With wet weather in store for this weekend, all outdoor events for the 2007 Prairie Fire Festival have been canceled.
Indoor events will still go on as scheduled, said Deb Zeiner of the Chase County Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ll carry on,” Zeiner said.
Jan Jantzen, organizer of the outdoor events of the festival, said he has called off the outdoor events, which included a shoot by NBC’s Today Show.
“The event was to be tomorrow afternoon,” Jantzen said. “We have an unprecedented accumulation of snow expected this time of year.”
Jantzen said the decision to cancel the outdoor events was a tough one.
“There’s a lot of disappointment,” he said. “Everybody got a 100 percent refund. You can’t burn wet grass. We just missed it (weather) by a day or two.”
Jantzen said the tentative dates for next year are April 5 and April 12.
“We’re re-thinking things for next year,” he said.
These indoor events remain on the schedule.
Today
Until 10 p.m. — Twin Cities Lions Club Art Exhibit — Prairie Coffee Co. Building, prior to auction on Saturday.
7:30 p.m. — TallGrass Gospel — A jam session for Prairie Fire Festival Prairie Coffee Company Building.
Saturday
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Quilts on Broadway by the Bazaar Ladies Aid
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Twin Cities Club Art Exhibit — Auction at 6 p.m. PCCB
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Chase County Art Guild Exhibit at the Prairie Coffee Co.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Portraits on the Prairie — Terra Coons
11 a.m. — Mammals of the Tallgrass Prairie — George LeRoux, PCCB
1 to 5 p.m. — Chase County Historical Museum open
1 to 5 p.m. — Roniger Indian Artifact Museum open
1 p.m. — Raptors of the Prairie — Bill Reid — PCCB
2 p.m. — Reptiles of the Prairie — Bill Reid — PCCB
3 p.m. — Plants of the Tallgrass Prairie — Dr. Tom Eddy, Emporia State University — PCCB
6 p.m. — Twin Cities Lions Club Live Benefit Auction — PCCB, Paul Hancock, auctioneer
7:30 p.m. — Dan Bliss in Concert — Prairie Blues — PCCB
Other activities
Even with a cold and wet weekend ahead, there’s still quite a bit to do in the Emporia area. Among the activities planned for this weekend are:
• An Eggs and Issues forum will be held at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the former Lyon County Courthouse, 402 Commercial St. The forum will feature representatives from the Lyon County Commission. Coffee and rolls will be served from 8 to 8:30 a.m.
• The ABATE Spring Fling Bike Show will take place at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. The doors open at 7 a.m. but participating motorcycles have to be in and ready by 10 a.m. at the Anderson Building. Trophies will be presented at 5 p.m. There will also be a mini-chopper given away after the trophies — tickets for that are $2 apiece and you need not be present to win.
• About 300 area students from first grade through high school will take part in the Young Writers Conference at Riverside Elementary School. The two visiting authors, Andrea Warren and Lisa Campbell Ernst, will also make presentations to the public beginning at 9 a.m. There is no charge for the presentations.
• The Emporia State University Glass Guild Blowout will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at ESU’s art annex, near the Sauder Alumni Center on Highland Street. Hot glass demonstrations will be given from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. A potluck cookout will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with live music at 6 p.m. A glass auction will be held at 7 p.m. Randy Walker is the featured guest artist.