May 7, 2025 • 17 mins
Fireworks! Food! Live Music and Festival Fun! The time is near for Wichita's annual spring celebration, Riverfest! We invite Wichita Festivals CEO Breanna Monk and Allen Howarter, Admiral Windwagon Smith 51, to tell us all about what to expect in 2025! www.riverfest.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Wichita Weekend Podcast from iHeartRadio Stations ninety
seven point nine, B ninety eight, one oh two to one,
The Bowl Channel nine six three, and All one oh
seven three. I'm your host, Don Guidas, Thanks for joining us.
Welcome to the Wichita Weekend Podcast. And you know, it's
that time of year when we're all thinking Riverfest and
(00:23):
it's so exciting to have our guests in the studio
with us today. From the fifty third annual Wichita Riverfest
is going to be happening twenty twenty five. We've got
the dates of May thirtieth through June seventh, and our
guests are Brianna Monk. Our guests are Brianna Monk, she's
the CEO of Wichita Festivals, Incorporated. And Alan Howarder he
(00:47):
is wind Wagon Smith number fifty one. Welcome, Alan, good morning,
Thank you. It's good to have you both here in
the studio. Absolutely, you guys excited for Riverfest.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, we have so much lined up that we are
just excited to get everything started and to see all
the smiling faces.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
And this is the time of year when everybody's like
in full battle mode, right because you're covering this that
every other activity that's going to happen. Let's welcome people
back to Riverfest.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
One thing I'm excited to see is all of the concerts,
the lineups, the family fun days, just all of the
river activities that we have going on. We are so
excited to welcome everyone back and to bring something bigger
and brighter than ever.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
All Right, once you throw out a couple bullet points
at me, you.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Know, sure, sure, So basically a couple of our concert
lineups we have here. We have Ever Clear coming to town,
Paramount flow Rider, Alan Stone, and absolutely on Military Night,
mister Jamie Johnson.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
That's going to be big.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It's going to be big.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
He is very, very popular in this part of the country,
so it's going to be a huge river Fest. And
of course at every event we're going to have Windwagon
smithing in the either lurking in the shadows or coming
right up to the forefront and making sure that everybody's
having a good time. How did you get selected to
(02:18):
be wind Wagon this year, Alan.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well, it's a long story. I think part of it
is due to my forty plus years in volunteering as
a individual in the food court in charge of the
ticket sellers. I spent a total of twelve years on
the Board of Directors. One of my Purple Shirt committee
(02:41):
members had submitted my name as a potential admiral person
for about the last seven or eight years, and it
was to no avail. Nothing ever came of it. She
inquired this year, should I do it again? And I
told her, to be honest, no, because is I possibly
(03:01):
be eyeing retirement next year and have more time. Little
did I know that if you've been submitted in the past,
you're in consideration in the future. And a committee of
individuals meet and take those applications and determine what their
top four or five are, and then they submit them
to the group which are the past admirals. They're known
(03:25):
as the Pause Committee Past Admiral Windwagon Smith's and they
make the selection. And normally that selection happens in the
month of December. December came and went. I thought, no
big deal. I told her not to submit my name.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
You thought you were safe, not at all, You thought
you were in the clear.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And I got some very strange phone calls in January
that made no sense to me whatsoever. But I knew
that December had come and gone there you get. So
I didn't worry about it. And the day that I
was supposed to meet the Pause, little did I know
I was going to meet the Pause. I stood them up.
(04:09):
My boss came in town and we had a meeting
and I had to cancel the meeting with the Pause.
