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Riverfest is the best party around

If it's mid-May and Wichitans are smiling, a likely reason is the Wichita River Festival -- the biggest and best community party in these parts, nine unique days of music, food, sports, kid stuff, fireworks and fun.

Unfortunately, the festival also is an annual excuse for some Wichitans to whine. This year's big beefs may be the phasing out of the bathtub races (as of next year, for lack of entries) and the gating of the bigger-name concerts and Cessna Kids' Corner, so that only those wearing buttons may enter -- a reasonable move, given that only about one-third of festivalgoers are buying buttons, and that corporate giving is down somewhat this year.

Janet Wright, president and chief executive of Wichita Festivals, told The Eagle editorial board that "we listen to and consider everything that we hear" but that the complaints of a few are "contradicted by the numbers of people who are coming" -- 385,000 last year, which was way up from 305,000 just three years ago.

Indeed, the downtown celebration is both a big and moving target, requiring $2.7 million and more than 15,000 volunteer hours to pull off. Its 37-year history is bound up with countless memories. For planners, the challenge of balancing the traditional and the new grows by the year.

Especially at this time of unprecedented gas prices, Riverfest's cost-benefit ratio has never been better for button buyers. Yes, those who want to attend tonight's concert by pop star Colbie Caillat must pay $10 on top of the $5 button price, but her sold-out Tulsa show on Thursday cost $30; hearing her last week in Kansas City, Mo., took $25. And the rest of the entertainment is included in the button price -- music acts ranging from oldies rock to kiddie pop to gospel to Broadway to country to jazz to classical.

This year, as always, tremendous credit is due the corporate sponsors, individual donors and army of volunteers (600 more workers were needed as of Thursday). As much as the festival owes its success to its practiced staff, it's the community that gets the party started and keeps it going. Especially on closing night, as the riverbanks fill up with fireworks fans, the festival is a marvel for its organization and order.

Naysayers certainly need not attend. Then again, joining the fun today through May 17 might do them good.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman