Thursday, March 21, 2013

Smiling Saturday

     Twice this weekend I have been told that I should get married and settle down in Hastings. The suggestion is quite enticing because I love Hastings (and I can find my way around town fairly well)!
 Twirling Demonstration
 Craft Time
 Some girl Scouts came in to sell cookies
The Good Life!
     Saturday I was able to immerse myself in the Hastings community even more. I started my morning at the Children's Museum where we were able to do story time, a twirling demonstration, a craft, baton lessons, and play. I read The Princess and The Pig which I thought was really cute and the kids really seemed to enjoy. I then got to talk to the kids a little bit about my platform and show them some twirling (in a dress and heels)! While I really wanted to help with the craft, I ended up leading baton lessons during that time. It was awesome to be able to share my talent with the kids in Hastings because there are no studios out there and the kids wouldn't be able to learn much otherwise. It was also great because the kids caught on really fast! After these activities were over, I was able to play with some of the kids! We played school and firefighters, but we also checked out the birds that the museum houses! While the Omaha Children's Museum is great, I really enjoyed the Hastings Children's Museum; The museum is small enough to make parents comfortable, but big enough to keep kids busy for hours and it has so many valuable lessons tucked throughout. I personally loved the presence of occupational toys which allowed kids to explore possible jobs for their future including teaching, fighting fires, delivering mail, working in a grocery store, playing music, and many other options.
 Mya made a craft for me!
 Teaching baton!
 Reading
 Playing School!
Angela's daughter, Helen, being crowned!
 
Angie's daughter, Morgan, being crowned!
    After a brief lunch with my directors and their daughters, I arrived at my next appearance 15 minutes before I was expected. I was scheduled to do a Meet-and-Greet and Autograph Signing at Russ's Supermarket (a sponsor of Kool-Aid Days) at 2. When I pulled into the parking lot at 1:45, I noticed there was a group of girl scouts out on the corner trying to sell girl scout cookies. Considering I was early, I pinned in my crown, went over and introduced myself, and asked if there was any chance I could try to help them get some more costumers. The girls were excited to offer me a sign and go over by the main street in town to try to pull in costumers. After a few minutes, I told the girls that I thought I might have another way to get some costumers for the girls and I asked them to wait while I ran to my car. I returned to the girls with several batons and twirled on the corner for them to try to help a little more. The girls loved it and I had a blast; it truly warms my heart to know how happy I made those girls by helping them and I hope they know how happy it made me to help! When I told the girls I had to go in for my appearance, they asked if I would autograph their signs, so I stood in the parking lot with them for about 10 more minutes, making sure they all got their signs autographed!
Perhaps my favorite part of the trip!
    Inside Russ's I was able to set up a table where I passed out Kool-Aid and signed autographs. Everyone was so friendly and people loved getting free Kool-Aid! It was a great way to meet some of the Hastings community that I otherwise might not have met and I was glad that I was able to support a Kool-Aid Days sponsor. I also provided that girl scout troop from the parking lot with autograph cards and Kool-Aid; I hope they enjoy receiving it at their next meeting.
 Ready to go!
With one of the employee's :)
    To round out a busy afternoon, I headed over to the Hastings Museum. The museum was hosting a spinners and weavers showcase where people were able to show off their skills and creativity - it was amazing! I've never seen either activity before and I was extremely thankful that the artists were willing to explain it to me! I even got to see some wool dyed by Kool-Aid!
Admiring some of the work!
    After seeing the spinners and weavers, Becky Tideman (the marketing director) was kind enough to show me around the Kool-Aid exhibit and take some photos as I went through. We were also accompanied by two little girls who were estatic to explore the museum with me; while we went through the Kool-Aid exhibit they insisted on grabbing my hand, pulling me to look at something and saying "Miss Kool-Aid, Miss Kool-Aid! Come look at this!" It was pretty stinkin' adorable!
    It was also exciting to go through the Kool-Aid Exhibit because I learned a lot about Edwin Perkins who was quite an impressive man! While many people know that Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid, not everyone knows that he also invented other things. He invented Nix-O-Tine, which aimed to help returning military stop smoking. He also invented a line of beauty products that women were able to sell door-to-door during the war to make money. His insistence on running a good business and building up his employees was particularly interesting. I learned that people called "jobbers" were assigned the task of convincing store owners to carry Kool-Aid in their stores and Edwin Perkins created a manual that would promote more success in these individuals attempts. He also provided letters for the company, insisted on keeping the price of Kool-Aid at five cents even as other prices rose, and went out of his way to provide single Kool-Aid servings to soldiers in their rations during the war despite limited resources. I guess I learned that we have quite an amazing and inspiring entrepreneur in Nebraska history and he does not get the attention he deserves!

    While at the museum, Becky was able to get some pictures as I marveled at some of the exhibits such as the polar bear, bison, and cats that are present in the museum. I also got to look at one very impressive exhibit though and that was the "Cranestorm - Wishes in Flight" exhibit. This exhibit features over 36,000 paper cranes, each of which represents a Nebraskan who is living with a disability due to brain injury. The project, presented in association with the Brain Injury Association of Nebraska, brings awareness for those with disabilities as they may not be able to do on their own.
A little blurry, but this was our emcee for the evening!
I was able to present a scholarship to Brittany Trausch - one of the girls I spoke to at St. Cecelia's!
 
    After the wonderful and inspiring visit to the museum, I had my last event for the entire trip. I went over to Hastings College where I had the opportunity to be a celebrity judge for the 3-point contest and the Slam Dunk contest. I was really nervous for this event. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a sports girl. Charged with judging each slam dunk on a 10 point-scale (and having to hold up my scores Olympics style) made me really nervous because to me a slam dunk is a slam dunk, either they make it or they don't. I quickly found out that a slam dunk is not simply a slam dunk, these shots can get pretty impressive! It ended up being really exciting to judge the contest. I could feel my heart racing in anticipation of each shot as I wondered what shot they would attempt and whether or not they would make it. Despite the fact that I obviously had no idea what I was looking for, I really enjoyed myself and it was a great way to end my whirlwind weekend in Hastings!
With the other judges
Slam Dunk Winner!


   

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