It seems a little hard to believe. After what seemed like an endless winter — wasn’t it just a week or two ago that we were still shoveling snow? — the Jeep Invasion comes to Butler this Friday.

If the annual event sneaked up on you, you’re not alone, and you have any of a number of good reasons — blame the weather, blame the frackers, blame Trump, whatever.

But this is the eighth annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival! Our Heritage Festival for our Jeep — the one that was born right here in Butler. The event should inspire pride and excitement in every resident as we host upward of 15,000 Jeep enthusiasts for the first night of a weekend of fun and frolic.

And if it inspires something less than excitement, you can endure one night. After Friday’s invasion event, the activities move out to Cooper’s Lake Campground in Worth Township.

So, there’s no deep or inspirational message here. No clever or memorable thought about Jeep heritage. Rather, just a word of encouragement for the good people of Butler to be good hosts.

Good fortune is with us. The weather forecast calls for sunshine, clear skies and moderate temperatures for most of this week. Last week was mostly saturated with a 90 percent change of simmering — too hot, too wet for yard work. But with June’s lingering twilight, this week’s cooler temperatures and sunshine will offer ideal conditions for whipping yards and properties into that “company’s coming” condition.

Downtown business proprietors and property owners/managers should scrub down or sweep up what they can.

It doesn’t hurt either to get into the proper frame of mind for Friday’s big shindig. It’s a given that a party of this magnitude disrupts everyone’s routine — and that is one of the reasons we have parties. We know the business district will be shut down from 3 p.m. until after 10 p.m.. With that in mind, Plan ahead and run any errands on Wednesday or Thursday; then park the car and stroll downtown to view all the Jeeps. Have fun with it.

By the way, those Wall Dog murals really help tell the story of who we are. They add a touch of class. So don’t let them become wallpaper. Make them a permanent part of our celebration.

Put a smile on your face. Greet out-of-towners. Market your town. Your attitude leaves an impression on visitors.

Is Butler a vibrant, exciting community? It is. We are. We will never be more so than during a Jeep Invasion. Let’s embrace and convey this concept.

And get ready. It’s coming this Friday, already.