One of my first memories was laying on an old quilt my nana had made in the sun in Oakdale Park. The festival atmosphere surrounding my family and me has always been one of my favorite things about Salina. The smell of the food vendors set up in the street in front the tennis courts, the sound of birds chirping along to the music coming from the Eric Stein Stage, and the sense of community that accompanies the festival is one of the most welcoming things that I can think of.
The Smoky Hill River Festival has been a permanent installment in the culture of Salina since 1976. It was first held on Santa Fe Street with bands playing on the big white gazebo that now sits in Jerry Ivy Park on the opposite end of town. Obviously, though, over forty years, things change and the festival is now held in Oakdale Park. One of the art exhibits the festival used to hold was a sand sculptor who would make things such as dragons out of sand and then paint them. Another change includes the Festival Treasure Hunt. This hunt is a tradition where the festival committee chooses an artist to make the token in which the entire city of Salina searches for through clues posted on the festival website. The person who finds the token wins free admission buttons, as well as five thousand dollars to spend at the festival.
This family-friendly festival kicks off on Thursday night with Festival Jam, a huge concert in the park. River Festival has something for everyone. For the kid,s there's Artyopolis, a big white tent full of tables that hold arts and crafts for the children to make and take home. There's also Arty's Stage, which holds performances just for kids. These performances include magic shows, story telling, and sing-alongs. Lastly, the kids can go for a nice stroll down Game Street, featuring things such as a fish bowl toss, mini golf, and a milk bottle throw. For the adults, there are three stages that hold performances from local musicians as well as musicians from all over the country. Starting Friday at 10 a.m. all three stages hold a different performance hourly until 8 p.m. where the last act of the night gets a solo performance on the Eric Stein Stage. All weekend the Four Rivers Craft Show is set up on one side of the tennis courts where people can stroll through and purchase their favorite works of art. Saturday marks the start of the Fine Arts Show which is held on the opposite side of the tennis courts. This show includes artists from around the country selling their fine art which is usually priced higher than the Four Rivers Craft Show. Saturday morning also holds the time-honored tradition of the First Treasures Program, this is a program that collects art from all different vendors around the festival at a reduced price for your children to buy. Lastly and most importantly are the food vendors. The festival committee invites food trucks from all over Kansas, as well as the country, to set up in Oakdale Park for the weekend and sell delectable foods such as Gater Taters, deep fried Oreos, chicken on a stick, and a Salina favorite: Sno Wizard snow cones.
Through the heat and sunburns Salinians have enjoyed this festival for forty years now. Each year brings something new to the festival, and this year the new installments include a vintage firetruck, a recycle cycle, six new foods, and a commemorative fortieth anniversary tee-shirt. So if you're in Salina, Kansas during the second weekend of June, I strongly urge you to check out this wonderful time-honored tradition: The Smoky Hill River Festival.
