Chingawassa Days Summer Festival - Marion, KS
The Chingawassa Days festival in Marion, KS is one of the biggest events of the
year for this small town community and this year it celebrated its 24th year,
which is kind of crazy to think about considering that that is almost as long
as I have been alive! I have attended the festival multiple times over the
years, however, this was the first year I actually got to attend as part of the
media (just a small disclaimer: even though I was given a media pass for this
event all views and opinions expressed in this article are my own). Very
excited to share with y’all my experience at Chingawassa which I honestly
have to say was my best Chingawassa experience yet! Enjoy!
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Day 1: Friday, June 3rd
I parked my car about a block from the park on main street (there's no
parking lot for the park so it is all street parking first come first serve) and then
my dad and I walked down to the park. We were hoping to get in on the free BBQ
dinner put on by the festival, buuuut they ended up running out of food before we got there soooo we
hit up Taco's Food Truck who had set up there in the park
along with a couple other vendors. (You can read more about this food truck in this article here.)
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Of course I went with the nachos!
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After we bought our food we found a spot to set up our lawn chairs and
listened to the first music act of the night former American Idol contestant Dan Marshall.
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Me with y'all's favorite guy, my dad!
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After Dan Marshall's set I ditched Dad (calm down, I left him with his friends lol) and
joined the rest of my family up closer to the stage.
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Now that's a much better view.
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The next music act up for the evening was Tasha Layton who is a Christian
music artist. Truthfully I hadn't heard of her, but I really enjoyed hearing the stories behind her songs and
listening to her music. Her songs really touched me and she had me in tears more than
once! After her set she did a little meet and greet by the stage and so my
cousin Sheila and I ventured over to meet her!
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Tasha Layton & I
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Outfit Details:
Top - Walmart
Jeans - Thrifted
Sandals - Walmart; wearing size 7; size down half size
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The third and final act of the night was the Christian rock band Sanctus
Real. They were also a band I had never heard of (theme of the night for me I guess), but
I liked their music as well. My dad…not so much. He said it was a bit too rock for him. Oh dad. lol
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Sanctus Real finished about 10:30pm and I left the park for my
lil bros house where I would be staying that night to be close to town for day 2!
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Day 2: Saturday, June 4th
My initial plan was to wake up early and participate in the Color
Run, buuuuut after the late night and the fact that I didn't finish the t-shirt
I wanted to wear for the run I decided to stay in bed instead. Besides a Kansas hurricane
rolled through that morning with torrential rain and flooding so prob
good I didn't go anyway. Lol
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A little before noon I drove over to my cousin Sheila's house and hung out
with her and her family until it was time to head back into Marion for some
of the festival’s day events.
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Outfit Details:
Crop Top - SheIn; wearing size xs; TTS
Flare Jeans - Amazon; wearing size 3; TTS
White Booties - Amazon; wearing size 8; size up half size
Jewelry and Belt - Thrifted
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The first event was Chinga Jenga. I wasn't planning on participating
in this one, but Sheila needed a partner so up on stage with her I went. Lol
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Sheila and I
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We took on this team of 8 year olds who I swear paid off the Jenga Gods
because every single piece they picked just slid out like butter while
Sheila and I took like 15 minutes per piece. Lol In the end it was the 8 year
olds that reigned supreme in our Jenga battle and we lost the chance
to win the cash prize of $100. *sigh* Maybe next year. Lol
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After the Jenga loss I decided I needed some cheering up so I went
to watch the weiner dog races.
After the races I snagged myself a piece of watermelon from the watermelon feed
and then went back to my cousin's house for dinner.
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Everyone meet the turkey-dog Henry! Don't worry...he was NOT part of dinner. Lol
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After our feast my family headed back to Marion for the concerts
that night. First up was local artist Sam Unruh.
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After Sam was Filmore and y'all talk about an entertaining set! He's got some
serious dance moves and super catchy songs! Definitely had me jamming
especially when he sang Nothing's Better! That song is an anthem man.
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https://videopress.com/v/NPYTat3G?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
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When he finished his set I walked over to see my lil bro who was
working security at the backstage gate.
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Hiya Joey
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I showed him my media pass and asked if I could come backstage to meet
Filmore annnnnd after talking to a festival committee member he told me
no. BUT not 5 minutes later, as I am standing on the other side of the fence
talking to my bro, guess who I see walking up to me? The committee member
and Filmore himself. I'm pretty sure I jumped up and down a couple times, maybe
screamed, or was that internally? idk, all I know is that I was in shock because
he had come over just to see little ole me. Talk about main character vibes. We chatted
for a little bit and I of course grabbed a hug and a photo and y'all he is just
the absolute sweetest! I'm thinking an interview needs to happen here in the near future ;)
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Thanks again for meeting me! And also shoutout to Landon and Adam for making it happen!
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After my little meet and greet with Filmore I was on cloud nine and floated my
way back out in front of the stage for Tyler Farr. I grabbed a spot right up
against the stage and spent the rest of the night surrounded by drunk girls screaming lyrics
while also getting shoved up against the gate, but I had a great time
jamming away. Oh how I have really missed concerts. <3
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https://videopress.com/v/8q93SygZ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
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Once Tyler was done singing for the night I tried, unsuccessfully, to get
backstage to meet him and then said goodbye to my family and drove home to my kitties.
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So that was my Chingawassa Days 2022 experience! This was the first year
I had actually been in the park for their day events which were a blast and
I absolutely LOVED getting to spend so much time with my family. Hopefully
next year can live up to these standards! lol If you want to see more
from my weekend including the Jenga battle, more weiner dog races, and
more from the concerts, be sure to check out the youtube video
below! Also be sure to go follow Chingawassa Days on Instagram/Facebook
so you can stay up to date on everything they have planned for
next year! Finally, thank you again to Adam Heerey and the
Chingawassa Committee for the media passes. Y'all did a great job
as usual and I'm excited for next year!
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