Creating reasons for people to come together in a small town. A little bit of everything, for everyone.
I love small-town living. Especially Unadilla, Nebraska.
It is where my husband and I planted our roots. It is where we started our family and brought our first son home. It is where we are planning to build our forever home on an acreage. This community has become part of our family’s story, and that is one of the many reasons it matters so much to me.
As a REALTOR®, I have the privilege of helping people buy and sell homes. But what I really love is helping people find a place where they truly love where they live. A home is so much more than four walls. It is the people, the sense of belonging, the memories you make, and the community that surrounds you.
That is what makes a small town special. And it is why I started Small Town Saturdays.
What if we could bring a little more life back to Main Street?
Over the years I have watched a lot of small-town Main Streets get quieter. It is understandable. Larger cities offer more shopping, more restaurants, more entertainment, and more to do than most rural communities can. Most of us make those trips from time to time.
But I kept asking myself the same question. What if we could bring a little more life back to Main Street? Not by trying to compete with bigger cities. Just by giving people another reason to spend time together close to home.
That simple idea became the foundation for Small Town Saturdays. It started as a monthly Saturday morning market. It is becoming something bigger: a way of creating reasons for people to come together in a small town, all year round.
What Small Town Saturdays looks like now
Main Street Crawl: Summer Series
The original. Shopping, coffee, and local vendors on Main Street, the last Saturday of the month, May through September, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Takeout Tuesdays
Coming summer 2027: one local food truck on the second Tuesday of the month, June through September, 4 to 7 p.m., while Mal’s is closed on Tuesdays for the summer. Dinner solved, and a reason to see your neighbors on a weeknight.
Special Editions
Holiday gatherings, watch parties, and partnerships with the traditions our towns already love. Sometimes we host. More often, we help.
Meet Our STS Partners
The bakers, makers, and small businesses behind the booths. Find them here, follow them, and keep shopping local long after the event ends.
It was never meant to be just another market
The vision was to create an opportunity. For small businesses and for our community, both at once.
There are so many talented entrepreneurs around here creating incredible products out of their homes, garages, kitchens, and workshops. A lot of them are not in a position to afford a storefront yet. That does not make their businesses any less deserving of support.
Small Town Saturdays gives them a place to introduce themselves, grow, make sales, build relationships, and become part of the community.
At the same time, it gives the rest of us a chance to shop local and gather without leaving town. Instead of automatically driving to a larger city for something to do, we can spend that time right here. Supporting small businesses. Discovering products we did not know existed. Meeting the people behind them.
When we support small businesses, we are supporting families. We are supporting dreams. And we are investing back into the communities we call home.
The part I did not expect
One of my favorite parts has been watching complete strangers become friends.
- Neighbors reconnecting on the sidewalk.
- Local businesses cheering each other on instead of competing.
- Customers discovering products they never knew existed.
- Families making Small Town Saturdays part of their monthly routine.
Those moments remind me this has never really been about shopping. It is about creating a place where people want to gather. It is about helping entrepreneurs grow. It is about supporting local businesses, building relationships, and creating traditions.
And ultimately, it is about bringing life back to Main Street.
How this connects to real estate
People ask me all the time how Small Town Saturdays connects to my real estate business. To me the connection is simple.
Helping someone buy or sell a home is one chapter of the story. Helping them love where they live is the bigger picture.
A thriving community does not happen by accident. It happens when people choose to show up. When they support local businesses. When they know their neighbors. When they have reasons to spend time together. Those are the things that make people proud to call a place home, and they are the same reasons I am passionate about real estate and about Small Town Saturdays.
Whether I am handing someone the keys to their first home or helping organize another Saturday on Main Street, the goal is the same. Help people love where they live.
We are still just getting started
I am grateful to every small business owner, volunteer, sponsor, neighbor, and community member who believed in this from the beginning. Small Town Saturdays would not exist without all of you.
Every event teaches us something new. Every season brings new ideas, new partnerships, and new chances to keep bringing life back to Main Street.
My hope is that when people think about Small Town Saturdays, they do not just think about shopping. They think about community. They think about supporting local. They think about slowing down. They think about seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. They think about why they love living in a small town.
Because that is what Small Town Saturdays has always been about. Helping people love where they live.
Two ways to be part of it
Join the mailing list. Once a month I send one email about what is coming up: the next Main Street Crawl and its vendor lineup, special editions in the works, and anything new we are trying. Community news only, nothing else.
Register as a vendor. The vendor fee is $25 per event, and it comes with more than a booth: vendors are eligible for a profile in the Meet Our STS Partners directory, so people can keep finding your business between events. The registration page has all the details and the signup form.
Questions people ask
What is Small Town Saturdays?
Small Town Saturdays is a community initiative in Unadilla, Nebraska, built around one idea: creating reasons for people to come together in a small town. It started as a monthly Saturday morning market, which lives on as the Main Street Crawl summer series. It is growing into more: Takeout Tuesdays starting in summer 2027, and special editions around holidays and community traditions throughout the year.
Do I have to live in Unadilla to come?
Not at all. People come from the surrounding towns and from Lincoln. That is part of the point. A morning on Main Street is a pretty good way to get a feel for a town you have been curious about living in.
Why does a real estate agent run a community initiative?
Because a house is only part of the decision. People stay where they feel like they belong. I would rather help build the kind of community people want to move to than just sell houses in it. Helping people love where they live is the whole job as far as I am concerned.
Come be part of it
Whether you want to set up a booth, bring the family out to a crawl, partner on an event in your town, or you are just curious about what living in a small town east of Lincoln actually looks like, I would love to hear from you.