Nothing quite captures the true character of a community like its festivals and big events.

We will see the best of Winchester and Clark County this weekend with the long-running Winchester Labor Day celebration, the Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival and the Homer Ledford Dulcimer Festival.

Mother Nature may try to put a damper on things with heavy rain forecasted over the weekend, but we expect both events will keep the tradition alive and celebrate important parts of our community’s heritage.

The Labor Day Festival culminates Monday afternoon with the noon parade but there will be lots of activities for all ages for the three days prior.

A few blocks away, Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival will be going strong with the downtown kickoff Friday and filling College Park for two days Saturday and Sunday with arts and crafts vendors, festival food stands and much more.

The full schedule for both was in Wednesday’s paper and can be found at winchestersun.com.

The halls of Campbell Junior High School will be alive with music as the fifth Dulcimer Festival offers classes and a concert this weekend.

What should not be lost is these events are about celebrating our community and our connections as human beings.

We applaud everyone who puts in hours of hard work behind the scenes to makes these events possible.

Each offers the perfect opportunity to get to know your neighbor a little better, which seems to be one of the things lost in our modern culture.

These events are designed to bridge all socio-economic gaps or demographic labels, simply creating ways for us to showcase our community and have family friendly fun right here at home.