Kimmswick is ready for a good version of a “flood” this weekend.
Thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the Mississippi River town as it holds the annual Strawberry Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
“We prefer this type of flood – a flood of people,” Mayor Kenneth Kraft III said. “It is more enjoyable than the flood of water.”
The Strawberry Festival is the first of two major festivals Kimmswick holds annually. The town also holds the Apple Butter Festival during the final weekend of October. The Apple Butter Festival will be held Oct. 24-25 this year.
Approximately 50,000 people attended last year’s Strawberry Festival, and Kimmswick officials said the festival raised about $70,000 for the town. Kimmswick officials have said the Strawberry Festival and Apple Butter Festival make up about 80 percent of the town’s operating budget.
“It is great for our town,” Kraft said of the Strawberry Festival.
Kraft said 220 total vendors are expected to set up over the weekend, selling items such as handmade crafts, jewelry, clothing, woodworking creations and more.
“We are trying to work the festivals back toward mostly handmade crafts,” he said.
Jennifer Kraft, Kimmswick’s event coordinator, said about 35 of the vendors will sell food and beverage items. She said people will be able to purchase a variety of food and beverage items, including Chinese, barbecue, breakfast burgers, Italian shaved ice and more.
“We will have a large, good variety of food,” she said.
The town’s shops and restaurants also will be open throughout the festival.
“If you can’t find something from a food truck, we will still have our regular favorites,” Kenneth said.
The weekend also will feature music performances by four bands.
Jennifer said the Grass Roots Bluegrass Band will perform from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Kimmswick City Park, which is near the corner of Fifth Street and Becket. She said the Rocky Martin Music band also will play at the park from 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Wings of Eagle is scheduled to play from 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday at Veterans Park near the corner of Second and Market streets.
On Sunday, the AMF Duo is scheduled to perform from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kimmswick City Park, followed by performances from the Rocky Martin Music band from 2-4:30 p.m. Wings of Eagle also will perform for a second straight day, playing from 2-4:30 p.m. at Veterans Park.
Kenneth said all of the bands have performed in Kimmswick before during festivals and other events, such as the town’s Food Truck Fridays that are held on the third Friday of every month from March through December.
“We have gotten a lot of good feedback from all of these bands,” Jennifer said. “I think they draw in good crowds.”
Kenneth said Ellie Mae’s Menagerie of Robertsville will bring baby kangaroos back to the festival this year. The business will be set up near Kimmswick City Park, and people may pet the kangaroos for a fee.
Jennifer said other attractions geared toward children include face painting, henna tattoos and a Lego vendor.
She said fees are charged for face painting and tattoos.
Roads leading into Kimmswick will close at 8 a.m. each day of the festival. Parking is available at the Windsor School District campus off Hwy. 61/67 for $10, and shuttles will be operating to bring people to and from the festival grounds for no charge.
Limited handicap parking is available at Windsor Elementary School in Kimmswick, and if the weather permits, parking will be available in two fields off Hwy. K.
It also costs $10 to park in either of the two fields. Kimmswick owns one of the fields, and the town added 20 handicap parking spaces to that area. Windsor owns the other field.
For information, call 636-464-7407, go to gokimmswick.com or visit the City of Kimmswick events page on Facebook.