2022 FESTIVAL MEDALLION QUEST
WINNER CONFIRMED ON MAY 26
Salina Arts & Humanities announces that the winner
of the 2022 Festival Medallion Quest (FMQ) is Samantha Uhler.
Uhler waited in her car this morning, waiting for the clue to be
released. “Underfoot pattern” is the clue that led her to the location
with patterned bricks. At 7:32 am Uhler discovered the Medallion
under a yucca plant located in a brick-paved area at the southeast
corner of the Ohio Street overpass.
Uhler is no stranger to the
Festival Medallion Quest and had been
nearby with her family when the
Medallion was found as a bolt and nut
(2012), a bean pod (2013), and an arrow
on a sign (2014). This year she followed
the clues from home and with the Smoky
Hill River Festival Medallion Hunters
Facebook group until day seven with the
clue, “A state meets an ocean.” which
lead her to the intersection of Ohio &
Pacific. Her boyfriend, Isaac Beckman
was a partner in the search, as well as her
mother, Missy Slagle, who was with her
on FaceTime when the Medallion was found.
Uhler is the 16th winner of the Festival Medallion Quest that
was started in 2009 by the Smoky Hill River Festival. “The clues are
not always what they mean,” she said, reporting that she touched every
pole, bolt, and wood chip during her search. “I looked in Lakewood
Park near the Frisbee golf baskets and mural, and at Indian Rock Park
too… retracing my steps over and over.” She plans to use the cash prize
to purchase books for her senior year at Bethany College, where she
studies business administration.
The 2022 Quest took nearly nine days, clues were shared online
at festivalmedallionquest.com and posted outside the Eighth Street
Salina Arts & Humanities office doors. To view the full set of Festival
Medallion Quest clues, go to festivalmedallionquest.com and click on
the Clues page.
The 2022 Medallion is flat, approx. 2 inches in diameter, made
of metal, and shaped like paint splatter, with raw metal on one side and
a colorful rainbow pattern on the other. On Wednesday, May 25 Brad
Anderson found that the original Medallion had been lost in the
environment, likely because of the rain. It is promptly replaced with the
Medallion that Uhler found, but this time it was left without disguise of
organic matter.
The 2022 Quest winner receives a prize package of $1,000 in
cash and $2,000 in Gift Certificates to be used for shopping at the River
Festival 2022 Fine Art and Craft Show. Other prizes include four
Festival admission wristbands, a complimentary on-grounds VIP
parking pass, an invitation for four to the Thursday-evening
PREMIERE Art Patron party, and four River Festival 2022 T-shirts.
“The Festival Medallion Quest began as a way to bring families
together and out into the landscape to celebrate the arts in a different
way and to encourage patronage of the exhibiting artists.” said visual
arts coordinator, Joan Benefiel. Over the years families have searched
side by side, solved riddles, and endeavored to find the Medallion. It
marks the official countdown to the River Festival.
The Smoky Hill River Festival, now in its 46th year, is the
flagship event of Salina Arts & Humanities, a department of the City of
Salina. The River Festival draws many local residents and
out-of-town guests each year to Salina, to enjoy outdoor art
installations, the Fine Art and Craft Show, three stages of live
entertainment, the Artyopolis kid’s area, Festival food and more. The
River Festival generates approximately $3.5 million in revenue each
year, within the local community.
Advance-price, four-day Festival Wristbands are available until
late Tuesday, June 7 at about 40 Salina locations and in 18 other
regional cities. Children 11 and under get in FREE.
For more information on the Festival Medallion Quest or the
Smoky Hill River Festival, call 785-309-5770 or visit riverfestival.com