
While this season’s Third Fridays has come to a close, this season
was very successful and makes one wonder in gleeful anticipation
what is in store for next year.
[Matt Boutcher] |