Wichita River Festival is just a giant advertisement

By SJ Otto

Each year we have the Wichita River Festival and every year I don't attend. Part of that is because it is nothing more than an elaborate advertisement for the city's businesses. Everything has a logo attached to it. The races are named for local banks. Everything has a sponsor. And every year there is a parade, the first day, and every business in town has a float to advertise their business.

For many years this event has not been well planned. One year I went to hear a singer was scheduled to perform on an outdoor stage. She was rained out. The moved the concert indoors, but didn't tell everyone where it was. The do have some good bands come in from time to time. A few years ago they had the Turtles. One year me and my wife actually went to see Paul Revere and the Raiders. But usually the places they play are over-crowded, the drinks are over-priced and they are often sandwiched in between acts I don't want to see.

There is also the heat and the crowds. It gets hot in Wichita in June. And the crowds make it worse. So some of us just don't go. This year I won't be and not many of my friends will go either. If the city set up block parties instead of advertisement events, a lot more of us would have gone. But commercialism is not what many of us want to celebrate.