(Reader tip: Refresh your browser to see additional photos from the fairground. There are three total.)
UPDATE: 7:02 p.m. Floodwaters are receding and the Walnut Valley Festival will go on as scheduled but campers will not return to the Winfield Fairground this year, spokesperson Rex Flottman said Sunday evening.
"The river on its way down," he said. "The city is getting their people together for a walk through Monday to survey the damage. There’s a process to go through but the news appears good."
The state requires a Clorox and water mix be used on the flood-affected buildings to combat mold. But otherwise no special steps are needed beyond basic cleanup, Flottman said.
Organizers are preparing a park-and-ride plan to bring campers in from the lake and other sites. No decision has been made in regard to camping refunds.
Those needing camping space will have to go the city lake or various other camping sites in the area.
"We’ll have no on-site camping and will probably have very limited day parking as well," Flottman said.
Campers who need shower facilities can go to the Joe Thornton Recreation Center at 624 College, in Winfield. Regular hours are 6 a.m to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Walnut Valley Festival officials were set to meet with city officials at 4 p.m. Sunday to discuss plans to put on a show now that floodwaters have covered much of the Winfield Fairground, spokesperson Rex Flottman said.
"The water got higher than we had hoped," he said. "Now we’ll have to see whether we’ll have a festival somewhere else in town or at the fairground, if they city will let us. I think people are hanging in there with us and we’ll give them a show and they’ll be there for it."
Flottman would not say what other venues in town might be up to holding the crowds the festival can generate. The Walnut River near the fairground was cresting at around 32 feet, enough to cover the grandstand area used for Stage I at the festival.
Flottman said there had been no decision made on a policy for refunding money to campers.
"But I’m sure if someone has an issue we’ll do everything to make it right with them," he said.
Russ Tomevi, public works director for the city, was at the fairground Sunday and said the outlook for campers returning to the fairground seemed bleak. Floodwaters were moving in slower than they did in 1998 or the summer of 2007 ? two other times when the fairground was immersed.
That means the water probably will recede more slowly, he said.
"I don’t think we’ll have a lot of uncovered areas, even by Monday afternoon," Tomevi said. "And once (the water) is gone it’s still going to be very soft."
But Tomevi did not rule that possibility that the midway area might be usable for performances. He thought festival officials would be wise to consider a way to bring festival goers in from off-site camping and parking areas for performances.
Of course how usable the fairground is will rely heavily on how quickly clean up can be accomplished. In 1998, there were scores of dead fish to haul away.
"We had a truckload of fish that year," Tomevi said. "It was a mess."
