Organizers of the Walnut Valley Festival have announced that Bob’s Place, at 920 Main Street in Winfield, will open to the public on Wednesday, according to a press release from the festival.
Plans call for a short ribbon-cutting ceremony organized by the Winfield Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The space will be opened to the public Wednesday through Friday, 9-5 p.m.
The building at 920 Main, formerly the Shoe Mart, was purchased by Walnut Valley Association owner Kendra Redford in January 2017, with plans to convert it into a retail outlet for Walnut Valley Festival T-shirts and souvenirs, and as a repository of memorabilia associated with the festival, which will celebrate its 48th anniversary this year.
(Courtesy photo)
The location is named in honor of Bob Redford, the previous president of the WVA and one of the festival’s founders, who passed away in December 2016.
“While the name on the sign says ‘Bob’s Place,’ we have always intended this to be a space to celebrate the founders of the Festival, Stuart Mossman, Joe Muret, and Bob, as well as the many staff and crew members who have put the festival together every year for the past 47 years,” Kendra Redford said. “I think that folks will find here something of interest for musicians and fans, for young and old, and certainly for anyone with an interest in the history of the Walnut Valley Festival here in Winfield.”
“There are quite a few items in the space that are static, including posters signed by musicians and crew, and photos of some of the more memorable moments in festival history,” added WVA Executive Director Bart Redford. “Southwestern College Journalism Professor Stacy Sparks is allowing us to display some of the photos she took of WVA staff and crew several years ago.
“We also have some interactive elements that we think folks will enjoy, including a contest winner selfie stand, allowing patrons to take pictures with a trophy very much like the one that our contest winners receive.”
There will be photos of the world record attempts made for the largest guitar band and a magnifying glass to find themselves in the photos. There will also be a video compiled from interviews recorded at festival as part of the “Winfield Memories” project from a few years ago.
Walnut Valley Association thanks the following firms for their role in remodeling and updating the building: Agora Architecture, Rod Long Construction, McCoy Electric, and Winfield Plumbing and Heating. In addition, the sign was procured through a mini-grant from the Winfield Main Street committee of the Winfield Chamber of Commerce.
The Walnut Valley Festival, which will be held Sept. 18-22, draws a crowd of 10,000-15,000 people to celebrate a blend of all kinds of acoustic music, including bluegrass, folk, Americana, a little bit of cowboy, some Celtic, blues, jazz and swing, and more.
