Blues, Brews & BBQ On Tap For 4th Of July

Plans have been finalized for the second annual Blues, Brews and BBQ celebration at Glenwood Lake Park.
The celebration takes place Saturday, July 4, beginning at noon.

Live music from six bands, barbecue ribs and pulled pork prepared by local vendors, free canoe rides, an antique tractor show, nearly a dozen beers served from the Iowa Craft Beer trailer and a grand fireworks show at dusk highlight the daylong fundraiser for the Mills County Trail system.

“I’m pretty fired up about the music. We’ve got some really good acts coming in,” Blues, Brews and BBQ organizer Randy Romens said. “We’ve also got the Iowa Craft Beer trailer back. There are beers from eight different breweries – seven Iowa and one Nebraska – represented with 11 craft beers.”

A major change from last year’s inaugural Blues, Brews and BBQ, Romens said, is the location of the music stage and beverage garden. They’ll be housed together on the flat area on the northwest end of the park.

“This is a fundraiser,” Romens said. “In order to drink beer, you’re going to have to pay to get into the Blues Festival.”
The live music starts early in the afternoon and concludes just in time for the fireworks. Bands scheduled to perform are Glenwood’s very own Southbend (12:15 p.m.), Swampboy Blues Band from Omaha (1:45 p.m.); Coyote Bill Boogie Band from Kansas City (3:15 p.m.); Hector Anchondo Band from Omaha (4:45 p.m.); Katy Guillen and the Girls from Kansas City (6:30 p.m.); and Blues Album of the Year nominee John Nemeth of Memphis, Tenn. (8:30 p.m.).

“We’re going to have a lot of high-energy Blues going on,” Romens said. “The guy from Memphis won the Blues album of the year.”

Admission tickets to the music stage and beverage garden is $15 at the gate or $12 when purchased online through the Blues, Brews and BBQ website at www.bluesbrewsbbqs.com.

Romens said a limited number of VIP tickets are also available for $50.

“You’ll have your own private area,” he said. “You get the beverages and food with it and you get to do a meet-and-greet with the bands.”

Newman’s BBQ & Catering, Tobey Jack’s Mineola Steakhouse, the Glenwood Fraternal Order of Eagles club and the Glenwood Senior Center will be among the vendors selling food at the event along the main road in the park.
The antique tractors will be displayed on the main parking lot in front of the Mills County Historical Museum.
The free canoe rides, provided by Mills County Conservation, will begin at 2 p.m. in the lake. The fireworks will be ignited at dusk from the hill behind the Davies Amphitheater.

There will be no parking in Glenwood Lake Park during the event, except for a limited number of handicapped stalls near the museum. Parking will be available at Glenwood Community High School with round-trip shuttle transportation provided until 8:30 p.m.

The main road in Glenwood Lake Park will be closed to traffic throughout the day, but the south entrance gate to the park, accessible from  Green Street, will be open for anyone wanting to park behind the amphitheater for the community worship service at 9:30 a.m. The main lot in front of the museum will also be available for worship service parking until 11 a.m. Additional information about the worship service is published on Page 7A.

Romens said the response to last year’s inaugural Blues, Brews and BBQ was positive and he expects a bigger and better event this year.

“There are people that have told me that they usually plan on leaving town on the 4th of July, but they’re not going to this year because of this event,” Romens said. “That’s good to hear. Fireworks on the 4th of July in Glenwood is nice change of pace.

“One of the things I’ve been telling people, ‘Spend your 4th at the lake -  Glenwood Lake Park.”