A Message From Generalissimo Marty Reichenberger
I want to personally invite you to participate in Kansas' largest annual celebration, as hundreds of volunteers work all year long to bring you a fun filled event from October 17th through the 25th in 2008!

 

'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat', a Broadway musical, will grace the Memorial Hall stage with 3 performances to kick off the nine full days of festivities. The Medallion Hunt; chili cook-off, a Fun Run and 5K race; and a bicycle ride provide active opportunities for everyone the first weekend of the celebration.  Continued...

Terri Clark to perform at Neewollah 2008

Marty Reichenberger, Generalissimo of Neewollah 2008, is excited to announce Terri Clark on the Neewollah stage as the Saturday headliner. This year’s Neewollah Board of Directors is providing the biggest FREE show to ever rock the bandstand at Penn and Laurel, as a way of saying Thank you to the community for supporting Neewollah for over 50 years.

This will be the biggest FREE show to come to Neewollah ever!  This show is free to all Neewollah goers on the bandstand at Penn and Laurel on Saturday, October 25, 2008. Generalissimo Marty Reichenberger and the Neewollah Board are providing this concert to give back to the community for all their support of Neewollah over the years.  More Information...

 

Neewollah 2008 Logo Design Contest Winner

The Neewollah Logo Committee announced that the winner of the 2008 Neewollah Logo Contest is DeeAnne Tigner, of Neodesha, Kansas.

Tigner's friendly purple and orange depiction of the happy ghost and pumpkin will serve as the official welcome to Neewollah. The art will be prominently displayed on advertisements, banners, t-shirts, programs and official Neewollah merchandise.

“There were so many wonderful entries, it made the judging difficult,” stated Jeff Shaw, Logo Committee Chair.  “We were drawn to DeeAnne’s work because it seemed to best capture the spirit and joy of our annual celebration.”   More Information...

Neewollah Photographers Needed (Professional and Candid)

The Neewollah Board has announced that they are looking for an official “Neewollah Photographer.” In the past, the position of Neewollah Photographer has, basically, been a volunteer job, with the photographer’s option of selling pictures of various events to individuals who had an interest in purchasing them. The board has decided to take bids from area photographers who would like the opportunity to work with the volunteers in Neewollah events.

Any area photographer who has the capability to work in digital photography, so photos may be delivered in a timely manner, and who has a method for the public to easily access the photographer and pictures, may bid for this position by going to the Neewollah Application Page to see the specifications for the position and to download the form.

Neewollah festival (Halloween spelled backwards) began in 1919 as an effort to provide positive activities for kids of all ages in place of the typical Halloween pranks that occurred in the community of Independence, Kansas. In the beginning the events centered on parades, morning, afternoon, and night on October 31. The parades consisted mainly of decorated cars and carriages. Queens and princesses from area festivals rode in the parades, along with our own Queen Neelah who was selected based on votes bought at a penny each. The Great Depression and World War II interrupted the Neewollah celebration but in 1958 four businessmen revived and elaborated on the Neewollah theme bringing it back as a 3-day festival.

 

Today Neewollah is the oldest and largest annual festival in Kansas. The city of Independence will grow from a town of 10,000 inhabitants to 75,000 in the final days of the now 10-day celebration. Today's festival now includes 3 parades, a Doo Dah Parade (adult Kiddies Parade), a Kiddies Parade and a Grand Parade. Chili Cook-off, a hometown musical and queen's pageant also add to the festival activities. The main downtown is filled with 30 plus food vendors, a large carnival and bandstand for nightly entertainment. The Arts and Craft show, Great Pumpkin contest along with the Band Competition, Fun Run and Bike Ride provided activities for everyone. A Children's show and Professional Saturday night Entertainment bring a conclusion to the diligent efforts of over 500 community volunteers.

Queen Neelah LXVI

Morgan Fox

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