And later when I ended up calling the former admiral
that had contacted me, and he sent me a picture
of about twenty people and they were all past Admiral
(04:31):
Windwagon Smiths, and I thought, oh my god, it's going
to happen. And so when I walked in the room,
the first thing I heard after they clapped was You're
never going to live this down. You stood us up.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well, soon you will be a member of Pause your
own self. Absolutely, and then you can you'll have the
secret handshake down and you can treat the next at
wind Wagon Smith. So absolutely a similar greeting and welcome. Now,
before I forget to mention, one of the responsibilities for
(05:10):
wind Wagon Smith is you're kind of heading up all
your schooner mates, are you not? You're you're the boss
of the schooner mates.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Well, I don't know if I'm the boss. Sometimes I
think maybe they're bossing me or.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Okay, somebody's bossing somebody there.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
But I have a group. There's twenty three this year.
They are juniors in high school from the Wichita schools
and surrounding communities. These kids are awesome. They're energetic, they're
hilarious at times, and they're going to make my job
(05:46):
pretty dang easy. Can I share a little bit. I've
done the river run a few years and it's really
fun to watch the schooner mates. At seven o'clock or
whatever you know, o dark thirty in the morning on
a Saturday, they're non stop dancing. They dance the entire
They're dancing when you get there, they're dancing when you leave.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
They never stop.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
They're not going to change their habits this year.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
They might get you involved there, Allen. You might perhaps.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Ask if I know certain dances, and I said, you're
going to have to teach me.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Well, we'll keep an eye on you.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Don't lose any sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You know. I've grown up in Wichita, so I remember
way way back in the days of Wichitennial, and I
think back in over the years and how this event
has grown to become such a spectacular multicultural community thing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yes, and I'm so glad that you said that, because
we have Fiesa del Rio it is. It started smaller
and it has grown substantially and just Fiesa del Rio alone,
it brings the excitement, it brings the culture. It just
brings a wave of entertainment and love and respect for
the Hispanic culture to festival. Even this year, we have
(07:02):
this awesome band called Ladora and mind you, I'm just
gonna roll that off of there.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
You're really good with Spanish. Just a wee bit, You're
really good.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Well yeah, so that's that's exciting times though for our community. Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, between them, and we also have the Lion Dancers,
which is bringing in the Asian community and the culture.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
We are really.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Trying to expand the the cultural footprint of festival and
what better way to do that than to just engulf
yourself with it.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, so, uh you know, just come
on out and get involved. Now for those that remember
back in past years of the festival, we have the
button yes, and we've so we've already had the poster contest, right, yes,
posters up. The posters done.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Terry Toomey one and it is amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Okay, all right, so we see the poster. Now where
do we see.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
It so you're able to see that.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
We will have that at festival, We will have that
at several events and interviews that we are doing around town,
and it can always be present at wichitaf Festival's office
right on.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, we have so.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Many different places as well as you can see things
online and just many many avenues to be able to
just see it right, and.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Of course you'll see it when you go to buy
your button. Yes, if you stop buy a Quick Trip location.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
For example, Yes, yes, buttons are on sale at area
Quick Trips. They are twenty dollars for adults, ten dollars
for kids and they are selling fast, so make sure
that you get your button now.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Have you ever run out of buttons?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
We have come close to running out of buttons, And
there are some years that are always better than others.
And this year we have early bird that went on
which made the adult button fifteen dollars. And when I
tell you we had that online, you can actually pick
that up in office. We our heads were spinning the
way that it was moving out of the office, so
(09:06):
we said, you know what, have at it.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That just means more people coming to festival.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So listeners don't hesitate, get out there and get them now,
that's right, get them now. Not saying they're going to
run away, but we just.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
We might keep a feedback for you, but not many.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Sure that you have yours. And then I think we
may have touched a little bit about that. When you
get within the festival for food and drink and other things,
it's going to be cashless.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, so actually we are doing ahole an entire ticket
lists draw what we're growing this year. We have you
can go up to any one of our booths and
pay by card. Okay, And if you don't have a
card and you have cash, well we have reverse ATMs
that you'll be able to feed the machines the cash
(09:51):
and it will produce a card. Now there is a
small fee on there, so I would say overfeed the
machine and not underfeed it. But we will be able
to use that card anywhere outside of festival, so you're
not stuck with it. Gone are the years where you
have two tickets left and you're trying to figure.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Out what you can buy.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Now you can go ahead, buy what you need, still
leave the festival, use the card and keep going.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So it makes a lot of sense. It really does
make it so much easier for everybody. Absolutely, it's all
for your convenience and for your enjoyment so that you
can focus on having fun or eating food or listening
to great music or whatever you want to do.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
True, there's nowhere that you can go for nine days
of fun and excitement and concerts for twenty dollars. Yeah,
that's getting back to those calls where you know they
had the commercial where one dollar what can one.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Dollar get you? All at festival?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That can get you a lot of things if you
expand it out and especially come in for all nine days.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yes, indeed, and families, you know, just come on out,
bring the whole family, you know. Absolutely, Let's take a
quick break and when we'll come back, we'll have more
of our conversation with Brianna Monks, CEO of Wichita Festivals
and Alan Howarder. He is wind Wagon Smith number fifty one.
