High water and bad weather will not stop the 2008 Walnut Valley Festival from starting this coming Wednesday (9/17). So say festival organizers in the face of a mandatory evacuation of the campground this past Friday.

Their most recent press release (9/13) contains these details:

Festival representatives met with City of Winfield officials today and were given a status report. Word is that the Walnut River which has been past flood stage should crest sometime tomorrow at a slightly lower depth than originally thought. This was good news.

There are no plans to cancel the Walnut Valley Festival, still scheduled to begin on September 17th with the day long hands on workshops followed by four days of music and contests, September 18 through 21.

Early campers that were forced to relocate to areas around Winfield are taking the inconvenience in stride. Various groups have been continuing the impromptu jam sessions and fellowship. A number of campers that have been staying together at the Winfield City Lake have organized a "Band Scramble" scheduled to take place at the lake Marina at 7:00pm. on the South side of the Winfield City Lake.

Photographer Bill Startz of SimpleFolk Productions is on the ground at the festival site, and has posted a number of photos on his web site that show the current conditions.