Kool-Aid Days

Kool-Aid Days is held at Hastings in mid-August, traditionally the second weekend, and Hastings holds it for a good reason: Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid there in 1927, working in his mother’s kitchen and dehydrating an earlier liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack to cut shipping costs. Kool-Aid is Nebraska’s official soft drink. The weekend carries a grand parade, a 5K, a free Kool-Aid stand, a dunk booth, inflatables and food trucks, with the Hastings Museum running its permanent Kool-Aid: Discover the Dream exhibit alongside. Phone 402-462-3247.