The Fun has Just Begun

This national youth event takes place every June at the Heartland Public Shooting Park. 4-H state teams come from all around the United States to compete in a variety of events showcasing their marksmanship and hunting skills including skeet, trap, rifle and handgun, and archery. It's not uncommon for the high-caliber participants of this event to end up on national competitive circuits.

A Tradition Since 1928 This longstanding livestock show has its roots in Omaha, Nebraska, but moved to the new Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Grand Island in 2017 for its 90th year. It has been held at Fonner Park in Grand Island since then. In 2020, 1,300 exhibitors from 14 states showed more than 3,500 animals at this important agricultural event. 

What's not to love? Food, beer, and music pull a full house into the courtyard of the Liederkranz Club every summer. Sample microbrews and home brews at this festive Railside event in this 150-year-old German venue. 

Located in the Fonner Park Concourse, the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame is made up of memorabilia from Omaha’s former AKSARBEN track — including the Jack Van Berg Collection — and from Fonner Park’s early years, an especially appropriate location for the collection now that the AKSARBEN Livestock Show relocated to Fonner Park. 

Since 1938, high school marching bands have strutted through downtown Grand Island in the Harvest of Harmony parade. The tradition continues on every first Saturday in October when an average of 75 bands march down Third Street.

Get ready for an incredible summer of live music at Hear Grand Island! This year’s lineup features an exciting mix of genres, including country, rock, heavy metal, folk, funk, and indie rock. Every Friday, Railside Plaza will come alive with the sounds of SUMMER.

For more than 35 years, the world’s largest totally irrigated working farm show comes together west of Grand Island. Husker Harvest Days features planted fields for demonstrations showcasing the newest equipment for today’s farmer.

Treasures You Didn't Know You Needed! This 300-mile long garage sale begins in Grand Island and extends into the Nebraska Sandhills along the Loup River and Sandhills Journey scenic byways. Bring your trailers or rent a van to haul all of your treasures home!

Celebrate Nebraska! The Nebraska State Fair features a variety of concerts, a fantastic midway, and agricultural competitions in some of the most modern fair facilities around. Entertainment is spread across the grounds and includes exotic animals, stunts, and musicians. A variety of concerts in numerous genres are scheduled outdoors and in the Heartland Events Center.

Rodeo Grand Island is an annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event featuring bull riding, broncs, barrel racing and more in the Heartland Events Center. Live Thoroughbred horse racing happens in the adjacent Fonner Park grandstands to complete this competitive weekend.

Home of the Sandhill Crane Migration! Each spring, more than 1,000,000 sandhill cranes converge on the Platte River in central Nebraska as they migrate north to their nesting grounds. This one-of-a-kind experience draws visitors – including avid birders, scientists, photographers, and casual tourists – from across the country and across the world.