Smoky Hill River Festival Buttons

 

I now own a complete collection of buttons from the Smoky Hill River Festival, after I purchased the remaining buttons online.

The Smoky Hill River Festival is an annual celebration of the arts in my hometown of Salina, Kansas, which features musical performances at Oakdale Park.

 

 

 

 

To better understand these buttons, let’s take a quick look at the history of the river festival.

In 1976, a downtown street fair was held in Salina to celebrate the bicentennial of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.

The event was so successful, plans were made to hold a similar celebration the following year.

 

 

In June 1977, the first Smoky Hill River Festival took place in Salina’s Oakdale Park.

The path of the Smoky Hill River meanders around the park.

Every year, patrons purchased buttons as their entry tickets to the festival.

Festival goers could also keep their button, whose design changed from year to year, as a commemorative keepsake.

 

 

The Smoky Hill River Festival was held every year from 1977 to 2019.

In 2020, the festival was canceled due to COVID-19.

The river festival returned in 2021, but the festival’s signature buttons did not.

Since 2021, festival organizers have sold wristbands, rather than buttons, as the entry tickets for the festival. 

 

 

That means river festival buttons were made for every year from 1977 to 2019, and I have managed to collect them all.

 

 

My grandmother kept her and my grandfather’s buttons from the years they attended the festival.

I inherited her collection after she died in 2020.

I also kept some of my own buttons from the festival.

 

 

I purchased buttons from vendors on eBay, both of which have interesting names for their online shops.

I purchased one button in September 2022 from Misterbeans’ Emporium.

In December 2023, I ordered the remaining buttons I needed from Just Sew Vintage. 

 

 

I now own buttons for each of the 43 years that buttons were created for the Smoky Hill River Festival.

 

 

I covered the Smoky Hill River Festival for the Salina Journal in 2018 and 2019.

I recorded a live performance by the Salina band Everyday Lights from the 2018 River Festival. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Early Years

 

These are the buttons from the first four years of the river festival. 

 

 

You can also see a 1977 button from the centennial celebration of Lemon, Missouri, my grandmother’s hometown.

 

 

 

The first river festival button was smaller than the ones used in subsequent years. 

 

 

 

 

The button from 1978 is the only button that doesn't include the year in its design. 

The designs from 1979 and 1980 are simple and pleasant. 

 

 

Here are three more buttons from my grandmother’s collection.

• Brunettes Shall Overcome
• Think Big, Be A Delta Sig
• Lizabeth Scott: A Paramount Star

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar Designs

 

From 1981 to 1990, the river festival buttons featured similar designs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fine print on the bottom logo of the 1986 button is incredibly difficult to read. 

 

It appears to say, "ah! 125 and coming alive!" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have two buttons from the 1987 Central Kansas Flywheels Festival.

 

 

 

 

Creative Designs

 

Beginning in 1991, the buttons featured a new and distinct design every year. 

 

 

 

 

 

I was born in August 1991. So, many of the buttons in my collection are from festivals that were held before I was born. 

I loved the river festival as a child, especially the storytelling tent, which featured performances by Antonio Sacre and Bil Lepp, among others. 

 

 

I have two buttons from the 1992 Central Kansas Flywheels Festival. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoy the colorful letters used in 1996.

 

  

I have three buttons from the 1997 festival, each of which features a different picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Smoky Hill River itself can be seen on the 1998 button. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Millennium

 

I have four buttons from 2000: my own, my grandmother's, my grandfather's, and one I purchased online as part of a set.  

This is the only year that I have four buttons for. 

 

 

The 2001 button celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the festival. It features a crowd assembled in front of the Oakdale Park stage.

In 2005, the Salina City Commission renamed the stage the Eric Stein Stage. 

Eric Stein founded and conducted the Salina Symphony. Stein also conducted the Salina Municipal Band.

Stein passed away in 2007.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a lot going on in the 2007 button, whose design is quite busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate the colorful design of the 2009 button, although it can be somewhat difficult to discern at a distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 I graduated from Salina South High School in May 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2013 button features a geometric design that includes squares, triangles, and circles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I graduated from Kansas State University, in Manhattan, Kansas, with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, in December 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I worked as a reporter for the Salina Journal, my hometown newspaper, in 2018 and 2019.  

The 2018 and 2019 buttons both feature four different images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My grandparents kept buttons from their visit to the Panama Canal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, here is the letter from my dad’s letterman jacket.

 

 

 

 

Once again, let’s take a look at the entire collection.

 

 

 

 

That’s more than four decades of history, all in one spot.

My hometown of Salina, Kansas, has always taken pride in its promotion of the arts, and the Smoky Hill River Festival is a great example of that.

 

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my complete collection of river festival buttons.