We're talking Riverfest twenty twenty five. This is Wichita Weekend.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Don't miss your chance to run the most anticipated race
of the year, The Fidelity Bank River Run, is back
May thirty. First register today for the Marriott International CEC
ten K do Old Foods, Katie Partridge five k and
Wheelchair Race Lane Enterprises, Todd Trot or the one Mile
Shields Family Fun Run. Compete as an individual or on
a team. Sign up today at Wichita Riverfest dot Com.
(11:34):
Registration closes May twenty eighth, so get your Fidelity Bank
River Run registration and at Wichita Riverfest dot co.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Brianna Monk, CEO of Wichita Festivals and Alan Howarder he
is wind Wagon smith number fifty one for the twenty
twenty five Wichita River Festival. Brianna, Before our break, we
were talking about things for families to do. What about
Family Day?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Sunday is Family Funday and we have a plethora of
activities going on that day. You could probably find anywhere
from twenty to twenty five different activities and even end
in night with Movie Night, and we have an awesome
movie that we'll be showing. So we have the Children's
Entrepreneurship Network where we'll have our little entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That are lining Douglas there and coming.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Out to just experience what entrepreneurship feels like at a
young age. We have so many different things and so
many family oriented type of activities like I said, we
can't wait.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Okay, would it be smart if I was going to
bring my family down there to study up a little bit,
to kind of get a plan for the day each
day that I go. I mean, when I go to
the website, how would.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
I do that?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Absolutely, going to the website is ideal.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
We do have a guide that comes with your button,
but sometimes everything doesn't fit.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
On one page.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So going online to Riverfest dot com, you'll be able
to see our daily activities, and we will also have
that on billboards around town where you'll be able to
see our daily activity, and then with our media partners.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You won't be able to miss it. No, it'll be
right there.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
No excuses, people, no excuses, you just.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Got to come. Let me ask wind Wagon Smith here, Admiral,
what's your personal favorite Riverfest event? What do you like
to do the best?
Speaker 4 (13:17):
I would probably say right now given what we've got,
because some of my favorites are no longer part of
the festival. But I've always looked forward to the ice
cream social on Wednesday night where you get with your button,
you get a huge bowl of ice cream. And back
in the days last year and before when I was
(13:39):
a purple shirt, one of our committee members would make brownies,
so we would take a brownie out and stick it
in the bottom of our ice cream bowl and have
them put ice cream on top, only to have other
festival goers say, where did you get the brownie? I
didn't get a brownie in mine? And we'd say, go
(13:59):
see if you can. Fine Jeane, she might have a
few little.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Don't find her. Don't go find her.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Man, Is that that's something I'm telling you.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
I'm salivating right now because now I want a brownie Sunday.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
You know, I'll tell you what I did is Cajun food.
Oh the food night, Yes, that bread pudding to die for.
