It was a breeze, in more ways than one, on Saturday at the Smoky Hill River Festival.

The trend of large crowds continued Saturday at the Smoky Hill River Festival.

According to Salina Arts and Humanities, 22,519 people on Saturday passed through the gates and into Oakdale Park.

Though heat was not a factor, the wind was. With gusty wind throughout the day, over 45 mph at times, organizers helped booths and vendors keep things tied down. With severe storms forecast for the overnight hours, they prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Though there was severe weather late Saturday night into early Sunday, it came after the festival had closed for the night and did not effect any of the events or entertainment.

The large crowd during the day enjoyed the music and arts, and munched on wide variety of unique food, including anything and everything fried and on a stick, toasted ravioli, a wide variety of seafood, Indian tacos, roasted ears of corn, funnel cakes and much much more.

Most stuck around for Saturday night’s featured act, the laid-back vibe of Simplified. The island rock band brought a beach party to Kansas with their signature sound of rock and reggae to the delight of the large crowd.

A final full day of festival fun is planned Sunday. The Salina Youth Symphony will close thing out at 4:00, with the final act on the Eric Stein Stage.