“Summer Saturdays,” the first of many free community events at Heartwood Preserve

August 3, 2024

After years of investment in an area in West Omaha, organizers are hosting public events and they want you and the family to show up and enjoy them. As 6 News’ Joe Harris tells us – they have a lot more in store for the community.

Games, face painting, music – just some of the activities at Heartwood Preserve near 144th and West Dodge. The first of free community events being held every Saturday throughout August, called Summer Saturdays.

Parents and their kids can take part in family activities before enjoying a movie on the outdoor projector after the sun sets.

“We saw a bounce house and there were food trucks here, so we were really – that was the first thing we saw and my kids wanted to have fun, so I was like, this is very ideal,” said Faith Gichuki.

The site that it’s on used to be farmland that Boys Town owned. Insurance agency Applied Underwriters bought it in 2018. Six years and millions of dollars later, it’s now a new hub.

“We developed it with a very specific purpose in mind in terms of preserving the environment and trees,” said Jeff Silver, Executive Vice President at Applied Underwriters. “So, this is going to be the focus of a community outreach program over the next couple of months where we get the community involved here.”

Silver said it’s a unique venue for the free outdoor events.

“You can’t go anywhere else in the city of Omaha and have this kind of environment, with trees preserved all throughout the complex and space for everybody,” said Silver.

After August, they’ll host more events, but what they’ll entail is a surprise. But for now, attendees like Gichuki say that people should check out these free events.

“With all of these activities, it’s going to bring more traffic to the area,” said Gichuki.

Where this event happened is only a fraction of Heartwood Preserve, Silver told 6 News. They’re still developing it and when it’s all said and done, people are going to live there, shop there, and go to work there.

© 2024 Heartwood Preserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved.