By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
After cancellation last year and a delay this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Smoky Hill River Festival was off to its usual start Thursday evening: Festival Jam.
Mother Nature, however, had other plans.
Sponsored by SM Hanson Music, the multi-band concert that has kicked off the Smoky Hill River Festival for 35 years began as it usually does: with people in lawn chairs and on blankets gathered around the Eric Stein Stage in Salina's Oakdale Park to hear 16 bands of varying genres.
Each band was to have 15 minutes on stage, including setup, playing and exiting, Rick Hanson, CEO and president of SM Hanson Music, Inc., told Salina Post in a July 22 story.
However, with lightning-laden thunderstorms rolling into the Salina area, the concert was called part way through the performance.
The Smoky Hill River Festival continues Friday, with gates opening to the general public at 10 a.m.
If you haven't already gotten your festival admission wrist band, you can purchase a multi-day wrist band for $20 or a single-day wrist band for $10 at most festival entrances. Children age 11 and under are admitted at no charge, according to information from the river festival website.