Chingawassa Days is a 25-year, time-honored tradition in Marion and it is happening the first week of June.
“Chinga started back in ’97 and was just an idea that someone wanted to do something for our community to bring the community together in a big way. And it just started, you know. I think they started with just like a picnic on Friday and they had a little local band and it’s kind of just a community gathering,” said committee chairman Clayton Garnica.
He went on to say “Over the years, you add different community members on and it just sparked from there and has grown bigger and bigger. And basically, it is what it is today. Um, yeah. So ,it was just an idea really that someone, or a group, not necessarily one person just wanted to do something for the community to bring everybody together. And that’s, kind of just how it started.”
According to committee member Margo Yates, who has been on the committee since the beginning of the event, Chingawassa Days has been a huge success for Marion.
“We’ve seen many national acts and various types of entertainment over the years. We wanted to bring musical acts and entertainers to town for our community to enjoy as families,” said Yates. “It has been fun meeting folks from many walks of life. The musicians I’ve liked the most were the ones who seem to be genuinely very nice people. It is always cool when a famous musician just walks up and down Main Street and is enjoying the fact that folks are giving them space to enjoy life without all the crazy attention.”
Yates shared a favorite memory of when Fred from the Kentucky Headhunters spent the day with Oggie at Bearly Makin’ It Antiques.
She said, “Fred bought some antique tractor wheels from Oggie and invited him to come visit in Kentucky. Fred was very memorable at that night’s concert. He did a super long drum solo, ending with throwing his drumsticks to the crowd and continuing to play barehanded.”
Chingawassa Days has had folks come from England and Australia for the festival.
“One year we had a groupie come from North Carolina. And, we had a couple move here along with their business because they enjoyed the event, the park and the town,” said Yates.
The event has put Marion on the map.
Yates said, “Working various promotional booths over the years, folks used to comment about our two lakes. Now they comment about Chingawassa Days. There is a rich history and interesting stories about Chingawassa, the Osage Indian Chief and Chingawassa Springs, the health spa north of town during the depression. Marion even had Chingawassa Railroad, a small-gauge railway that carried folks from The Elgin Hotel to Chingawassa Springs.”
Many people notice the concrete rhinos all around Marion which are tied to Chingawassa Days.
Yates explained, “One of our original committee members, Pete Peterson, was very interested in rhinos. Pete passed away before our second year, and we wanted to do something in his memory. So, we started “Pete the Rhino” as our mascot, and put a few concrete rhinos around town. It was very popular and you will now find about 80 rhinos in our community.”
It takes a lot of people to make Chingawassa Days happen. The committee works and meets all year long, and a ton of volunteers are needed to make it a success.
Yates said, “We appreciate the continued support of our community and businesses, as well as our city council and city employees. We hope to see everyone in the park having fun.
Garnica added, “Our event is the first week of June and we take about a month break and we’re back at the middle of July planning next year. So we work around the clock to get this thing planned. It takes a lot to get it done.
The committee and others who help out are all volunteers.
Committee member Adam Heerey said, “That’s what makes Chingawassa Days successful- our sponsors, committee and volunteers. Our committee is entirely volunteer. We set aside time to meet throughout the year, research musicians, seek vendors and new unique events. It takes an incredible amount of work at the expense of personal time. Our sponsors play a huge role—we would not have the festival without their contributions and assistance. We have many provide monetary or in-kind donations. I urge everyone to take time to read through our donor list, tell them thank you, and check out their businesses.”
Heerey thinks Chingawassa Days is special because it “showcases our communities, provides a boost for businesses and connects a lot of people in the area. It is still an event that incorporates family activities and incentives —kids 10 and under remain free of charge, plenty of activities for kids to do in the park, free barbeque, ice cream, and watermelon provided by our sponsors. It also provides a great outdoor venue for some very popular music artists. For many people, this could be the only concert they see for the year and it’s great they choose this venue.”
For the 25th anniversary, the group has added two new, large events—a BBQ competition and a cornhole tournament.
Heerey said, “Both are professionally sanctioned, bringing in new visitors to Chingawassa Days from surrounding states. We will host our inaugural Pitmaster Pete’s BBQ Competition at the USD 408 Sports Complex during Chingawassa weekend. We have teams coming in from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas—it will be a great event and one we want to see grow. This BBQ Competition is professionally sanctioned through the Kansas City BBQ Society. If there are any teams out there who have not signed up, it’s time.”
There will also be a sanctioned cornhole tournament at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 3 with both professional and backyard/amateur divisions. Over $2000.00 in cash prizes will be given out as well as a raffle for a chance to win custom Chingawassa Days festival boards.
Garnica added, “And then, of course, the bands. We’ve got a Tom Petty tribute band on Friday night, which is nice because we haven’t had rock and roll for a few years. So we’re able to bring that back. And then this year, two headliners with great country music and a huge headliner, Nate Smith. We are very fortunate and lucky that we snagged him at the time we did.”
Nate Smith is a big name and has the number-one album debut of 2023 in country music. He has had a three-week running number 1 song from that album with many more to come, and was nominated by the American Academy of Country Music for Best New Male Artist of the Year.
“This is our first year competing from a venue/festival standpoint with the big-name arenas,” said Heerey. “Nate just finished playing at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, and now he’ll be coming to our park in Marion, KS—how cool is that? I think it is really special that local fans will get to see such a popular musician on stage in their own community. It will be a great memory for them.”
For more information about any of the activities during Chingawassa Days, see the ad in this week’s Free Press or go to chingawassadays.com