Riverfest

City of Wichita officials said high flows have left the Arkansas River unsafe for public use due to concerns about debris and high currents. During the annual Wichita River Festival, which starts today, the City of Wichita will display colored flags at the Douglas and Lewis Street bridges to inform festivalgoers about river-water quality and flow based on daily testing. The City has established three advisory levels based on river flows and testing results. A blue flag signifies the river is fine for recreational activities.

A familiar cuisine is back at Riverfest, but it's not sponsored by the same organization. For more than 25 years, Goodwill Industries sponsored the Cajun Food Fest, but this year, that's not the case. Riverfest, instead, is putting on it's own version of the Cajun Food Festival. In years past, the Cajun Food Festival was sponsored by Goodwill and it served as fundraiser for the charity. According to officials with Goodwill, Riverfest offered to move the Fest to Waterwalk Plaza, but Goodwill did not like the location.  "When we looked at it and realized it was being marketed as an upscale environment and an after work crowd, we didn't feel like it was a fit for the Cajun Food Fest," said Gayle Goetz, of Goodwill Industries.

It's day one of the biggest annual part in Wichita. The 41st Annual River Festival kicks off today and runs through next weeek.  One important note, the Koch Twilight Pops concert set for tonight has been moved inside Century II.  The show will still begin at 8:30 and a RiverFest button is required for admission. Tonight's other activities like the Sundown Parade and the Capitol Federal Fireworks will still take place as scheduled. Check out River Festival Photos, Schedules and Much More Riverfest begins in Wichita.

What do YOU want to see at the Wichita River Festival next year? Festival organizers want to hear your ideas. Each year, the week-long Riverfest includes dozens of individual events. “Getting feedback from the community about the type of events they'd like to have in Riverfest is an important component of our planning process,” noted Janet Wright, President/CEO in a press release. “We're always open to new ideas as well as the possibility of bringing back traditional events with an updated twist.

Wichita's Riverfestival isn't just getting a new look, but new buttons to mark the celebrations this year. For the first time in the event's 42-year history, a $3 child button will be offered for kids ages 6 to 12. Children 5 years old and younger get into the festival for free. Mary Beth Jarvis, Wichita Festival's president and CEO, said she hopes the changes encourage families to enjoy the festival together. "A family of five can now attend Riverfest for less than $20 on everyone's buttons," she said.

A popular exhibit at Riverfest is causing some people to protest. White tigers are on display, and some people feel the exhibit is inhumane. A protest will be held Saturday afternoon against it. "It's just inhumane, I just think it's wrong and they should do something about it," said Valerie Niblack who's organizing the protest. Click here for photos from the River Festival   "All the white tigers in the United States are severely inbred, many of them have severe birth defects, and many of them are actually still born.

It's a tradition in the Riverside area; residents help Mother Nature do a bit of spring cleaning. Volunteers pitch in at the 11th annual river clean-up at the Arkansas River. They spruced the place up by collecting garbage from the river and its banks. It's a part of the city wide earth day effort and part of the Riverfest preparations and Wichita officials say it's a great way to keep festival goers safe. The cleanup is registered with “American Rivers” as part of the National River Cleanup Initiative.

A man fears being arrested for driving drunk and makes what could turn out to be a deadly decision.  He jumped into the Little Arkansas River near Central and Waco, just after 10 p.m. Thursday.  He hasn't been seen since then. Police say they pulled the man over for not having his headlights on. They say the man ran from the officer just after failing a sobriety test. Once he was in the water, cops called for him to come back to shore. He refused, so they told him to grab onto a floating log. The recent rain caused the current of the river to flow faster than normal, which made it very difficult for the man to stay above water.

The nine-day party in downtown Wichita kicks off on Friday.  All this week, crews will be setting things up and making sure everything's ready for the Wichita River Festival. The food court is taking shape somewhere new this year, on the west side of Century II. Moving it is just one way organizers are making Riverfest more about the river, like with concerts on the floating stage and creating an entertainment area along the water, stretching from Douglas to Maple. "I grew up in Wichita and came with my family when I was little all the time," said Lindsay Bowling.

The 40th Annual Wichita River Festival is kicking-off its festivities this Friday which means that there will be plenty of fun things to do this weekend! It will be my first time going this year and I'm really looking forward to it! I will be going to different events all week and taking photos for our Fetchtoto.com photo gallery. I've provided a list of events that I will be attending and taking pictures at. Hopefully I will see you out there and can take your picture with my pal Toto!