By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The weather conditions were not great and there were staff members sick at the most recent Great Bend City Council meeting when the council was scheduled to discuss the future of a pair of outdoor festivals and Great Bend Airfest. The work session has been rescheduled for the meeting on Monday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Both June Jaunt and Party in the Park bring live music, games, food vendors and entertainment, but both have seen declining numbers attend.
Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes said she will make suggestions to the council on how those festivals are carried out going forward.
"I can't say what's going to be new or different, but I will say the June Jaunt weekend is going to stay but it might look different," said Hayes. "I still have it on all the calendars. It works for Great Bend as the kickoff to summer fun. It's still in the budget for 2025. We're still planning to do something, I just might change it depending on what the city council decides."
Great Bend Airfest started in 2012 and is hosted every three years with multiple airshows from historic warbirds and other planes of interest. With poor weather at this past September’s event, there were less than 5,000 patrons in attendance. The 2021 Airfest had just under 9,000 attend.