Sampler Festival Offers Something For Everyone

Have you heard about Kansas Play Klay made in Ellis or tried the kijafa crepes at the Pancake House in Liberal? Have you seen the Whole Wall Mural, the longest sculpted brick mural in the U.S. located in Concordia? Or climbed over the giant concretions at Rock City near Minneapolis? Find out about these places and hundreds more at the Kansas Sampler Festival!

The twenty-fourth annual celebration of what there is to see and do in Kansas will be held in Liberal’s Light Park May 4-5. Almost a fifth of the communities in the state will have travel booths. A Kansas Products tent will be filled with Kansas entrepreneurs. Three stages will feature Kansas musicians, children’s entertainment and historic performers. The food booths will feature Kansas specialty or ethnic foods.

The event is a project of the Kansas Sampler Foundation whose mission is to preserve and sustain rural culture. Festival overseer WenDee LaPlant says, "Visiting this event is the perfect way to get a start on your travel plans for the summer and throughout the year. It’s like a living brochure of Kansas brought to life and offers the audience one stop shopping in finding places that meet their tastes and budget."

The festival began on the Penner Farm near Inman in 1990 as a book signing party for Mil Penner and daughter Marci Penner’s first Kansas Weekend Guide. It remained on the farm for eight years and then started to rotate around the state every two years. The event has also been held in Pratt, Ottawa, Independence, Newton, Garden City, Concordia, and Leavenworth. It will move to Wamego in 2014 and 2015.

LaPlant continued, "We’re pleased to return for the second year to Liberal and southwest Kansas. Convention & Visitors Bureau director Sally Fuller and her staff and the entire city did an incredible job welcoming visitors and exhibitors last year and are ready for everyone to make a return visit to this delightful and friendly community."

Some of the attractions in or near Liberal, home to the International Pancake Day Race, include the Mid-America Air Museum, Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz, Baker Arts Center, Seward County Historical Museum, and the Mighty Samson of the Cimarron bridge .

The festival will take place on Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, May 5 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Adult admission charge is $5; children 7-12 $3. For more information phone 620.626.0170 or go to www.kansassamplerfestival.com.