Thank You Kansas Festival
This past weekend there was a festival in the parking lots of Discovery Furniture and RoomMakers (just off Huntoon and Wanamaker) called Thank You Kansas. It was Thursday and Friday evening (4/9/09 and 4/10/09) and all day Saturday (4/11/09). The festival had two purposes: (1) Connect those who are willing to lend a helping hand to those that need a helping hand… whether you are an individual, group, business, or charity. (2) To Provide an opportunity for Kansans to say “Thank You Kansas!” in their own way. No idea or contribution is too small or grand.
I didn’t get a chance to stop by until Saturday afternoon, but I did make it over there for about an hour and a half. In my short time there, I managed to walk through most of the booths. Vendors ranged from distributors of Arbonne to Tupperware, Washburn Student Government Assocation to the YWCA Battered Women Taskforce. I even met Mrs. Topeka, Josephine Lemus (who is looking for sponsors for future competitions (Mrs. Kansas and Mrs. America pageants). C5 (Capital City Christian Chamber of Commerce, LLC), TK Magazine, Metro Voice News, and Kaw Valley Technical School had information at their booths, along with multiple veterans organizations. I even met folks from Flint Hills Barbeque, MuleSkinner Lodge in Dennison, Schmidt Engineering & Surveying, Inc, as well as Capital City Nissan. The Libertarian Party of Kansas were also there for part of the weekend. I know I left off some vendors (to those I missed hopefully I will meet you next year). Because of the wind and my knee (which has been hurting for a week), I wasn’t able to make it to all of the booths to meet everyone. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk with all of these wonderful people who were out there to promote what they do and say “Thank You Kansas”.
My favorite booth was a booth selling these amazing tee-shirts and hats. My only regret is that I didn’t go back and buy one before I left. They were called TCW TOP City Wear. The young man at this booth talked about inspiring others in Topeka by re-branding it. Instead of Topeka it is T.O.P City like Kansas City is KC. TCW founders are very thankful for everything they have experienced while growing up in Topeka, Kansas. TCW feels it is time to change the way people feel about Topeka and start making it the place to be (I can really relate and so can all of the TransformTopeka board). TCW has developed a shirt line that will represent the capital city, but will be worn from the east to the west coast. The shirts and hats were awesome with the Capitol in the background. For more information please contact De’Andre Smith or Evan Watson at tcwear@gmail.com.
This was the first year for the festival so I do not believe it drew huge crowds, but I suspect that as we spread the word, the crowds will grow a little more each year. I would encourage each and everyone in our community to try to support these local festivals as much as possible because it is a great place for local businesses to get their product/service out there. I look forward to this event next year and hope to see many more people there.
Last 5 posts in Topeka News
- The Great Mural Wall of Topeka - October 29th, 2009
- Local Attractions: Topeka Zoo - September 24th, 2009
- Topeka Jingles - September 24th, 2009
- Guest Blog: Oppressive Government at its Finest - September 20th, 2009
- Donate - September 7th, 2009
