Final Fridays are back and Great Bend Economic Development is looking ahead to the May 30 event. GBED Executive Director Sara Arnberger reported on this and other news at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting.
It was chilly outside for the first Final Friday on Forest of 2025 in April, but sponsors counted 433 attendees, Arnberger said.
The May 30 Final Friday will be Bat Cats Night. Forest Ave. from Main Street to Williams will be an entertainment zone from 5-10 p.m. Admission is free thanks to this month’s sponsor, Pryor Automatic Fire Sprinkler Inc. There will be live music by Artifact, as well as food and drink vendors.
Last year on Bat Cats Night, Police Chief Steve Haulmark volunteered for the dunk tank, Arnberger said. “Who knows, maybe we can put the mayor in the dunk tank this time.”
Fridays on Forest are organized by Great Bend Alive!, an arm of GBED.
Bright Beginnings 1st anniversary
ABCC’s Bright Beginnings Childcare Center celebrates its one-year anniversary in June. The public is invited to celebrate on June 20 from 5-7 p.m. There will be food and fun games for the children.
“It’s a good time, whether you have a child in child care or not,” Arnberger said. “Come out, see what we’ve been doing, see how the facility looks, see what the kiddos have been up to. They’ll have all their artwork and things out on display.” Prospective childcare families are invited to take a tour of the first project by the Advancing Barton County Childcare arm of GBED.
Big Bend Bash
The first Big Bend Bash is set for Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. That is coming quickly, Arnberger said. Vendors are still being accepted but only for the next two weeks. For more information online see GBEDinc.com/bigbendbash.
Features include a Red, White and Blue Parade on Main Street, food trucks, drinks, live music, vendor fair and car show. The Family Fun Zone will have bounce houses and kid-friendly entertainment, and the Barton Arts Movement will offer the Big Bend Art Walk. This year, the 10th Bike Brew Q craft beer festival is also on June 7 and has moved downtown to behind Dry Lake Brewing on Main Street. Bike Brew Q is a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that brings a mix of cycling, craft beer and barbecue.
Entrepreneurs and workforce
Arnberger also reported that GBED’s 10-week Core Entrepreneurship class is coming to an end. Six entrepreneurs made it through the program and several of them will be entered in GBED’s Ignite Rural Business competition. The entry deadline is July 1,
“If you are a business or aspiring business, you’ll need to submit a business plan and a video pitch to be considered for the first round,” Arnberger said.
“I also wanted to give a public shout out to two of our Youth Entrepreneur Challenge winners: Ice on Wheels, which was Bennett Jacobs and Callie Umphres, and Kansas Voice, by Zoey Bogner, placed in the statewide competition this year and brought home some pretty good cash prizes. I think it’s so exciting to see our youth entrepreneurs getting behind some of these business ideas and taking them all the way to state.”
Finally, GBED’s Workforce Summit Business Expo in April had 36 businesses represented and 81 job seekers attended.
