Escaped beaver featured on 2017 Riverfest poster

Wichita Festivals on Friday revealed the official artwork for Riverfest 2017, which was created by local duo Josh Tripoli and Rebekah Lewis.

The poster, which is a playful nod to “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” features a hand-drawn Admiral Windwagon Smith crossing the Arkansas River in the Waterwagon.

In the background, there are various other Wichita landmarks depicted – the Keeper of the Plains and 250 Douglas Place.

But the ultimate Easter egg: Chapa, the escape-prone beaver from Riverside Park’s Kansas Wildlife Exhibit, escaped once again – this time, to partake in Riverfest festivities.

“We really wanted to pull on our experiences about what we just love about Wichita,” Tripoli said. “We wanted to capture the action and energy when you think of Riverfest. It kind of made sense to include a little nod to ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware.’ ... We wanted this fun and light vibe.”

Tripoli and Lewis – who recently painted a popular mural on the side of College Hill Deli – said they submitted an entry last year that wasn’t chosen.

“We worked like maniacs in 2016 to hone our skills both as artists and designers,” Lewis said. “Josh pushed me to paint and draw more and I pushed him to learn about the details of how image and typography work together. By the time the Riverfest 2017 design competition rolled around I knew we were ready.”

The design style is a departure from previous years – which, up until last year’s, primarily featured singular mascots (an octopus, a chicken, a partying man).

Tripoli said he and Lewis, who operate collectively as Lupoli, were inspired by the “River Madness!” theme to create a retro comic-book or vintage movie poster style.

“We started researching old pulp movie posters,” he said. “We’ve always been interested in the technology they had at the time – a cut-and-paste illustration. ... We started designing all these hand-drawn elements that we loved about the river and the riverwalk.”

Tripoli said he was initially inspired by an Avenue Art Days mural completed by Brickmob, which featured James R. Mead crossing the Arkansas River in a bathtub – another nod to the original Emanuel Leutze painting.

“I think that’s the first thing that inspired us – We were really intrigued by it,” Tripoli said.

Tripoli and Lewis collected a $3,500 check Friday morning for their winning design.

Tripoli said “it’s an incredible honor” to add to Riverfest’s poster heritage.

“I’d always just thought that the (Riverfest) posters in high school were just so incredible I couldn’t even fathom how these designs happen,” he said. “I just don’t think I could have possibly conceived that winning would have been a possibility in the future.

“Me and Rebekah have been joking that you know you’ve made it if your art is in QuikTrip.”

On Friday, Wichita Festivals and Harvester Arts also announced the 2017 Riverfest Artist-in-Residence: James Marshall, aka Dalek.

In October, Dalek – an internationally known painter and street artist – painted the geometric mural on the facade of Harvester Arts’ Old Town building.

The Riverfest Artist-in-Residence typically designs creative projects for the festival – last year’s artist-in-residence, Rachel Hayes, was responsible for “SunSails” on the Hyatt lawn.

Tripoli, 25, is a teaching artist and muralist for Arts Partners Wichita, and a gallery assistant and artist at Reuben Saunders Gallery.

Lewis, 26, studied abroad at Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy, after the University of Kansas. She currently works in-house for the marketing team at Dean & DeLuca.

Riverfest 2017 will be from June 2 to 10.

This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Escaped beaver featured on 2017 Riverfest poster."