Description: The River Festival is the premiere festival event in the city of Wichita. It is something that many people look forward too all year long. It lasts about 9 days and there are tons of fun events. Well worth the $5 button as admission.
The event takes place in May every year, and when you purchase the button (available a couple weeks prior) it comes with a schedule booklet. Take a minute to pick out the events you want to attend, and mark them off on your calendar. There is no way you could do everything on the schedule, so you have to pick and choose.
Since the events are somewhat spread out across the city, it’s good to have a map and know where you are going. The majority of the events take place in the heart of downtown, near the Century II Building and next to the Arkansas River. Many streets are blocked off, but there is usually plenty of free parking. Just be prepared to walk several blocks if you are attending one of the bigger events.
In my opinion, the opening day parade can be skipped. The parade consists of lots of cars and emergency vehicles and clowns, with very little, if any, floats. And a few years ago they stopped letting the parade participants throw candy to the kids, so that took some of the fun out of it. It still draws a big crowd, but I don’t think it’s worth the hassle.
The closing day fireworks show, on the other hand, is a must. It draws a huge crowd, and with good reason. It is probably the best fireworks show in the city all year. People set up blankets a day early and line the banks of the Arkansas River to get a good view. But you really don’t have to fight the crowd to see the fireworks, there are plenty of places to watch that are on the outskirts of the main crowd—parks, schools, parking lots, etc. Music is synched to the fireworks and played on a local radio station. It’s a lot of fun, and the kids love it.
There is also a 10K and 2 Mile race called the River Run the first Saturday of the event that is always a big draw. In fact, it’s the biggest race in the state of Kansas. Other popular events are the Art and Book Fair, the Cajun Food Fest, the Festival of Broadway Show, a Childrens Theater presentation, and the Block Party. There are tons of live music events as well, at all times of the day and in every style of music you can imagine—rock, pop, country, gospel, jazz, etc. There are usually a couple of really good main stage acts each year as well. A couple years ago we got to see Daughtry right after he had been on American Idol This year Bret Michaels from Poison is scheduled, among others.
Close