The 41st edition of the Smoky Hill River Festival wrapped up Sunday evening in Oakdale Park.

It was another successful weekend for everyone involved.

Over 100 performers and 130 artists made their way to Salina and brought lots of entertainment to festival goers.

Weather conditions stayed dry all weekend, however, festival goers had to battle windy and hot weather conditions all four days of the event.

Smoky Hill River Festival Executive Director, Brad Anderson, said that this year’s festival saw another great crowd, the unofficial numbers show a significant uptick when compared to last year’s festival.

Anderson tells KSAL News that 68,671 people unofficially attended this year’s Smoky Hill River Festival, an 18-percent increase from a year ago.

Anderson says that the Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s individual numbers were all up from a year ago, including the over 26,000 festival goers on Saturday alone. The official numbers will be released later this week.

Sunday was the final day of the event and featured the Salina Central High School Jazz Band, Truckstop Honeymoon, the Good Hearts, Ciera MacKenzie and the Brady Weston Band on the Eric Stein Stage.

Event goers also chose between a large selection of food from vendors across the country at this year’s festival. Many of the fan favorites were Gater Taters, Buffalo Burgers, a plethora of Chinese food options, Fried Lemonade and Fried Chicken on a Stick.

Dates for the 2018 and 42nd edition of the Smoky Hill River Festival have also been announced. The event will take place June 7-10, 2018.

2017 Smoky Hill River Festival Unofficial Attendance:
Thursday: 12,812
Friday: 19,430 (approx. +600 from 2016)
Saturday: 26,749 (approx. +5,000 from 2016)
Sunday: 9,680 (approx. +3,600 from 2016)
Total: 68,671 (approx. +10,000 from 2016)

Carl Hamilton, of Salina, prepares to dig in to “Fried Chicken on a Stick.”

Sunday’s festival goers flock under shady spots with hot temperatures in central Kansas.