Who knew that every year Junction City, Kansas became a festival town? I sure didn't.
Okay, Fort Riley doesn't have a whole lot popping around it on the regular. So I was surprised to learn that every Independence Day the city of Junction City hosts a decent sized carnival at Heritage Park with rides, games, vendors, and even live music.
I first learned of this carnival/festival by word of mouth. I honestly didn't think it'd be a big deal until I saw them setting up for it...
This year, the festival opened on Friday, June 29th and concludes on the night of July 4th; a Wednesday. That's a pretty long festival for a small military town, if you ask me!
On Saturday June 30th, we headed out of the house in the evening hours to see what it was all about. I can't lie, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, Sundown Salute isn't the biggest carnival I have ever attended, but it was neato to walk the very same closed down streets that I drive on every day to run my errands. I have never lived in a place that held it's own carnival before, so I found it pretty darn amusing.
***However, I did grow up in Tempe, AZ which happened to host the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl each year (before the Glendale stadium was built after I moved away), but as locals we always avoided the area if we could help it.
Maybe I'm crazy, but there is a difference between a ginormous college football game and a hometown carnival. Totally different crowds, y'all.
When we arrived to the Sundown Salute, I could hear country music wailing in the background. The song was catchy and familiar, though I don't know a whole lot about country music that's new (ask me about Cash, Jennings, and Conway Twitty and you'll get a different story). We walked around the vendor area finding typical things we've seen at other fairs and carnivals: Shirts, specialty clothing, handmade crafts (jewelry, dream catchers, signs, etc,) as well as local businesses selling their brand and products.
There were a lot of food vendors, too. Greek food, lemonade slushies, hot dogs, funnel cakes, pulled pork, bbq ribs. Just about every carnival food you can imagine was there, though you wouldn't find the same thing over and over: One stand per type of food is what I saw.
As for rides, the tickets were $3.50 per, but the nice thing is that each ride was one ticket, except for one specialty ride that required two tickets. On top of rides, they had a few carnival games where prizes were awarded to the player that could beat the rigged system. The game required tokens from a machine and each token cost $1. I didn't not how much each game averaged in cost, though.
I think the thrill of the Junction City Sundown Salute is more so about the atmosphere, not so much what's offered to do, see and buy. The vibe of the city and her people crawling out of the woodwork to be there was pretty neat to experience. We actually went back on Tuesday night to drop my teen daughter off so she could meet up with friends. I found myself wandering around again, though nothing except the live music was different than our visit on Saturday night. Just being there was fun enough.
Tips for visiting the Junction City Sundown Salute:
Okay, Fort Riley doesn't have a whole lot popping around it on the regular. So I was surprised to learn that every Independence Day the city of Junction City hosts a decent sized carnival at Heritage Park with rides, games, vendors, and even live music.
I first learned of this carnival/festival by word of mouth. I honestly didn't think it'd be a big deal until I saw them setting up for it...
This year, the festival opened on Friday, June 29th and concludes on the night of July 4th; a Wednesday. That's a pretty long festival for a small military town, if you ask me!
On Saturday June 30th, we headed out of the house in the evening hours to see what it was all about. I can't lie, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, Sundown Salute isn't the biggest carnival I have ever attended, but it was neato to walk the very same closed down streets that I drive on every day to run my errands. I have never lived in a place that held it's own carnival before, so I found it pretty darn amusing.
***However, I did grow up in Tempe, AZ which happened to host the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl each year (before the Glendale stadium was built after I moved away), but as locals we always avoided the area if we could help it.
Maybe I'm crazy, but there is a difference between a ginormous college football game and a hometown carnival. Totally different crowds, y'all.
When we arrived to the Sundown Salute, I could hear country music wailing in the background. The song was catchy and familiar, though I don't know a whole lot about country music that's new (ask me about Cash, Jennings, and Conway Twitty and you'll get a different story). We walked around the vendor area finding typical things we've seen at other fairs and carnivals: Shirts, specialty clothing, handmade crafts (jewelry, dream catchers, signs, etc,) as well as local businesses selling their brand and products.
There were a lot of food vendors, too. Greek food, lemonade slushies, hot dogs, funnel cakes, pulled pork, bbq ribs. Just about every carnival food you can imagine was there, though you wouldn't find the same thing over and over: One stand per type of food is what I saw.
As for rides, the tickets were $3.50 per, but the nice thing is that each ride was one ticket, except for one specialty ride that required two tickets. On top of rides, they had a few carnival games where prizes were awarded to the player that could beat the rigged system. The game required tokens from a machine and each token cost $1. I didn't not how much each game averaged in cost, though.
I think the thrill of the Junction City Sundown Salute is more so about the atmosphere, not so much what's offered to do, see and buy. The vibe of the city and her people crawling out of the woodwork to be there was pretty neat to experience. We actually went back on Tuesday night to drop my teen daughter off so she could meet up with friends. I found myself wandering around again, though nothing except the live music was different than our visit on Saturday night. Just being there was fun enough.
Tips for visiting the Junction City Sundown Salute:
- The festival is FREE admission and so is the parking. Parking is not limited to a specific area. We parked on a side street near the post office on both nights and had zero issues getting in and out, yet were right up on the festival without having to walk far. Just make sure when you park it's not at a business with signs posted about "No event parking" and you're golden.
- The second night we attended, we noticed signs that said "No coolers and no dogs". We didn't notice this on the first evening we visited. Maybe we failed to see it, or maybe it wasn't a thing until later?
- You can bring camping chairs to enjoy the live music on the grass.
- There are quite a few fast food restaurants within walking distance should you decide that carnival food is too pricey for you. We actually didn't visit the festival until after our family's dinner hours both nights. No food was required for us.
- Be aware that Junction City teenagers are EVERYWHERE wandering and loitering about. They're harmless unless provoked, but generally congregating together and talking shit about another group of teenagers. Ah, to be young again!
- If you plan to enjoy rides and games, you will need to bring some money. ATM machines are on the grounds for your spending convenience.
- No fireworks are permitted to be used on the grounds (or in any other city/government owned public area in Geary county). However, a large fireworks display occurs at 10pm on July Fourth in Heritage Park and is free.
Well, that's all for now. I had fun wandering this little city I live in and experiencing what it has to offer for the July holiday! Again, I was surprised it did anything at all considering when I lived in Fort Campbell (our duty station before OCONUS in Germany) they didn't host an Independence Day carnival in neighboring cities or on post, but only a fireworks display. Having a way to celebrate the holiday outside of our own front lawn was quite neat and I look forward to next year!
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