The Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair takes place on Saturday, September 25 in and around the Smoky Hill Museum at 211 W. Iron Avenue in downtown Salina. The Street Fair has no entry cost and is a day to celebrate the Old West with a chili cook-off, music, activities, food vendors and, of course, the museum itself.
The Museum staff are striving to bring more history elements to all aspects of the day so this year the event will shift entirely to an “Old West” format.
The Old West family fun starts with a parade down Santa Fe at 10:00 am. Then down and around the Museum at 211 W Iron Avenue there will be Old West re-enactors roaming throughout the day, horseshoe tossing, roping, archery, blacksmithing, chili cook-off, free crafts to-go, caricaturists, and Color Me Crazy airbrush tattoos.
The public tasting and voting for the chili cook-off will be from 12 noon – 1:30 pm and it only costs $2 to sample chili from six booths. The People’s Choice award and best decorated booth winners will be announced at 2:00 pm on the main stage.
This year’s entertainment also has the Old West theme. The schedule for the day:
11:00 am Blue & Gray Brass, Traditional American Patriotic Music
12:00 noon Jeff Davidson, western music highlighting western history
1:00 pm Serenity Stringband, blend of five veteran musicians based at the north end of the Chisholm Trail in Abilene
2:15 pm Kitty Hamilton, historical performer, as Kittie Hays of the Santa Fe Road
3:00 pm Blue & Gray Brass
The museum gallery is open 10 am – 5 pm for everyone to enjoy the special exhibit, The Crossroads. In addition, there is the popular hands-on interactive exhibit, The Curiosity Shop. For safety purposes, FREE timed-tickets will be handed out that day on the Museum landing for entry into the Museum, allowing no more than 25 people in every 20 minutes.
With the new guidelines from the KDHE about mass gatherings of 500 or more people, Museum staff have identified and implemented several changes to minimize risk to attendees without creating a highly restrictive atmosphere. It is strongly encouraged that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, practice social distancing and mask-wearing. “Most importantly,” says Susan Hawksworth, Museum Director, “we want this to be a safe event for the community. The decision to attend and participate in the Street Fair rests with each individual. Understanding the risks of participation is a personal decision. We hope each attendee will make responsible choices while considering themselves, their family, and the community.”
Go to https://www.smokyhillmuseum.org/street-fair/safety-considerations.html for a list of changes.
Thanks to sponsorships from many dedicated Salina residents and businesses, there is no cost to attend this day of celebration. The museum especially wishes to thank the following generous businesses and organizations for their sponsorship: City of Salina, Friends of the Museum, Salina Downtown Inc., Roy & Donice Applequist, Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc., Isis Shriners, Accessible Home Care, LLC, Edward Jones, Equity Bank, Express Employment, H&R Block, KAKE, KSAL, KSN, KWCH, KWU academic schools, KWU Women’s Basketball Team, OCCK, Precision Electrical Contractors, LLC, Salina Family HealthCare, and Salina Ortho.
Watch the museum website, www.smokyhillmuseum.org, for the most up-to-date information and come celebrate autumn on September 25 at the Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair.
