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Festivals & Events
- Story Highlights
- The nine-day festival offers fun for every age
- The musical entertainment features more than 100 recording artists
- The opening night parade has marching bands, floats and balloons
It started as a one-day event to honor Wichita’s centennial in 1972. Today, the Wichita River Festival attracts hundreds of thousands to the banks of the Arkansas River in this Kansas city each May for nine days of live music, kid-friendly activities and dazzling fireworks displays.
The annual event has come a long way since the first Wichitennial Water Festival was held. For the inaugural celebration, organizers sold approximately 2,000 buttons for entry to the event, and the buttons are still used as admission today – though the number sold has skyrocketed. Just $5 each, the buttons are good for all nine days of entertainment.
Known as the Wichita River Festival since 1979 (often shortened to Riverfest), the annual extravaganza has grown into much more than your average community celebration, with an estimated 385,000 people attending in 2007 – another record-breaking crowd, up 15,000 from the previous year.
The 2007 festival hosted musicians such as Craig Morgan, Steppenwolf and Chubby Checker, just a few
of the more than 100 recording artists to grace the stages
for more than 150 hours of music.
Other events included world-record-breaking dog tricks at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, the Kansas State Arm Wrestling Competition, the Russian American Kids’ Circus and performances by the Wichita Children’s Theatre.
While much of the entertainment varies from year to year, some classic Riverfest activities are staples.
The Bank of America River Run and two spectacular fireworks displays mark the annual Wichita River Festival. Held on opening night, the sundown parade features floats, balloons and marching bands. There’s also the annual antique bathtub race, where participants decorate claw-foot tubs and race down the Big Arkansas River to the amusement of spectators.
Organizers are aware that the highlight of the nine days is probably the fireworks display, so they arrange for two shows – one held the first Friday following the opening concert, and the other the last Saturday, which is choreographed with a Twilight Pops Concert performed by the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
Of course, no festival would be complete without fairway food such as funnel cakes and corn dogs, but you may come across some more unusual fodder, including snickerdoodle brownies and fried pickles, which can be washed down with a fresh cherry limeade.
With so much to see and do, a team of 4,000 volunteers and several staff members spend thousands of hours planning and implementing the event, making sure each is just as memorable as the year before.
The 37th annual Riverfest will be held May 9-17, 2008. For information on admission, hotel reservations and activities, visit www.wichitariverfestival.com.
Story By Jessy Yancey
- Wichita River Festival
- May 9-17, 2008
- Wichita, Kan.
- www.wichitariverfestival.com
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