The Lawrence Kansas Monthly Blog

  Hi, today we’re gonna talk about something that my dad and I remember going to in 2006. The Wakarusa Festival! It was a four-day music festival held annually in early June 2004 to 2015. Named for the Wakarusa River, the festival was first held here at Clinton State Park in Lawrence, Kansas. Then it was moved to its new location just outside Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Arkansas.  The festival is known for an eclectic mix of music and has featured artists like Grammy award winners The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. They had really cool a ctivities besides music including disc golf, yoga, hiking, and swimming. Others have food vendors for getting some snacks, sodas, sno-cones, pizza, etc.  The festival grew dramatically from only 5,000 attendees at the initial 2004 Wakarusa to a record 20,000 in 2011.  After moving from Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, KS to Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, AR, the festival has continued to mak...

  Ladies and gentlemen… may I introduce to you, the story about The Lawrence Busker Festival. That’s right, folks. It’s a  once-a-year-get-weird-weekend where you will find unusual entertainment all over historic downtown Lawrence. It happens every year in the month of May. It’s where you can  celebrate with a roster of street performers from all around the world. Magicians, jugglers, musicians, acrobats, and more will perform. It’s a full-on festival with food, libations, and fun around every corner. When was the first time I went there? Well it was the time I was at the library of course! I’ll never forget the time I once went there with my friend Stephanie. She and I had a really great time there. I even got my very own wax sculpture of my hand. I chose the peace sign though. It was off the hook, and I really hope that I’ll get to check out the Busker festival again once I come back to Lawrence. One time I went there, and I got to see Bongo Barry to perform outside. He...