Festival Celebrates Salina's Senses
Jeff Garretson - Fri 02:47 PM 06/08/2012
Unique art is a mainstay at the festival
The 2012 Smoky Hill River Festival is underway after last night's Festival Jam.
Friday morning the horn sounded and the gates opened for the first full day of activities.
Pam Jones of Salina was one of the first fans to set up her chair near the Eric Stein Stage for a day of music, sunshine and family. "A lot of times we just sit and listen to the music and hang out together - it's wonderful!"
The headline acts this year include the Steep Canyon Rangers on Friday night, Tea Leaf Green on Saturday night, and Black Girls closing out the festival on Sunday afternoon.
Lines formed early on Friday morning as vendors displayed their artistic fair.
Dan Banning with Roasted Corn out of Hutchinson tells KSAL News there's no way to rush a River Festival favorite over the fire.
"That's got to roast that corn for 28-minutes. It comes out perfect and you can't do it any faster can't do it any slower," he said. "Taste great and it's worth the wait!"
Behind the scenes of all the great music and art is an army of volunteers to keep the park spotless.
Scott Feranthold with the Boldy Go 4-H Club has been pitching in around the event for 15-years. "We're here every hour that the Festival is open, picking up trash," he said.
The 2012 Smoky Hill River Festival runs through Sunday in Oakdale Park.
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pops67401
Friday 8 June 2012 16:26 Report this comment
Senses celebrated? More like senses assaulted if you get anywhere close to the Smokey sewer river
Iamgonnagetu
Saturday 9 June 2012 07:50 Report this comment
I do not know what festival Jeff Garrison was at but if you could get by the cigarette smoke, stagnent water smell and human foul odors I guess you can say there are a couple of pleasant smells.
risingr
Saturday 9 June 2012 10:20 Report this comment
Gotta pay $15 to have my senses and intelligence simultaneously assaulted? Saw a bunch of artists with Colorado tags who looked like they were stoned out of their gourds there yesterday. My idea of art would involve drug sniffing dogs at each entrance.
momma2herboys
Saturday 9 June 2012 11:20 Report this comment
Wow, you guys are pretty negative. If you don't like it, don't go. It happens to be a very big deal for our family & friends every year that we look forward to beyond words. MANY people work EXCEPTIONALLY hard to make this event one of the 20 finest festivals in the USA while you work to to bag on something you don't even participate in & probably know very little about.
Logical
Saturday 9 June 2012 13:20 Report this comment
Friday night weather was excellent: low humidity and nice temps. I didn't see or smell a single person smoking and the river didn't smell as our family walked by it. We did smell a wide variety of food and that was ok. Momma2herboys: the first six words of your note explain many of the posts some people make here. Guess some people are just glass half empty or terribly jaded; which is no way to live.
troy
Saturday 9 June 2012 15:56 Report this comment
Ahhhh, the river festival. The smell of a $12.00 brisket sandwich and the cool taste of a $9.00 lemonade. The yearly opportunity to not attend and cast my eyes upon $750.00 to $1,000.00 barnwood picture frames, $1,500 (or so) paintings, you get the idea. Having to park at Orscelns and walk from there, $15.00 to get in, it's an easy $8,000 weekend.
Logical
Saturday 9 June 2012 17:23 Report this comment
Thou exaggerate! (in a negative direction of course). I paid $3.00 for a tall glass of lemonade on Friday. Keeping the plastic glass means I can refills at $1.50. I could not drink all of the lemonade on Friday and I had a refill on Saturday. I don't like the "art" and I choose not to shop. There is plenty of parking at the Bicentennial Center lot. Rode the shuttle into the grounds with minimal walking.
Iamgonnagetu
Saturday 9 June 2012 18:47 Report this comment
Momma if you get off to spending all that money to go and buy food and drink $3 lemonade thats's great but what I explained is what others also have. By the way are your 2 boys on free meals program?
Viper
Saturday 9 June 2012 20:19 Report this comment
I don't go and I don't care about the Festival.
GETALIFE674
Saturday 9 June 2012 23:51 Report this comment
A big deal momma for your family and friends? You all must lead a secluded life. Once again this year I went and was fiancially abused by the price fixing concession stands and the over priced art. The inferior no name groups did not help any either.