River Festival Attendance Down

Organizers of the Wichita River Festival blame the economy, the weather, and their increased hard line on wearing River Festival buttons for the reduced attendance at this years Riverfest. It was estimated attendance this year was between 305,000 and 310,000, down from 385,000 at last years festival.

I hate to burst their bubble, but I believe there are also other reasons why people are not coming out for this annual event. What was once a fun family event has turned in to a Corporate pitch fest in recent years as the Festival organizers have also incrementally raised prices for the event. Now, don't get me wrong… the River Festival buttons are still a bargain at $5, but overall the atmosphere of the Festival has shifted from a family friendly one to more emphasize on money and commercialism with a strong Corporate identity campaign.

I believe another reason for the decline of the River Festival is the erosion of quality events. Again, I think this may be influenced by the Corporate sponsors being more interested in profits than family fun. I've even heard rumors that another of the flagship River Festival events, the BathTub Races, are slated for extinction.

I'm sad to see the demise of this once fun annual event, but until the organizers begin to get a clue about what Wichita citizens really want, it's not likely to improve in the near future.

attendance, bathtub races, commercialism, corporate identity, corporate sponsors, decline, family fun, wichita river festival