Third annual Bear Fest seeks to bring out the best in “small but mighty” Alexandria community
A tiny town in Southeast Nebraska is working to turn a relatively new summer event into a tradition, one that will help a shrinking place survive in the present, and encourage its younger generation to get it to grow again in the future.
Fewer than 200 people reside in Alexandria, a small town between Hebron and Fairbury, but for the third straight summer the town's small downtown stretch came to life to celebrate Bear Fest.
"I came here [to Nebraska] in 2000. I started out in Carleton, ended up in Bruning, and then here. Met Jon, and I fell in love with everybody – the people, everything. So, to bring it to life has been wonderful. I love watching it grow," said Teresa Purzycki, one of the event's organizers.
A few years ago, Teresa and her husband Jon put down roots inside what was once the city's bank and created Bear N T's Hideaway, the town's lone restaurant. For a few years, they helped run a summer kickoff event to celebrate both of their birthdays, the Fourth of July, and the start of the season - but now, that idea has expanded into a celebration of the entire town: Bear Fest's goal is to raise money for and stoke a sense of community in a small town longtime residents say is "small, but mighty."
"We want to encourage people to come to the small towns...we’re still here, we’re alive, and we’re mighty – that's the word a lot of people say," said Linda Raney, who has lived in Alexandria for her entire life.
"Like a lot of small towns, it’s all slowly gone away, but we’re trying to keep its memory alive," Linda's husband, David Raney, said.
The Hideaway will be celebrating its third anniversary this October, and many of the people celebrating Bear Fest this weekend credited Jon and Teresa - affectionately known as "Bear" and "T" around town - as the sparkplug for an injection of life, and belief, in Alexandria, both inside the restaurant's walls and beyond.
"You can’t beat Teresa. She’s such a hard worker and she’s done a lot for this town. She’s from Colorado, but she really works hard to try to keep this town going," David Raney said.
"Since we’ve opened up, it’s grown. There’s been houses restored and renovated. It gives us a chance to get together and be a part of each other," Jon Purzycki said.
In just a few years, the event's agenda has exploded in size, with enough activities now to fill three days. The town hosted a late-night dance for about 18 teenagers on Friday night; a flea market, car show, tractor run and cornhole tournament on Saturday; and a pancake feed with a road rally and beer garden on Sunday, with live music throughout the weekend.
Alexandria plans to reinvest the money raised from this weekend's event back into the small community.
Organizers want to build a playground on the site of the old city park, just a few blocks from the main downtown stretch, instead of forcing kids to cross a highway to get to the existing small play area next to the community center.
"They need some place to play in, they need a safer environment and things to do other than roam the streets and get in trouble," Teresa Purzycki said. "The kids are really important to me. They’re going to have memories of dancing out there on the floor with me, or me giving them a candy bar or something, and then they’ll be like, ‘We’re going to live here forever, we’re going to raise our kids here!’"
Also on the wishlist: improvements to the small fire hall exclusively staffed by volunteers, and renovations to a largely dormant American Legion building that was initially hauled in to Alexandria from the old town of Meridian.
"We’re really trying to keep it going. Everybody I believe is trying here in Alexandria. A lot of volunteer work, everybody’s helping to make it look nice," Linda Raney said, standing at the entrance to a garden the community built for them in honor of their daughter Dana, who passed away after a battle with ALS. "We’re proud of everyone here – we love it, and it’s forever in my heart."