By Chabella Guzman | PREEC Communications
The inaugural Panhandle Frontier Finds was a shopping success in western Nebraska. The three-day event from June 5-7 had 252 registered vendors in every county of the Panhandle.
“We had visitors from across 16 states, 2 countries, and 112 ZIP codes to support businesses and vendors throughout the Nebraska Panhandle,” said Jamie Bright, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator.
The event organizers don’t yet have exact figures for the total number of people visiting the area, but 388 people completed the Panhandle Frontier Finds survey. The survey was available via a QR code on the vendor’s site and asked for visitors’ origin and participation data. They heard from vendors that only a small percentage of people who stopped by completed the survey.
“We are pretty confident in estimating that over 1,000 people shopped during the event,” she said.
Panhandle Frontier Finds had antiques, collectibles, handmade goods, garage sales, food vendors, and plenty of small-town hospitality along the way. Many of the comments the organizers collected via the QR survey included one that spoke of how the visitors had a wonderful time visiting, and sharing stories of their family who used to live in Nebraska and had tales of grandpa’s farm, and how wonderful memories were brought up while traveling through the Panhandle.
Shoppers often stopped at many areas in the Panhandle, meeting fellow shoppers along the trail and crossing paths frequently throughout the three days. Sharing stories of fun finds or attractions they need to visit.
“I think all of our experience with PFF was pretty positive,” said a vendor comment from the Hippie Homestead in Kimball. “We had one group of customers at the end of the day, on our late day, who stopped in a small bus. They were so friendly! They sat and chatted and asked for my opinion on the best places to stay and eat, and which event to shop at the next day. The sense of community and connection with people you didn’t even know was awesome. They felt comfortable at our place, and they were excited for the event.”
The regional collaboration saw communities working together to attract visitors and encourage them to spend dollars in the Panhandle. In Rushville, visitors and customers came from eastern Nebraska, Murdo, Rapid City, Spearfish, South Dakota, and everywhere in between.
“We had a very successful yard sale. I had some Harley t-shirts for sale. A young guy stopped to look and bought several,” said Marty Palmer of Rushville. He said he liked buying vintage t-shirts and had come here from Los Angeles. He had seen the Frontier Finds on Facebook, flew to Denver, rented a car, and drove through the Panhandle, stopping in several towns. My brother-in-law, Dale Ruleau, had a few Harley t-shirts at home and went to retrieve them. He ended up buying 55 Harley t-shirts.”
Shoppers stopping at the vendors were friendly and happy. Loving the small-town vibe, many commented that they could see so much in a small town by parking once and walking around the downtown area for sales and taking in the small-town charm.
“I’ve been excited to be part of helping launch this new tourism initiative, and I truly believe it has strong potential to grow into something the Panhandle is known for,” Bright said.
To learn more, visit the Panhandle Frontier Finds website at www.panhandlefrontierfinds.com
