Volunteers Make the Wichita Festival Go Round

The Wichita River Festival takes place every May in the heart of the plains. The nonprofit organization keeps the events running with a plethora of volunteers, approximately 1,800. All sorts of events take place for eight days, and this year it started on May 8, 2009. Some of them include: concerts, parades, bull riding, historical learning opportunities, boat races on the river, river runs, and so forth. In that given time period, 15,000 volunteer hours are needed to make this occurrence come to life for the community of Wichita, Kan. This demonstrates how much work is needed during that time. People from all ages come to take part in this annually, and helpers make it possible.

Through the entire process of the volunteers working at the festival, many relationships are built. I have seen my community come together as a result of its hard work to make this event happen annually. People get to know family better, and get to make fellow Wichitans, that they have never met before until they came to it. I think that is amazing. In a city of 120,000, a lot of unity takes place. We are celebrating our city, and since it is next to the Arkansas River, that makes it extra special. The people here in Wichita are friendly, outgoing, courteous, respectful and they strive to put others' needs first. Who would not want to live here? I think it is a place worth attending at least once a year, whether you are from here or not.

People impacting others and unifying their community makes any event worthwhile, and that is what the Wichita River Festival does. This organization and group of volunteers make everything possible for a huge city wanting others to have some fun, and take care of themselves, while keeping safe in the process. Besides, this city is not too far from Russell, and it is almost exactly in the middle of the United States, and that makes it all the more significant to attend here. Wouldn’t you agree?