Join us at Arbor Lodge State Historical Park for our final state park centennial signature event! This is a two-day event will kick off on Friday, Oct. 1 with Baskets and Blankets, an evening harvest picnic contest. There will be lawn games, and music followed by a Laser Light Extravaganza at dark.

Saturday will be a family day with educational stations  spread across the lodge’s landscape with tours of the lodge, living history actors, scavenger hunts, tree tours, and much more.

We are keeping an eye on the weather forecast, but the weekend’s events will go on, rain or shine. See you there!

Schedule

Friday, Oct. 1

5:30 p.m. — Baskets and Blankets: An Evening Harvest Picnic

Celebrate an autumnal ode to parks and picnics! Show off your creative talents with daring designs, fancy flatware, unique flower arrangements, and a penchant for creature comforts with a stunning picnic spread for an entertaining evening at Arbor Lodge Mansion. 

Enter the Baskets and Blankets picnic contest and you’ll have two chances to win! All registrants are automatically entered into a raffle to win a picnic for 2 ($180 value) that can be redeemed for a date night in Omaha, courtesy of Pic’d on Purpose. Each picnic is unique in style & exact location and carefully chosen for scenery & comfort. Set-up and clean-up included. The Baskets and Blankets winner will receive a 2-night cabin stay in a modern cabin at a Nebraska State Park, complete with the comforts of home. No matter the season, relax and enjoy quality time with family and friends surrounded by nature, courtesy of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 

On the day of the event, check in at the registration table on-site to receive your judging number.  Contest set-up is from 5:30pm-6:30pm, judging begins at 7:30pm, winner announced at 8:30pm.

Click here to register for Baskets and Blankets.

Bring your own meal or click to pre-purchase a boxed picnic dinner from Parkers Smokehouse featuring pulled pork or roasted chicken with two sides and a dessert for only $9.25. Meal pick-up on site. 

Cash bar featuring Arbor Day Farms wine, will be available on-site.

All picnickers welcome!

                 —Arbor Lodge Mansion Tours

Learn more about Nebraska’s rich history and enjoy a stunning self-guided mansion tour, featuring 52 rooms and countless historic artifacts belonging to the Morton Family.

6:45 p.m. — Ceremonial Tree Planting

7:00 p.m. — Presentation: History of Nebraska State Parks

7:30 p.m. — Film screening on the lawn (“Adventures in History: Discovering Nebraska’s State Historical Parks” documentary)

8:30 p.m. — Live music by High Heel

10:00 p.m. — Laser light show by Laser Spectacles

Sound and light are merged to produce stunning effects in this twenty-minute laser spectacular paying tribute to 100 years of Nebraska state parks.

Saturday, Oct. 2

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — Enjoy a day of fun and educational activities for the whole family featuring:

Binoculars & bird watching

Fish printing

Fishing and casting activity (at Steinhart Park), Mudball Planting

Tracks, and Fur, and Skulls, Oh My!

Turkey Calls

Wildlife Tracks

Recycled Bird Feeder

Living history demonstrations

Raptor recovery (10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m.)

Nebraska state parks history trailer

Food trucks including Hawk’s Pizza, The Cheese Life, and more.

2:00 p.m. — 1860s-style vintage baseball featuring the Topeka Westerns

Sunday, Oct. 3

10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — Enjoy a day of fun and educational activities for the whole family featuring:

Living history demonstrations

Binoculars & bird watching

Fish printing

Fishing and casting activity (at Steinhart Park), Mudball Planting

Tracks, and Fur, and Skulls, Oh My!

Turkey Calls

Wildlife Tracks

Recycled Bird Feeder