I know, goosebumps thinking about it. But the but the
food is wonderful and this and you can get served
so quick and oh man.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
It's worth it. It's worth coming out.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's worth experiencing that and this being in the crowd
with a bowl of either jumbalaya or at tuffe or
whatever's on the menu, you know, and then ending it
with that bread pudding chef's kiss.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Yes, indeed, and that is a Thursday right usually? Okay, yeah, well,
you know, if you have never been a part of Riverfest,
you must. You owe it to yourself and your family
to come check it out. If you've been before, we
know you're going to be back. Absolutely, just don't miss it.
It's right after the kids are out of school by then, right,
(15:10):
That's that's how those dates work. So it's May thirtieth
through June seventh. If you're an online person, you can
go to Riverfest dot com and learn more about it.
You can also remember to pick up a river Festival
button next time you're at quick trip. Absolutely, and everybody
in witch doesn't quick trip for sure.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And when it's all set at the end of the night,
we have three different nights that we will have fireworks.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Very exciting.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
The commentary on it, it's going to be exciting and
I can't wait for everyone to see the new fireworks
that we have going on in a new lineup for it.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
New fireworks.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yes, every year we have a new design of fireworks.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Oh and new.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Music that go out with it and everything. So it
is worth it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
So what nights are fireworks nights?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
First Friday, second Saturday, and Wednesday.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
A podcast on that, okay for the fireworks, for the fireworks,
So if you're near Riverfest on those nights by all means,
hang around a little bit later, wait for it to
get dark, and you will be richly rewarded with state
of the fireworks. Correct, all right, Alan Holewarder wind Wagon
Smith fifty one, Brionna Monks, CEO of Wichita Festivals, Incorporated,
(16:22):
thanks so much for being with us today and Wichita Weekend.
What else can you add in terms of an invitation?
Is there any other?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Don't be late?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
We are well open past eight, Okay, come early, plan
to stay late, enjoy the concerts and enjoy the activities,
and enjoy being a part of history every year at Riverfest.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Brionna Monk and Alan Howard, thank you so much for
being with us today on Wichita Weekend. Get those buttons
at quick Trip and other locations, and check out the
website at Riverfest dot com and join us for the
fifty third Wichita Riverfest May thirtieth through June seventh. This
has been the Wichita Weekend podcast produced by iHeartRadio Wichita,
This is the Wichita Weekend Podcast from iHeartRadio Stations ninety
seven point nine, B ninety eight, one oh two to one,
The Bowl Channel nine six three, and All one oh
seven three. I'm your host, Don Guidas, Thanks for joining us.
Welcome to the Wichita Weekend Podcast. And you know, it's
that time of year when we're all thinking Riverfest and
(00:23):
it's so exciting to have our guests in the studio
with us today. From the fifty third annual Wichita Riverfest
is going to be happening twenty twenty five. We've got
the dates of May thirtieth through June seventh, and our
guests are Brianna Monk. Our guests are Brianna Monk, she's
the CEO of Wichita Festivals, Incorporated. And Alan Howarder he
(00:47):
is wind Wagon Smith number fifty one. Welcome, Alan, good morning,
Thank you. It's good to have you both here in
the studio. Absolutely, you guys excited for Riverfest.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, we have so much lined up that we are
just excited to get everything started and to see all
the smiling faces.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
And this is the time of year when everybody's like
in full battle mode, right because you're covering this that
every other activity that's going to happen. Let's welcome people
back to Riverfest.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
One thing I'm excited to see is all of the concerts,
the lineups, the family fun days, just all of the
river activities that we have going on. We are so
excited to welcome everyone back and to bring something bigger
and brighter than ever.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
All Right, once you throw out a couple bullet points
at me, you.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Know, sure, sure, So basically a couple of our concert
lineups we have here. We have Ever Clear coming to town,
Paramount flow Rider, Alan Stone, and absolutely on Military Night,
mister Jamie Johnson.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
That's going to be big.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It's going to be big.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
He is very, very popular in this part of the country,
so it's going to be a huge river Fest. And
of course at every event we're going to have Windwagon
smithing in the either lurking in the shadows or coming
right up to the forefront and making sure that everybody's
having a good time. How did you get selected to
(02:18):
be wind Wagon this year, Alan.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well, it's a long story. I think part of it
is due to my forty plus years in volunteering as
a individual in the food court in charge of the
ticket sellers. I spent a total of twelve years on
the Board of Directors. One of my Purple Shirt committee
(02:41):
members had submitted my name as a potential admiral person
for about the last seven or eight years, and it
was to no avail. Nothing ever came of it. She
inquired this year, should I do it again? And I
told her, to be honest, no, because is I possibly
(03:01):
