By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview with Brody Cleveland on our Kubota Podcast
Ogallala, Neb. - The Oregon Trail Builders Home Show returns to Ogallala this weekend with more vendors, more prizes and a few schedule changes organizers hope will draw even bigger crowds.
The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keith County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall. Sunday hours have been extended by one hour compared to previous years.
Brody Cleveland, chair of the Home Show and Ogallala Committee, said planning has been underway for months.
“We’ve been prepping for several months and the week is here,” Cleveland said. “This is my second year at the helm. So now it’s a little more controlled chaos than it was last year.”
One of the biggest changes is the earlier start time on Sunday. Cleveland said the adjustment is tied to the return of the Freewheel pancake feed, which will run from 9 a.m. to noon Mountain time Sunday.
“We are going to do that again this year, but it felt like if we started an hour earlier, it might let more people come and enjoy some pancakes in and before and after church,” he said.
The show will feature about 50 vendors, up from the high 30s last year. Cleveland said the variety continues to grow.
“There’s going to be something for everybody from home booths to ag booths, a few sports booths,” he said. “We’re really excited about the amount of vendors and lots of new vendors.”
Attendees can expect to find home builders, plumbers, electricians and other tradespeople, along with vendors covering areas that have not been represented in past years.
For families, the free Lego building contest for kids will return. Children will have a limited time — either five or 10 minutes — to build their creations. Winners will receive prizes including bikes and Lego sets.
Several food trucks will also be on site throughout the weekend, with one or two more vendors than last year.
Fundraising efforts will continue as well. Organizers will sell tickets for gun raffles to benefit the group’s scholarship fund. New this year are two $1,000 prize packages that attendees can enter to win for free. Each package includes multiple high-value items and gift cards ranging from $200 to $250.
The drawings for the prize packages will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, and winners must be present to claim their prize. Additional booth giveaways will also be drawn Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a free raffle to enter all weekend,” Cleveland said. “And then Sunday at three, we will draw for those. So you must be present to win.”
Admission to the home show is free.
Cleveland said the committee has worked throughout the year to prepare for the event and is eager to see the community turn out.
“We’ve been working all year really on it and had a lot of help from our committee,” he said. “We’re just excited for the weekend and hope everybody can come out and check out what we got going on.”