September 16, 2026
This week I will attend the 54th Walnut Valley Festival. I still clearly remember my mom and her best friend loading up our car with their kids, complete with picnic/sack lunches and we drove from Wichita to the festival for the day. I remember I brought my best friend along for the fun too, a couple of awkward middle-schoolers. It was the 3rd year of the festival. A damn long time ago, if you are inclined to do the math– I was part of the early years.
Over the decades, we continued to attend the festival, even when I traveled in from Chicago. Somewhere early on, we started camping and making a “week” of it. Both of my kiddos attended as “littles.” An assortment of friends, in-laws and outlaws began to form a community each year. It was a family reunion of sorts, but a much more joy filled liberating experience. One of my favorite memories was being camped out within clear “earshot” of hearing Stage One. It was late evening, and I was exhausted so decided to curl up in my tent to get some rest and found myself listening to Alison Krauss performing on the stage. Fun fact, as a young teenager she won the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship. This particular year she was Alison Krauss & Union Station. I also have fond memories of the Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks) playing at Winfield. So many good times.
In 2008, my (ex) husband won New Song Showcase that year. And because “life be life-ing” that was the last year I attended the Festival. I have loads of family that still attend each year, and many old and new friends who also attend each year. I am excited to see what this year brings.
Moment of truth, I am full of nostalgia as I get ready to attend. I am not camping this first year of reentry, but making a couple day trips. Nostalgia is bittersweet; I don’t expect or want the experience to be exactly as it was decades ago. I have sweet memories of so many years of attending; and at the same time, I am looking forward to the experience of attending in this phase of my life.
As I look over the entertainers schedule there are very few I recognize. Of course, there is the old favorite John McCutcheon. I have so many artists whose work has beautified my life, and I am hoping to discover new artists. But that is life, time passes, things change, and new experiences (tucked in with old memories) are awaiting. The fall season is a time of transition and change, one that I embrace. I ran across a quote: “When you change the way you look at things the things you look at change.”