be eyeing retirement next year and have more time. Little
did I know that if you've been submitted in the past,
you're in consideration in the future. And a committee of
individuals meet and take those applications and determine what their
top four or five are, and then they submit them
to the group which are the past admirals. They're known
(03:25):
as the Pause Committee Past Admiral Windwagon Smith's and they
make the selection. And normally that selection happens in the
month of December. December came and went. I thought, no
big deal. I told her not to submit my name.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
You thought you were safe, not at all, You thought
you were in the clear.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And I got some very strange phone calls in January
that made no sense to me whatsoever. But I knew
that December had come and gone there you get. So
I didn't worry about it. And the day that I
was supposed to meet the Pause, little did I know
I was going to meet the Pause. I stood them up.
(04:09):
My boss came in town and we had a meeting
and I had to cancel the meeting with the Pause.
And later when I ended up calling the former admiral
that had contacted me, and he sent me a picture
of about twenty people and they were all past Admiral
(04:31):
Windwagon Smiths, and I thought, oh my god, it's going
to happen. And so when I walked in the room,
the first thing I heard after they clapped was You're
never going to live this down. You stood us up.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well, soon you will be a member of Pause your
own self. Absolutely, and then you can you'll have the
secret handshake down and you can treat the next at
wind Wagon Smith. So absolutely a similar greeting and welcome. Now,
before I forget to mention, one of the responsibilities for
(05:10):
wind Wagon Smith is you're kind of heading up all
your schooner mates, are you not? You're you're the boss
of the schooner mates.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Well, I don't know if I'm the boss. Sometimes I
think maybe they're bossing me or.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Okay, somebody's bossing somebody there.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
But I have a group. There's twenty three this year.
They are juniors in high school from the Wichita schools
and surrounding communities. These kids are awesome. They're energetic, they're
hilarious at times, and they're going to make my job
(05:46):
pretty dang easy. Can I share a little bit. I've
done the river run a few years and it's really
fun to watch the schooner mates. At seven o'clock or
whatever you know, o dark thirty in the morning on
a Saturday, they're non stop dancing. They dance the entire
They're dancing when you get there, they're dancing when you leave.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
They never stop.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
They're not going to change their habits this year.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
They might get you involved there, Allen. You might perhaps.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Ask if I know certain dances, and I said, you're
going to have to teach me.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Well, we'll keep an eye on you.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Don't lose any sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You know. I've grown up in Wichita, so I remember
way way back in the days of Wichitennial, and I
think back in over the years and how this event
has grown to become such a spectacular multicultural community thing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yes, and I'm so glad that you said that, because
we have Fiesa del Rio it is. It started smaller
and it has grown substantially and just Fiesa del Rio alone,
it brings the excitement, it brings the culture. It just
brings a wave of entertainment and love and respect for
the Hispanic culture to festival. Even this year, we have
(07:02):
this awesome band called Ladora and mind you, I'm just
gonna roll that off of there.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
You're really good with Spanish. Just a wee bit, You're
really good.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Well yeah, so that's that's exciting times though for our community. Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, between them, and we also have the Lion Dancers,
which is bringing in the Asian community and the culture.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
We are really.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Trying to expand the the cultural footprint of festival and
what better way to do that than to just engulf
yourself with it.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, so, uh you know, just come
on out and get involved. Now for those that remember
back in past years of the festival, we have the
button yes, and we've so we've already had the poster contest, right, yes,
posters up. The posters done.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Terry Toomey one and it is amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Okay, all right, so we see the poster. Now where
do we see.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
It so you're able to see that.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
We will have that at festival, We will have that
at several events and interviews that we are doing around town,
and it can always be present at wichitaf Festival's office
right on.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, we have so.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Many different places as well as you can see things
online and just many many avenues to be able to
just see it right, and.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Of course you'll see it when you go to buy
your button. Yes, if you stop buy a Quick Trip location.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
For example, Yes, yes, buttons are on sale at area
Quick Trips. They are twenty dollars for adults, ten dollars
for kids and they are selling fast, so make sure
that you get your button now.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Have you ever run out of buttons?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
We have come close to running out of buttons, And
there are some years that are always better than others.
