Great Bend Post
The biggest party of the summer begins this week. Three days of activities begin Thursday in Ellinwood as part of the 53rd annual After Harvest Festival. The event wraps up Saturday night with the big dance featuring the Llew Brown Band from 9 p.m. to midnight on Main Street.
This year’s festival begins Thursday morning with the Big Dreams of Treasure pool activity at the Ellinwood City Pool. The community barbecue begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening at the Wolf Park Bandshell with meals for $5 a plate. The event features a variety of activities in the park. A car show will take place at the same time, leading up to Cruise Night on the Bricks that begins at 8:30 p.m. Rice County Line will provide live music at American Legion Post 320 with no cover charge.
Activities resume Friday morning from 7-9 a.m. with the Community Breakfast Feed at the Wolf Park Bandshell. Family Fun Bingo begins at 6:30 p.m. at Ellinwood Grade School, and the Family Fun 5K Run and Walk begins at 7 p.m. Last Train to Juarez will provide the live music from 8 p.m. to midnight with no cover charge at 1st and Main.
Saturday is always the big finale of After Harvest Festival. The Fishing Derby at Wolf Pond and the co-ed softball tournament begin at 8 a.m. The After Harvest Festival Parade kicks off down Main Street at 10 a.m. Food trucks at 1st and Main open at 11, the same time Kansas Wetlands Education Center activities begin. The Wolf Park Bandshell will also feature a rock climbing wall, face painting, balloon animals, snow cones, and a dunk tank featuring the Ellinwood High School wrestling team.
The kids’ tractor pull and 3-on-3 basketball tournament begin at noon, followed by the cornhole tournament at 1 p.m., and the watermelon-eating contest at 1:15. The Ellinwood Fire Department’s annual Duck Run begins at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday evening includes the Beer Garden, sponsored by Kansas Sidewinders, M.C., from 7 p.m. to midnight. Ellinwood Underground Ghost Stories will take place at 7, 8, and 9 p.m. at 2nd and Main. The Historic Wolf Hotel will host a Comedy Night in its Underground Saloon at 8 p.m. Everything leads to the street dance at 9 p.m. featuring the Llew Brown Band. Admission is $10, cash only.