The community pride in this festival is remarkable! The atmosphere, attitude, personality surrounding the Festival is so positive - upbeat - like no other I have experienced.

- Cheryl Swartz, artist, West Milton, OH

ow just a year shy of the quarter-century mark, The Smoky Hill River Festival has truly become the artistic expression of our community identity. The Festival is our cultural icon - an event that is held as the shining example of Salina at its very best. In 1999 over 85,000 people immersed themselves in a rich mixture of performances, artwork, food, and Festival fun. And so much more . . . The Festival maintains its community presence through Festival Year 'Round Projects, bringing artist and audience together in programs that grow from, or come together at, the annual event. Even now, the Festival is building toward, and working out of, the twenty-fifth celebration to launch new initiatives in Public Art. The Smoky Hill River Festival will establish a new way to bring people together, while creating a design framework for the community that will shape our public places and improve our quality of life in the same way that it now creates a dynamic, ever-evolving presence. 1999 Festival Highlights: Bčla Fleck & The Flecktones - outside! Artist-in-Action projects - Jane Beatrice Wegscheider's "Butterfly Bridge"; The "S River Scroll" collaborative project from writer Lori Brack and sculptor Rich Bergen; Colby Smith's "Migration of the Prairie Creatures"; and Festival Favorite entertainers Campanas de America, Vargas Swing, and storyteller Paul Taylor.

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For further information, contact: Salina Arts and Humanities Commission P.O. Box 2181 • Salina, KS 67402-2181 phone (785) 826-7410 • fax (785) 826-7444 e-mail: sahc@salina.org