And this year we have early bird that went on
which made the adult button fifteen dollars. And when I
tell you we had that online, you can actually pick
that up in office. We our heads were spinning the
way that it was moving out of the office, so
(09:06):
we said, you know what, have at it.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That just means more people coming to festival.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So listeners don't hesitate, get out there and get them now,
that's right, get them now. Not saying they're going to
run away, but we just.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
We might keep a feedback for you, but not many.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Sure that you have yours. And then I think we
may have touched a little bit about that. When you
get within the festival for food and drink and other things,
it's going to be cashless.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, so actually we are doing ahole an entire ticket
lists draw what we're growing this year. We have you
can go up to any one of our booths and
pay by card. Okay, And if you don't have a
card and you have cash, well we have reverse ATMs
that you'll be able to feed the machines the cash
(09:51):
and it will produce a card. Now there is a
small fee on there, so I would say overfeed the
machine and not underfeed it. But we will be able
to use that card anywhere outside of festival, so you're
not stuck with it. Gone are the years where you
have two tickets left and you're trying to figure.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Out what you can buy.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Now you can go ahead, buy what you need, still
leave the festival, use the card and keep going.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So it makes a lot of sense. It really does
make it so much easier for everybody. Absolutely, it's all
for your convenience and for your enjoyment so that you
can focus on having fun or eating food or listening
to great music or whatever you want to do.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
True, there's nowhere that you can go for nine days
of fun and excitement and concerts for twenty dollars. Yeah,
that's getting back to those calls where you know they
had the commercial where one dollar what can one.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Dollar get you? All at festival?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That can get you a lot of things if you
expand it out and especially come in for all nine days.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yes, indeed, and families, you know, just come on out,
bring the whole family, you know. Absolutely, Let's take a
quick break and when we'll come back, we'll have more
of our conversation with Brianna Monks, CEO of Wichita Festivals
and Alan Howarder. He is wind Wagon Smith number fifty one.
We're talking Riverfest twenty twenty five. This is Wichita Weekend.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Don't miss your chance to run the most anticipated race
of the year, The Fidelity Bank River Run, is back
May thirty. First register today for the Marriott International CEC
ten K do Old Foods, Katie Partridge five k and
Wheelchair Race Lane Enterprises, Todd Trot or the one Mile
Shields Family Fun Run. Compete as an individual or on
a team. Sign up today at Wichita Riverfest dot Com.
(11:34):
Registration closes May twenty eighth, so get your Fidelity Bank
River Run registration and at Wichita Riverfest dot co.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Brianna Monk, CEO of Wichita Festivals and Alan Howarder he
is wind Wagon smith number fifty one for the twenty
twenty five Wichita River Festival. Brianna, Before our break, we
were talking about things for families to do. What about
Family Day?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Sunday is Family Funday and we have a plethora of
activities going on that day. You could probably find anywhere
from twenty to twenty five different activities and even end
in night with Movie Night, and we have an awesome
movie that we'll be showing. So we have the Children's
Entrepreneurship Network where we'll have our little entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That are lining Douglas there and coming.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Out to just experience what entrepreneurship feels like at a
young age. We have so many different things and so
many family oriented type of activities like I said, we
can't wait.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Okay, would it be smart if I was going to
bring my family down there to study up a little bit,
to kind of get a plan for the day each
day that I go. I mean, when I go to
the website, how would.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
I do that?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Absolutely, going to the website is ideal.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
We do have a guide that comes with your button,
but sometimes everything doesn't fit.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
On one page.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So going online to Riverfest dot com, you'll be able
to see our daily activities, and we will also have
that on billboards around town where you'll be able to
see our daily activity, and then with our media partners.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You won't be able to miss it. No, it'll be
right there.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
No excuses, people, no excuses, you just.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Got to come. Let me ask wind Wagon Smith here, Admiral,
what's your personal favorite Riverfest event? What do you like
to do the best?
