Golden Belt residents love summer bashes and this week has been one of the big ones. Saturday is the final day for the Ellinwood After Harvest Festival. Kansas Tourism calls Ellinwood’s bash “The biggest party of the summer!”
Things kicked off Thursday with kids’ activities and they’ll wrap up Saturday with a dance on Main Street from 9 p.m. to midnight. The Kansas Sidewinders Motorcycle Club will have a beer garden at 1st and Main from 7 p.m. to midnight.
There are many highlights at each year’s AHF. Some enjoy the children’s activities, some compete in contests or join the 5K, and some tour the library, the high school and Ellinwood’s historic tunnels. It is a time for family reunions and class reunions, with former EHS classes featured on floats in the big parade. Food, music and a fair atmosphere are part of the excitement. Kansas Tourism notes that the community itself is a treat for visitors, as Ellinwood’s Main Street is “known for its charming historic buildings and original brick streets.”
AHF themes over the years have celebrated the spirit of the Barton County community. In 2019, the Ellinwood Rotary Club, sponsors of the parade, chose the theme, “Small Town Strong.” In 2020, when the parade was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme was “Small Town Strong – Through it All.”
Now, it’s the 51st anniversary of the AHF celebration, the 50th parade on the brick streets of Ellinwood, and the theme is “Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future.”
There are other summer celebrations to come in Barton County, including Great Bend’s Party in the Park and Hoisington’s Labor Day Celebration, but this week the spotlight is on Ellinwood. Come check it out if you can.
