The City of Council Bluffs will kick off the summer season with Summerfest on Friday, June 5, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park. This free event will feature live music, a drone show, food trucks, local vendors and other activities. Summerfest has become one of the metro area’s signature summer events, drawing thousands of attendees to the Council Bluffs riverfront each year. The evening’s highlight will take place at dark, around 9:40 p.m., when Fantasy Drone Shows will launch a 20-minute drone show featuring 400 drones lighting up the night sky. The best viewing area is near the amphitheater stairs. Summerfest activities include: A foam party and giant bubbles hosted by the Council Bluffs Public Library A live art and creativity zone hosted by Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment Recreation activities including baseball, football, soccer and yard games provided by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Charles E. Lakin YMCA A mobile exhibit from the...

Downtown Omaha’s recent wave of major attractions and infrastructure investments is helping transform the city into a stronger tourism and convention destination. From the Kiewit Luminarium and Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement to Steelhouse Omaha and the expanded Joslyn Art Museum, tourism officials say Omaha’s growing list of downtown attractions is attracting more visitors, helping secure future conventions and boosting the city’s national profile. “We’ve seen steady tourism growth year over year,” said Jasmyn Goodwin, executive director of Visit Omaha, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. “All of the investments have really improved our visitor experience and enhanced our overall product.” According to Visit Omaha, downtown visitation has steadily increased in recent years. In 2021, Omaha welcomed 2.6 million out-of-town visitors to the downtown area. By 2025, that number had grown to 2.8 million. Visit Omaha tracks visitation through Placer.ai, a data system that uses...