By SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
NICKERSON, Kan. — One of Nickerson’s longest-running traditions will return this weekend with an earlier than usual date and a full slate of activities planned throughout the community.
The 58th annual Klear Nearly Days celebration begins Friday, June 5, and continues through Sunday, June 7. The weekend will include a parade, car show, mud volleyball, pickleball tournaments, children’s activities, food vendors, a street dance and several community events.
Klear Nearly Days has traditionally been held during the final weekend of July. Nickerson Chamber of Commerce board chair Angie Goble said organizers decided to move the main celebration to early June this year after dealing with intense summer heat during previous events.
“It is normally the last weekend in July, but it’s been so hot in July that we have tried to kind of move it to cater to our older people that can’t handle the hot weather,” Goble said.
Goble said the move is a trial run as organizers consider the best time of year to hold the event in the future.
“We’re going to use it as a test run to see how it goes,” Goble said.
The earlier date has caused some confusion because outdated dates remain listed on some online event pages. Goble said organizers want residents and visitors to know that the primary Klear Nearly Days celebration is taking place this weekend.
The festivities begin Friday with a community dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Nickerson Community Center. The meal will include walking tacos and cookies. A Klear Nearly Days button or 2026 event shirt is required.
Friday night will also include cornhole registration at 5:30 p.m., with a single-elimination tournament beginning at 6:15 p.m. Bingo begins at 7:15 p.m. at the community center, followed by karaoke at 8 p.m. at Last Call Bar and Grill.
“We have the dinner, we have bingo, cornhole and karaoke on Friday night,” Goble said.
Saturday’s schedule begins with a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. at the community center, with a suggested $5 donation. A novice pickleball tournament will run from 7 to 11 a.m.
The fifth annual Mental Health Fun 5K and 1-mile run and walk begins at 8 a.m. at Nickerson Community Center. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.
Goble said the run was created in memory of her father.
“My dad passed away, and he had bipolar and some cancer issues,” Goble said. “So I decided to pull a run together for mental health awareness.”
The Klear Nearly Days parade begins at 10 a.m., with registration starting at 9 a.m. at Nickerson Elementary School. After the parade, activities will continue throughout the day along Main Street and at other locations around Nickerson.
“We have our parade that will kick off at 10,” Goble said. “As soon as the parade’s over, we’ll have the start of the car show that we’re having. There will be frog and turtle races, kids games, inflatables, food shops. Vendors will be out.”
The Show and Shine car show will run from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with registration beginning at 11 a.m. at the corner of Main and Railroad streets. Awards will include first, second and third place in the People’s Choice voting, along with a Chamber’s Choice award.
The mud volleyball tournament begins at 11 a.m. near the water tower south of the Kwik Shop. A competitive pickleball tournament will run from noon to 4 p.m. Additional Saturday activities include a dunk tank benefiting Nickerson cheerleaders, fire department demonstrations, children’s games, inflatables and a book sale.
Saturday’s events conclude with a street dance from 7 to 11 p.m. on Main Street featuring Cowboy Karaoke and DJ. An event button or 2026 shirt is required.
Sunday’s schedule includes a poker run, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. at Nickerson City Park and participants leaving at noon. A community church service begins at 10:30 a.m. at the community center, followed by a meal.
Goble said the chamber consists of only two people, making the planning process a significant undertaking. Organizers initially considered holding the celebration later in June but decided against it after learning that the proposed weekend would overlap with wheat harvest in the farming community.
“There’s a lot of hard work,” Goble said. “We’ve got to talk to vendors prior. We had originally planned at the beginning of this year that we were going to do it at the end of June, but then I had a phone call come in that that was harvest week normally, which Nickerson is a big farm town. So I was like, ‘Well, that’s not going to work too well.’”
The traditional tractor pull will not be held during this weekend’s celebration. Goble said organizers are planning an additional event during the final weekend of July that is expected to include the tractor pull, another mud volleyball tournament and other activities.
Goble, a Nickerson native, said she joined the chamber two years ago in part because she wanted to help ensure Klear Nearly Days continued for future generations.
“I grew up in Nickerson and have always gone to Klear Nearly,” Goble said. “That’s why I actually joined the chamber, was to make sure Klear Nearly kept going.”
Goble said she has heard different explanations for how the event received its name. One story passed down through her family was that the crops were “klear nearly” finished and farmers were nearly ready to be paid. Another version is that the name was chosen through a community contest.
For Goble, the celebration remains an opportunity for children to enjoy the type of small-town experience she remembers from her childhood.
“When I was little, we used to run all over town during Klear Nearly,” Goble said. “We could go play games for 25 cents, and our parents could give us $10 and we’d be gone all day long. That’s kind of what we’re trying to keep, so kids can just hang out and be kids without having to worry about all the other stuff that’s going on in the world.”
Goble said organizers also hope the celebration attracts visitors from Hutchinson, Sterling and other surrounding communities, along with former Nickerson residents who return for the annual tradition.
“It’s not just for Nickerson,” Goble said. “It’s to see Nickerson, to see what Nickerson is about. We want people to know that it is a good town, a great town and great to be involved in.”
She said the goal is to preserve the sense of community that has kept Klear Nearly Days going for nearly six decades.
“You see them out there giggling and running around,” Goble said. “That’s what we’re doing it for, to keep that alive, where there’s still community in the town.”