The year 2015 has been a year for recognition for Seward’s Fourth of July Celebration. Upon the heels of being named one of the Top 10 Fourth of July Celebrations in the nation, Seward was honored again, this time presented the title of “2015 Nebraska Festival of the Year” at the Nebraska Tourism Conference in Columbus Oct. 20-22.
The award was presented at the Governor’s Tourism Awards Banquet, where the Seward Fourth of July Celebration and the City of Seward were presented an engraved glass plaque commemorating the top festival award in the state. The glass award is on display that the Seward Civic Center in the Langworthy Art Gallery.
The award was presented by Nebraska Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus of District 22 and Kathy McKillip, the executive director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission. The Nebraska Tourism Commission is the annual sponsor for the award competition. The theme for the annual Tourism Conference for Nebraska was “The Power of Nice” and the theme for the Nebraska Tourism Campaign is “Visit Nebraska - Visit Nice!”
Attending the State Tourism Conference from Seward and accepting the award at the banquet were Sharon Hambek, Pat Coldiron, Jeanne Wiemer, Gerald Meyer, Mary Meyer, Sue Imig, Chase Prochnow, Austin Van Velson and Clark Kolterman. The representatives were sponsors for/ representing the Seward Fourth of July Celebration Committee, the Seward County Visitor’s Committee and the Seward Chamber of Commerce. Coldiron also represented her business-The Liberty House Bed and Breakfast, and Wiemer represented her business –The Red Path Art Gallery and Tasting Room, both located in Seward. Gerald Meyer is the director of the new Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward, one of Nebraska’s newest tourism attractions.
The Seward Fourth of July Celebration entry and application were prepared and submitted by Jean Kolterman, who serves as the July Fourth Committee secretary and Scrapbook Committee chairman. She prepared the application and a 100-page scrapbook, detailing the festival activities and chronologically sharing the events, documenting each with news articles, photos, descriptions and preserving the celebration historically.
“This is the seventh time Seward has officially received the title, however it is the first time in this decade and we are thrilled to be able to still continue to keep the festival strong and alive and worthy of state recognition,” said Youth Chairman Austin Van Velson, a recent Seward High graduate and student at the University of Nebraska. “The Fourth of July Celebration is an important aspect to the Seward heritage and we accepted the award on behalf of all of the volunteers, businesses and citizens that make this event possible.”
The Seward Fourth of July won this Outstanding Nebraska Festival Award in 1991, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Seward was officially declared the Nebraska Fourth of July City by Govenor James Exon in 1973 and National Fourth of July City-Small Town USA by Sen. Ed Zorinsky and the U.S. Senate/Congress in 1979.
Seward recently celebrated its 147th annual Fourth of July celebration with a totally volunteer committee, dedicated to creating and promoting the Fourth of July in Seward every year. The Fourth of July Committee is an official 501 C 3 non-profit organization and meets year round, every third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. to organize, created and promote the annual Fourth of July in Seward.
Last year’s award winning celebration was a salute to the veterans of World War II under the theme “Everyone Has A Story-Saluting the Veterans of World War II-The Greatest Generation.” It featured local World War II veterans from all six national military branches as the Grand Marshalls for the celebration and honored each World War II honoree with the Nebraskan’s Friend Award for their service to Nebraska.
The celebration also featured the Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting for the building dedicated to house the Nebraska National Guard museum, which will officially open with exhibits next July 4, 2016.
The next meeting for the 2016 Seward Fourth of July Celebration planning is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. It is free and open to all.
A special celebration is planned will be added to the meeting agenda, commemorating the new tourism award and thanking the all-volunteer committee for their outstanding performance in the past, honoring them for a job well done and offering support to strengthen and preserve continued strong future July 4 celebrations in Seward.
For more information on Seward’s Fourth of July Celebration, visit the Seward Civic Center at 616 Bradford Avenue for a brochure/handouts/special 2015 Seward County Independent Special Edition, check out the Seward Fourth of July website at julyfourthseward.com, visit the Seward Fourth of July Celebration Facebook site or contact the Seward Chamber of Commerce at 402-643-4189 for more information and contact information.
