Tourism - Music Festivals and Concerts
With the addition of the new Island Park Performance Venue, a new group has organized to plan an annual concert series on the new stage. The group, Island Park Productions, is the combined effort of eleven local organizations, as well as three members from the community at large. The organizations participating are: Winfield Economic Development, Rotary club of Winfield, Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Winfield Arts and Humanities Council, Winfield Recreation Commission, Southwestern College, USD 465, South Kansas Symphony, Winfield City Band, City of Winfield, Legacy Regional Community Foundation. Serving as at-large members are Mark Olney, Bart Redford, and Cindy Goertz. Jill Long of Winfield Economic Development is the acting president of the corporation.
Island Park Productions will organize four concerts each year during the spring and summer. These concerts will be free and open to the public. John McCutcheon will perform the opening concert on April 13, 2019.
The Island Park Productions concert series will be funded through sponsorships from local businesses and organizations. This will allow the concerts to remain free to the public. Information on sponsorship can be found at the Winfield Chamber or on the Island Park Productions facebook page.
The South Kansas Symphony, Inc. is a symphony orchestra based in Winfield, KS. The ensemble is dedicated to bringing live symphonic performances and educational opportunities to the South Central Kansas region, providing musical memories for our audience with a variety of music for all ages. Talented musicians drawn from the high school, collegiate, and public communities enrich the ensemble. The symphony performs four regular season concerts per year on the Callison Stage in the acoustically-crafted Richardson Performing Arts Center at Southwestern College. While many of our musicians come from the local Winfield area, several join us from the greater Wichita area and the South Central Kansas region.
The Walnut Valley Festival is one of the premier events in the midwest. Featuring bluegrass music, the festival is referred to by locals simply as “Bluegrass”. While bluegrass music may be the focus, other acoustic styles are represented as well. More than just the music, attendees come from every state in the country and from many foreign countries for the culture that is the Walnut Valley Festival. Take time to roam through the elaborate campsites in the Pecan Grove (some sites inhabited for a month before the festival and month after!). Take part (or just watch) the “land rush” tradition to secure a campsite before the event. In addition to music on the four main stages, enjoy amateur music throughout the campgrounds and on unofficial stages throughout the event.
The festival is held on the Wednesday through Sunday that includes the third Saturday of September. The first festival was held in September 1972. Besides the world-class paid performers, Winfield is known for its instrumental contests. The headline contest is the National Flat-pick Guitar Championship.
Enjoy music by the oldest continuously running municipal band in the country. Summer concerts every Friday night.
