The ‘2022 EKKOs TAKE ON GNR’ SCHEDULE OF FUN!
Hello EKKO friends headed to GNR 2022!
Stef from theFitRV here, and on behalf of your GNR hosts (Sandy D, Allie B, Chris M, Noel F, Aaron W, Greg B), we are so happy you’ll be joining us for GNR fun! Your daily schedules, and a little info for you GNR newbies, can be found below. James and I are excited to see y’all soon!
ARRIVING: You can arrive before the rally as early as Wednesday July 13th. Registration is only open between noon and 5pm each day though, so plan accordingly. Once you do get through registration that first time, THEN you can come and go easily, at any time—there’s a different entrance/exit for people already registered.
SHUTTLE BUSES: You can hop on a shuttle bus right on the rally grounds and they’ll take you anywhere you want to go around town. Shuttles even run on the pre-rally days, and go from 8am and run well into the evening (check your GNR schedule for exact times), and they’re a great way to head into town, grab groceries, head to the Y for a workout or swim, whatever!
PLEASE SUPPORT THE EKKO RAFFLE: To cover the costs of our EKKO community’s GNR expenses for this and next year, we’re holding a raffle! Loads of incredible prizes have been donated (scroll to bottom for details). Please bring cash for the raffle, and donate to help us make next year’s GNR just as FUNtastic as this one! Plus, you might win something awesome!
Note: This schedule isn’t near everything going on at GNR, though it does list everything going on in our EKKO tent as well as the rally wide festivities we think you’ll like! To see all GNR happenings, please refer to your full GNR schedule which you’ll get upon registration.
PRE-RALLY HAPPENINGS:
| DATE/TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| Thurs the 14th | Fire Pit | Pre-Rally Party | This is a rally-wide event for anyone who has arrived early! It includes lawn games, live music, and food for purchase. See the full GNR schedule for more info. |
| Fri the 15th Two tour times: 8am and 9:10am | Meet at shuttle stop on rally grounds at your assigned tour time | Factory Tours for EKKO owners RSVP by leaving comment below! 8am tour RSVPs: Noel & Chris (ambassadors; look for them at the shuttle stop!) JoEllen H Graham S Larry/Donna P Kirk/Kim P 9am tour RSVPs: Stef & James David/Allie B Cynthia/Richard Elizabeth/Bryan Cherie/Darren | Winnebago is offering special factory tours just for our EKKO community! Still a couple spots left so please RSVP by commenting below. We’ll be shuttled to the factory where we will tour a line where RVs are being built and tour the chassis lot. If you aren’t arriving this early, don’t worry—there are other opportunities to tour the factory during GNR, too. |
| Fri the 15th 11:30-1pm | Lichtsinn RV Dealership | Complimentary Luncheon by Lichtsinn | To welcome everyone to Forest City, Lichtsinn is throwing a lunch party at their dealership—this is for anyone, not just people who have purchased there! Come join the fun! |
| FRI/SAT Ongoing | Around Forest City | Puckerbrush Days festivities | The town of Forest City holds their annual celebration, Puckerbrush Days, the weekend that GNR kicks off. Lots of things happening, 5k, parade, music, Saturday evening fireworks, etc. You can jump on a GNR shuttle and head to any of the festivities. Check the Puckerbrush Days schedule for more! |
July 17th 2022: SUNDAY FUNDAY: Opening day at GNR!
| TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| 1pm | EKKO Tent | Liftoff with Lithionics Kickoff Party | Our first official EKKO party to kickoff GNR; thanks to Lithionics and Total Service & Sales for sponsoring! Come meet & greet your fellow EKKO owners and say hello to the Lithionics team. It is open house style, so swing by anytime in the afternoon. We’ll have some ongoing fun activities where you can win prizes. Enjoy a frozen margarita and some popcorn, courtesy of our sponsors. |
| 2pm or 4pm | Super Bowl Bowling Alley | Free bowling for GNR attendees | If interested, sign up ahead of time (head to the GNR office across from River Oaks) for either 2pm or 4pm. Jump on the shuttle bus, and make sure to show your GNR badge to get your free game! |
| 5:30pm | EKKO Tent | Dinner with Winnebago’s EKKO production team | To celebrate the first official GNR with an EKKO row, Winnebago’s production team is hosting a light dinner just for our EKKO community: pulled chicken or pork sandwiches and all the fixings! You’ll get to meet the people behind our awesome RVs and their families. They’re excited to get to know us and hear our EKKO stories! We’ll have some welcome messages, too. Bring your chairs, and if you’d like to eat at a table– bring your camp tables, too! |
| 7pm | Amphitheater | Opening Ceremonies | Let’s meet in the EKKO tent just beforehand and walk to the amphitheater and sit together. Opening ceremonies officially kick off GNR with a welcome message from Winnebago, flag raising, and introductions made. It’s a special part of GNR’s tradition, so please join us as we take time to properly honor this event! |
| 7:30pm | Amphitheater | Ice cream social | You’ll receive a ticket in your GNR welcome packet for a free ice cream at this social. It’s another GNR tradition! |
| 8pm | EKKO Tent | Informal hangout time | Bring your camp chairs and let’s hang out. Any musicians, please bring your instruments! Perhaps we’ll even have some brave souls who will take the mic and do some karaoke! |
JULY 18th MONDAY FUNDAY! (they’re ALL fun days!)
| TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| 7am-9am | Special Events Tent | Morning coffee
| Swing by anytime and grab a free cup of coffee! |
| 8am | Amphitheater | Tai Chi
| Join EKKO owner JoEllen Hanrahan in a gentle stretch routine appropriate for beginners and seniors. A great way to start your day! |
| 8am | Unsure, check the GNR schedule | First Timers Seminar | Overwhelmed with all the things on the rally schedule?! You’re not alone! Attend this seminar and learn how to navigate GNR like a pro. |
| 9am | EKKO tent | Curtain Sewing with Cherie*
| Want to change out your EKKO curtain? Cherie’s got you covered! Bring your own material (*see note at bottom of page), and Cherie will guide you in sewing your own curtain. This is the organization meeting to get everyone scheduled for sewing machines and go over the process. |
| 10am | EKKO tent | Photo Time
| We’re taking a group photo and we need YOU! Let’s celebrate being the first EKKO owners group at GNR with a picture! Requesting all owners meet in the tent for this very special picture. Wear any EKKO shirts or Winnebago shirts or even your FitRV shirts work, too😉)! |
| 12pm | EKKO tent | Lithionics talk
| Come listen to a chat with Lithionics! This will be Q and A style, so bring your questions. |
| 4pm | East end of John K & Louise V Hanson Blvd
| Pet Parade
| This is a fun GNR tradition! If you’ve got pets, bring them to the parade start location and enjoy marching in a parade with them! Show your creativity with costumes, for you or them! |
| 3 – 5pm | River Oaks Parking Lot | Happy Hour
| This is a GNR-wide happy hour. Head to River Oaks parking lot and enjoy a drink and conversation with your fellow rally attendees! |
| 7pm | Amphitheater | Entertainment: Soul Brothers | Fun evening entertainment at the amphitheater! |
| 8pm | EKKO tent | EKKO Gamer Cafe | Join your hosts: Allisone Brussin and Cynthia Landon (also admins on the EKKO Facebook group!) for an evening of games. This is a great time to bring any fun treats and/or drinks to share, too! If you have any favorite games, feel free to bring! |
JULY 19th Tuesday WOOHOOsday!
| TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| 7-9am | Special Events Tent | Morning Coffee | Swing by anytime and grab a free cup of coffee! |
| 8-8:30am | Amphitheater | FitRV Morning Stretch
| Join Stef from TheFitRV in a gentle move & stretch session to energize your day! |
| 9am | Meet near the Amphitheater | FitRV Bike Ride
| Join James & Stef from TheFitRV in a road ride along some lovely rural Iowa highways. Helmets 100% required. Bikes should be in good repair. Adults only. Must be comfortable riding on roads with light traffic (and no shoulders). Today’s route is an out-and-back mostly flat route and we’ll ride for around an hour, @13 miles or so. |
| 12pm | EKKO Tent | Truma Chat
| Come listen to a chat with Truma! Bring your questions! |
| 1pm | EKKO Tent | MicroAir Chat
| MicroAir has a brand-new product about to launch, a smart thermostat that would work with our EKKOs. Come learn more about it. |
| 2pm | River Oaks Bldg | Japa Meditation and Mala Bracelet Making with Elizabeth Owens Whitt PLEASE NOTE THIS SESSION COSTS $36
RSVP by contacting Elizabeth: or | Join yogi (and fellow EKKO owner) Elizabeth Whitt in this special seminar where you’ll learn about the history of Mala beads and how to use them in a meditation practice. You’ll also make a special mala meditation bracelet out of natural energy stones you choose, so you’ll leave with a beautiful bracelet that you can also use in your meditation practice. NOTE: Limited spots, must sign up ahead by contacting Elizabeth on her Facebook page (Yogi Dreamer) or Instagram @yogi_dreamer. This class costs $36 which you can pay either Venmo or PayPal once you’ve contacted Elizabeth. |
| 3–5pm | River Oaks Parking Lot | Happy Hour
| This is a GNR-wide happy hour. Head to River Oaks parking lot and enjoy a drink and conversation with your fellow rally attendees! |
| 5-7pm | Rally Wide; wander around each of the rows | Row Party Fun! Includes Roving Polka Band
| Row party night is the biggest event at GNR! Many of the rows host parties, where they offer a small sample of a food or drink for anyone interested, and some wear costumes, and it’s a wild time. So, wander around the rally grounds and try some fun offerings being shared by the other rows! Our EKKO row will be handing out packs of Bugles chips, as a play on how a bugle makes an echo (EKKO!) sound, get it?! (Aren’t we clever.) Malek’s polka band will be playing from a trailer bed and driving through the rows. Feel free to follow and dance along—embrace the GNR zaniness!