Speaker 4 (13:17):
I would probably say right now given what we've got,
because some of my favorites are no longer part of
the festival. But I've always looked forward to the ice
cream social on Wednesday night where you get with your button,
you get a huge bowl of ice cream. And back
in the days last year and before when I was
(13:39):
a purple shirt, one of our committee members would make brownies,
so we would take a brownie out and stick it
in the bottom of our ice cream bowl and have
them put ice cream on top, only to have other
festival goers say, where did you get the brownie? I
didn't get a brownie in mine? And we'd say, go
(13:59):
see if you can. Fine Jeane, she might have a
few little.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Don't find her. Don't go find her.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Man, Is that that's something I'm telling you.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
I'm salivating right now because now I want a brownie Sunday.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
You know, I'll tell you what I did is Cajun food.
Oh the food night, Yes, that bread pudding to die for.
I know, goosebumps thinking about it. But the but the
food is wonderful and this and you can get served
so quick and oh man.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
It's worth it. It's worth coming out.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's worth experiencing that and this being in the crowd
with a bowl of either jumbalaya or at tuffe or
whatever's on the menu, you know, and then ending it
with that bread pudding chef's kiss.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Yes, indeed, and that is a Thursday right usually? Okay, yeah, well,
you know, if you have never been a part of Riverfest,
you must. You owe it to yourself and your family
to come check it out. If you've been before, we
know you're going to be back. Absolutely, just don't miss it.
It's right after the kids are out of school by then, right,
(15:10):
That's that's how those dates work. So it's May thirtieth
through June seventh. If you're an online person, you can
go to Riverfest dot com and learn more about it.
You can also remember to pick up a river Festival
button next time you're at quick trip. Absolutely, and everybody
in witch doesn't quick trip for sure.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And when it's all set at the end of the night,
we have three different nights that we will have fireworks.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Very exciting.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
The commentary on it, it's going to be exciting and
I can't wait for everyone to see the new fireworks
that we have going on in a new lineup for it.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
New fireworks.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yes, every year we have a new design of fireworks.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Oh and new.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Music that go out with it and everything. So it
is worth it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
So what nights are fireworks nights?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
First Friday, second Saturday, and Wednesday.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
A podcast on that, okay for the fireworks, for the fireworks,
So if you're near Riverfest on those nights by all means,
hang around a little bit later, wait for it to
get dark, and you will be richly rewarded with state
of the fireworks. Correct, all right, Alan Holewarder wind Wagon
Smith fifty one, Brionna Monks, CEO of Wichita Festivals, Incorporated,
(16:22):
thanks so much for being with us today and Wichita Weekend.
What else can you add in terms of an invitation?
Is there any other?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Don't be late?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
We are well open past eight, Okay, come early, plan
to stay late, enjoy the concerts and enjoy the activities,
and enjoy being a part of history every year at Riverfest.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Brionna Monk and Alan Howard, thank you so much for
being with us today on Wichita Weekend. Get those buttons
at quick Trip and other locations, and check out the
website at Riverfest dot com and join us for the
fifty third Wichita Riverfest May thirtieth through June seventh. This
has been the Wichita Weekend podcast produced by iHeartRadio Wichita,
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