2012 River Festival, 100-Percent Fun
Jeff Garretson - Mon 11:54 AM 06/11/2012
Festival crowd was well-behaved
The 36th Annual Smoky Hill River Festival was high on entertainment value and low on trouble.
Salina Police made zero arrests during the 4-day event in Oakdale Park.
Lt. Russ Lamer tells KSAL News that the Festival staff was well prepared. "The crowd was well behaved," he said.
Lamer added, "The private security hired by Festival organizers did a good job of solving issues."
Brad Anderson, Executive Director of the Salina Arts and Humanities praised his staff and team of volunteers.
"You can't foresee everything that's going to come up in a 4-day span - and they really came though in every way," he said.
Anderson was pleased with the turnout - despite Sunday's low gate count.
Anderson tells KSAL News that 70,918 attended the 2012 version. "We had a good showing Sunday - and huge turnout Saturday."
Anderson says some 30,224 people took in the sights and sounds of the arts on Saturday. Sunday's attendance was 7,297 patrons, a drop off from last year's final day by only 441 people.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the number from button sales," he said. That's the good number for me because 43-percent of our revenue for the Festival comes from the button sales."
Anderson explained that the addition of nine satellite offices throughout the area boosted button sales this year. "All indications are that button sales this year are going to surpass - substantially what we did last year," he said.
Outside the park - police did run a DUI check lane on Thursday following the Festival Jam and cited one driver for DUI.
Lt. Lamer says officers ran 83-vehicles through the check lane just north of the park at Oakdale and Smoky Hill Drive.
Another check lane that was set up just before midnight at 9th and Crawford also netted one DUI arrest.
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WhoCares
Monday 11 June 2012 12:19 Report this comment
I bet the SPD were bored...... Not that its anything new...
Freewill
Monday 11 June 2012 12:27 Report this comment
So what Mr. Anderson is telling us is that 2/3 of Salina was in the park? Where did they all park and leave parking for a packed water park? Not that I care if they have a festival, but don't overstate the numbers. In comparison the Kansas City Renaissance Festival had 180,000 over a 16 day period, little old Salina had 70,000 over 3 days. Is this how the Arts commission cooks it's books? I say Audit them.
spitfire
Monday 11 June 2012 12:30 Report this comment
Out of that 70,918 how many of them left and returned several times throughout the day. That number can't be 100% right because it's not possible to keep tabs on how many come and go.
GETALIFE674
Monday 11 June 2012 13:21 Report this comment
Seems Brad and his merrymen are inflating attendance figures. There is no way 70,000 people can fit in that small area to begin with and no way is there parking for the number of cars there would be. It has been said by someone that in 35 years this festival has never been audited by an outside firm with no connections to salina. As a taxpayer I would like to see that happen and all the information printed for all of us to see along with how many taxpayer dollars were used. I WAS THERE SATURDAY WHILE CROWDED DEFIATELY NO 30,000 PEOPLE,
GETALIFE674
Monday 11 June 2012 13:26 Report this comment
FREEWILL WHAT HE IS TRYING TO TELL US OUR POPULATION OF 50,000 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL 20,000 PEOPLE WERE ALL JAMMED INTO THAT LITTLE AREA. HE EVIDENTLY GOT SOME OF THAT SUBSTANCE THE BAND MEMBERS WERE USING AN IT BLEW HIS MIND.
GETALIFE674
Monday 11 June 2012 13:59 Report this comment
There is another posting for the festival and a person left a web site to check out with an accounting of last year. RIGHT AT THE TOP IT SAID APPROXIMATE. APPROXIMATE WHAT KIND OF BS IS THIS? AND WORST IS THE COMMISSIONERS LAST YEAR ACCEPTED IT AS APPROXIMATE.
Iamgonnagetu
Monday 11 June 2012 14:18 Report this comment
Gets I belieave your figures are off in one of your posts. You were using the 3 day total they put out of 70,000. You should have used the thirty thousand figure which is 60% of our population.
missmanners
Monday 11 June 2012 14:45 Report this comment
Are you kidding me??? I watched a drug bust happen right in front of me. Some stupid lady.
jn2630
Monday 11 June 2012 22:22 Report this comment
Yall are a bunch of whiners and complainers
GETALIFE674
Monday 11 June 2012 22:24 Report this comment
OH YEA I SURE MESSED UP ON THOSE FIGURES. THE POINT STILL IS YOU CANNOT FIT 30,000 PEOPLE IN THAT SMALL AREA. I DID NOT BELIEVE THE TWIST THE POLICE PUT ON IT NOT ARRESTING ANYONE. HOW MANY WERE ESCORTED OUT?
Iamgonnagetu
Tuesday 12 June 2012 07:30 Report this comment
Jn2630 yall go back to the woods if you cannot see what the arts Guy is pulling here.
Freewill
Tuesday 12 June 2012 07:44 Report this comment
It's a sad day when asking for the truth is whining. If they can not tell the truth about attendance then why should the public believe that this $250,000 art project out by Lowes really cost that much. Again they left out the cost of prepping the site for the art installation to the tune of another $250,000. Just getting tired of the lies coming from the city about the arts commission's spending.
tkaye
Tuesday 12 June 2012 10:39 Report this comment
I agree with jn2630!! The Salina River Festival is great entertainment and a perfect setting to catch up with family and friends for a weekend. Plus, the festival allows coolers loaded with beverages and food, not many venues allow that.
Cleo
Tuesday 12 June 2012 20:50 Report this comment
I grew up in Salina and have friends and family there. Why in the world would so many people complain about such a class act as the River Festival. We now live in the Kansas City area and the Salina River Festival measures up to any event in this area. Sounds like a lot of people are jealous. Of what I have no idea. You should all be proud of Salina and it's events.
GETALIFE674
Wednesday 13 June 2012 01:37 Report this comment
tkaye Anyone can catch up with friends at the fair in August and not have to pay to go to it. The river festival is a class act for those making money off of it and no one else. So the drunks can carry in coolers big deal if they could sell beer on the grounds they would pay $8 a can for it. Cleo.... The entertainment has gone in the toilet, the dishonesty of the art's commission on attendance and accounting for the monies received and spent is unacceptable. If you indeed grew up in Salina then you remember the great entertainment they had when this started. That it has lasted 35 years is surprising but anymore people are like cattle being led to slaughter.
THEENFORCER
Wednesday 13 June 2012 09:23 Report this comment
time for the arts commission to face an audit by an outside agency. If anything is found then the commission should be disbanded. how anyone can think 30,000 people could fit in that little area is beyond me.
tkaye
Wednesday 13 June 2012 12:03 Report this comment
Theenforcer....I don't think they are saying 30,000 people at one time. It would be total count throughout the day coming and going. The button sales would be the final count anyway. GETALIFE674 I never said the cooler was full of alcohol. We take water, soda and juice as well. We also take tons of food and relax in the park with awesome musical entertainment with our family and friends. Which by the way, some of our friends and family came from out of town which means they spent their money here in Salina. They went shopping at the mall, the grocery store, liquor store and walmart. I'm sure that there were a lot of people here for the festival from out of town spending money in Salina. Don't we want that here to boost our economy?? You mentioned in your statement that the entertainment has "gone it the toilet"....Did you attend the festival?? How do you have an opinion of that sort if you did not attend??