CHAMBER NEWS

For those keeping count, we just completed our 40th annual Waterfest on June 23 and 24. The weekend packed 99 vendors along 137 booth spaces up and down Broadway. The parking lots were full of free live entertainment and kids activities while dozens of volunteers worked tirelessly beginning Thursday evening to orchestrate this annual mineral water heritage celebration.

Last year’s festival drew over 8,000 guests to our downtown; my hope is this year exceeded that number. Thanks to the Placer.ai system managed by the Downtown Excelsior Partnership, we will soon know for sure.

As many of you attend the festival, enjoy the food, fireworks, car and bike shows and free activities, it probably never dawns on you what it takes to put an event like this together.

Let me tell you, the people and businesses who donate their time, talent and financial support are the true ambassadors of Excelsior Springs. Our community is known far and wide for our friendliness and hospitality. We are known for our genuine love of our community and its history. We are known for our neighborly love of one another and our willingness to help each other. These, to me, are the traits that make our Waterfest so successful and the people and businesses behind Waterfest embody those traits.

Our festival is funded mostly through the financial contributions of several business leaders. When you enjoy the free entertainment or enjoy the fireworks display Friday evening, you should thank our sponsors for making it possible. CLICK HERE to see the list of the businesses behind Waterfest 2023 and be sure to thank them when you see them next.

The people and volunteers who make up our Waterfest committee and help run the festival are my heroes. They plan all year long, they organize and fret over careful placement of vendors, they search and book entertainment they hope everyone will enjoy. These volunteers keep the grounds clean from trash, they organize car shows, bike shows and quilt shows. Others devote their entire weekend to managing our beer sales, catering food and chauffeuring our musical guests around the stages and assisting vendors with packing and unpacking countless vehicles. City employees from all departments devote their time to public safety, parade management, electrical and water provisions and so much more. Our police, fire, parks and recreation, and public works departments all have a heavy hand in the smooth operation of our weekend event. CLICK HERE for a list of this year’s Waterfest volunteers.

Visitors at Waterfest enjoyed themselves and commented on Excelsior’s charm and hospitality. We hope this impression draws them back again and again to our beautiful thriving community and we thank the men and women behind Waterfest for representing us so well.