PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) — The annual Papillion Days festival brings four full days of fun and has become a staple for people all across the Omaha metro looking for an old-fashioned small-town celebration.
"It really brings those small-town pieces, those really charming things down into our downtown corridor for the whole city to celebrate," said Joe Hunter with Papillion Community Foundation.
The festival, just steps from downtown, featured a carnival, vendor fair, and good food.
"We've had frog legs here before," Nina Winther, an attendee said. "The funnel cakes and the lemonade are the best."
The festival is marking its 75th anniversary, as referenced in this year's theme, the Diamond Jubilee.
Hunter said it's not the only noteworthy milestone. The city of Papillion celebrated its 150th anniversary last year.
Vendors who ran the Junior Women's Club's funnel cake booth said they saw record sales this year.
"We turn around and give those funds right back to the community," Kathy Huggins, president of Papillion Junior Women's League said. "Papillion Days is just kind of a culminating event for Papillion."
Attendees said the community plays a key role in the festival's staying power.
"We were just talking about how there's a good community sense here," Anne Vogel, an attendee said.
Hunter hopes it's a tradition that continues for the next 75 years.
Papillion Days was named one of the top ten small-town celebrations by Readers Digest.
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