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JULY 20th Wednesday Hang-With-New-Friendsday!
| TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| 7-9am | Special Events Tent | Morning Coffee | Swing by anytime and grab a free cup of coffee! |
| 8am | Amphitheater | Tai Chi
| Join EKKO owner JoEllen Hanrahan in a gentle stretch routine appropriate for beginners and seniors. A great way to start your day! |
| 10am | EKKO Tent | Ford Transit Chat | Ray Eyles, Ford Transit Chief Engineer will be coming to chat with us about our Transit chassis. Bring your questions! |
| 1pm | EKKO Tent | Winnebago’s EKKO Production Team Chat | Join us for a chat with the EKKO production team. Bring your questions! |
| 6pm | EKKO Tent | Raffle Pizza Party sponsored by Camping World! | You’ve been buying your raffle tickets all week, and sticking them in prize buckets that interest you. It’s finally time to draw the winners! Join us at 6pm for pizza courtesy of Camping World (bring your own drinks), and then we’ll follow that with the raffle drawings. GOOD LUCK! |
| 7pm | Special Event Tent | Trivia Night | You’ll need to sign up ahead to participate in this fun rally wide event. Check your GNR schedule for details on how to do so! |
July 21st Thursday MoreGoodTimesDay (because Thursday is hard to rhyme!)
| TIME | LOCATION | EVENT | DETAILS |
| 7-9am | Special Events Tent | Morning Coffee | Swing by anytime and grab a free cup of coffee! |
| 8-8:30am | Amphitheater | FitRV Morning Stretch
| Join Stef from TheFitRV in a gentle move & stretch session to energize your day! |
| 9am | Meet near the Amphitheater | FitRV Bike Ride
| Join James & Stef from TheFitRV in a road ride to Pilot Knob State Park. Helmets 100% required. Bikes should be in good repair. Adults only. Today’s route is more challenging with some rolling hills, and one tough short steep climb on the way back. You’ll also have the option to climb the hill into the state park, as well. It’s a beautiful climb! Plan to be out riding about 90 minutes this time. |
| 7pm (check the GNR schedule) | Amphitheater | Evening Entertainment and Closing Ceremony | Like all good things, GNR must come to an end, too. Check your GNR schedule for details on this final official event! See ya next year! |
*SUPPLIES TO BRING FOR CURTAIN SEWING SEMINAR: Notes from Cherie: 2 yards drapery/curtain weight fabric. Not upholstery fabric – upholstery fabric is too heavy. If the drapery/curtain fabric is plain on the back and not what you want to look at, you will need 2 yards of a coordinating cotton or linen backing fabric. This should be the weight of cotton quilters use or similar. You can use the same drapery/curtain weight fabric back to back and have the same design on both sides. 1 spool color matched Gutterman Sew-All thread. My machines are picky about thread types. Joann Fabrics carries Gutterman brand. I will have black, white, and tan with me. If one of those colors works for you you don’t need to bring thread. You can reuse the strip of glides at the top of your curtain if you want your replacement curtain to be the same width. If you want your new curtain to be a bit wider, like I did, you need to purchase a strip of glides and bring it with you. These are available on Amazon HERE.
RAFFLE INFO:
