Final Third Friday Downtown Lincoln for the season invites visitors to enjoy time “Under the Sea”
 

[July 23, 2024]    The city of Lincoln had its third and final Third Friday of the season this past Friday with the theme of Under the Sea. Compared to the weather on the previous Third Friday, the weather this time was exquisite. The streets were filled with vendors, music, and people enjoying themselves.

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.

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 [e-mail] or call at [phone]. If interested in hiring Andy for a project, email [e-mail] or call at [phone].

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.

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]