Thank you for helping us to commemorate our big 5-0. We enjoyed celebrating it with more than 10,000 of our closest friends.

Winfield, A Bluegrass Musical, was even more magical than we could have imagined. We thank the good folks at Southwestern College’s Theater Department, as well as community members, who transformed Ken Gale’s vision into reality. Seth Bate was central to that effort, and also created a perfect companion piece for our 50^th, by writing Winfield’s Walnut Valley Festival.

The reviews of the book have been glowing, including this note from Dan Miller in Bluegrass Unlimited: “The Book does a wonderfully good job of covering all of the various aspects of the festival and it captures them with the feel, flavor, detail and importance they deserve.” We still have copies of the book available, and are taking orders online at wvfest.com/shop/

Festivals and venues are still suffering the effects of COVID, and it continued to have an impact on our operations. Our setup and gate operations were subject to complications around COVID cases, and we know that some in the campground had to leave early after contracting it. We thank the City-Cowley County Health Department, and in particular Tom Langer, for on-grounds assistance again this year.

We successfully transitioned to a fully online ticketing process with ETIX, where you were able to get your tickets delivered straight to you via e-mail or a device. Many noticed the difference at the main gate, where our runners were able to take credit card payments, making that wait just a bit shorter. We had some hiccups, but in general we are happy with the changes and look forward to having an even better experience for you when you enter grounds next year. Early-Bird Tickets are available for purchase online at wvfest.com/tickets or in our office—they make great holiday gifts.

We know we failed when it came to the opportunity for you to purchase commemorative wear at WVF 50. As Executive Director, I take personal responsibility for that, and I apologize. It was my decision to go with a pre-order format for shirts and, although I did it with the best of intentions, we clearly did not do a sufficient job in alerting everyone to the change in operations. I want to make clear that I did this, and in no way were the outstanding designers at Kinfolk Created or the amazingly tolerant personnel at our Mercantile responsible for this problem. I am working to ensure we have apparel options onsite in 2023.

Overall, though, the surveys we received gave us high marks for the lineup of performers, as well as for our overall organization of WVF 50. That amazing lineup, appropriate to mark our 50^th year, came at a higher cost to us than ever before, as performers and agents dealt with rising transport costs and disturbances industry-wide. Rising fuel costs and inflation also played havoc with our budget across the board, from port-a-pot rental to stages and sound.

For those paying attention, ticket prices did not increase from 2021 to 2022, at a time when costs for most goods and services across the nation rose significantly. We will have to make a significant increase in ticket prices this year if we are to survive as a festival. Winfield is still a very good value for the money, especially when compared to ticket prices for similar festivals around the country.

This is our third E-Occasional, and we enjoy what this format allows us to do. Instead of just reading about the results of this year’s contests, you can now listen to the champions’ winning competition sets as well as their encores. With the click of a button, you can hear interviews with the champions, which originally aired on our campground radio station, 105.7 FM. And you can watch the talented songwriters who took part in our two NewSong Showcases at the 50^th Walnut Valley Festival.

In January, we are planning for our third virtual Battle of the Band, as we invite performers that have never been part of the official lineup to vie for the chance to play on the big stages in 2023. You can vote for your favorite band(s), and know that the money collected through the voting process will go directly toward the fees to hire the band that YOU have chosen.

We have been putting together an amazing lineup of performers for our 51^st festival, some of whom are featured in this newsletter. Aside from the official stages with hours of talented picking, we’ll have 8 instrument championships, a juried arts and crafts fair, and some great food vendors. I think you will agree that we are all in for a good time as we kick off the next 50 years of Winfield.

Bart Redford
Executive Director