The Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair takes place on Saturday, September 23 in and around the Smoky Hill Museum at 211 W. Iron Avenue in downtown Salina. The Street Fair has no entry cost and is a day to celebrate the Old West with a chili cook-off, music, activities, food vendors and, of course, the museum itself.
The Old West family fun starts with a parade down Santa Fe at 10:00 am. Then down and around the Museum at 211 W Iron Avenue, there will be an Old West chuck wagon, horseshoe tossing, roping, archery, chili cook-off, historic demonstrators, free make-and-take crafts, caricaturists, Color Me Crazy airbrush tattoos and more.
The public tasting and voting for the chili cook-off will be from 12 noon – 1:30 pm and it only costs $2 to sample chili from eight booths. The People’s Choice award and best decorated booth winners will be announced at 2:00 pm on the main stage.
Speaking of the main stage, this year’s entertainment has all new, soon-to-be favorites. The schedule for the day:
11:00 am Geff & Dawn Dawson
12:00 noon Ghost Town Revival
1:00 pm Jaron Bell
2:00 pm Chili Cook-off Winners Announced
2:15 pm Nick Taylor
3:00 pm Geff & Dawn Dawson
Geff & Dawn Dawson are from Alma, Kansas, Geff and Dawn bring the best of cowboy western entertainment with original western music and cowboy comedy. They bring the audience into their cowboy world with lots of laughter and fun. They are truly unique to the western entertainment industry.
Ghost Town Revival is a Salina based rock and blues band playing originals and favorite hits from yesterday and today. With their own twist of things, Jim, Mikey, Brent, Dave, and Chris will rock the house and keep your head bobbing to the beat!
Jaron Bell’s country music and comedy is all rolled up in one dad bod bundle! This Salinan’s high-energy entertainment has over 3.5 million views on Instagram Reels in 2023 alone. He has 8,000+ YouTube subscribers and over 60,000 monthly Facebook reach.
Nick Taylor is a local up and coming country artist. His high energy and passion for music have made him a fan favorite in the local music scene. With a gravelly voice as well as an ability to wail out heartbreak, he brings a whole new take on modern & 90s country favorites.
The museum gallery is open 10 am – 5 pm for everyone to enjoy the special exhibit, Fire: Embers of Discovery. In addition, there is the popular hands-on interactive exhibit, The Curiosity Shop. The Museum Store is also open with selections of Kansas-made items and locally made artwork.
Thanks to sponsorships from many dedicated Salina residents and businesses, there is no cost to attend this day of celebration. The museum especially wishes to thank the following generous individuals, businesses and organizations for their sponsorship: City of Salina; Friends of the Museum; Roy & Donice Applequist – GSCF Applequist Fund and Renaissance Café; Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc.; Nex-Tech LLC.; Salina Regional Health Foundation; Salina Ortho; Eaglecrest Retirement Community; Salina Downtown Inc.; Kansas Wesleyan University; H&R Block; OCCK; Marshall Motor Company; Salina Scale Sales and Services, Inc.; KAKE; KSAL; KSN; Eagle Communications and KWCH.
Watch the museum website, www.smokyhillmuseum.org, for the most up-to-date information and come celebrate autumn on September 23 at the Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair.