PHOTOS: Summer ends on a high note at De Soto Days Festival
The 61st annual De Soto Days Festival drew large crowds to downtown De Soto for the Labor Day weekend.
Two boys laugh as they ride the “Scrambler,” a ride that is meant to make even the bravest dizzy. Photo credit Kylie Graham.
As the sun set on Friday evening, the smell of barbecue filled the air, accompanied by screams of glee and the glow of neon carnival ride lights.
The 61st annual De Soto Days Festival offered fun for all ages. Taking place in downtown De Soto, the festival spanned four blocks along West 83rd Street from Delaware Street to Peoria Street.
The bravest climbed onto the “Cliff Hanger,” a ride where riders lie face down on their stomachs as the ride lifted and twirled them through the air.
Others opted for the “Scrambler,” where riders rotated constantly and swirled around.
For those wanting a calmer ride, the Ferris wheel drew a large crowd as it gave riders an aerial view of the festival below.
The festival began on Thursday and spread through the weekend, ending with a 5K run on Sunday morning.
See our pictures from the event:
Riders screamed as they are dropped on the “Rockstar” carnival ride. The ride slowly rises up and down, building momentum and raising riders higher each time, until they finally go in a full circle motion. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Emily Merz (left) and Samantha Villa held hands as they soared through the air on Friday night. Breathless after the ride, they both rated “Cliff Hanger” as amazing. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Taylor Clark (left) smiled as he rode the Ferris wheel with his six-year-old son Jackson. The family recently moved to De Soto and had a blast at their first-ever De Soto Days Festival. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Gerardo Espinoza grinned widely as he strapped himself in to the “Rockstar” ride on Friday night in De Soto. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Local band Sass Monkey performed on the main stage of the festival on Friday night, playing a wide range of covers for the crowd. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Three-year-old Maevyn Mellard slid down the “Super Slide” with her grandmother, Janie Widman. Mellard was visiting her grandparents, De Soto locals, to enjoy the De Soto Days Festival. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Abel Price prepared to throw a dart at a wall of balloons, a classic carnival game found at the De Soto Days Festival. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Riders waves to friends below as they took in a bird’s-eye view of the De Soto Days Festival covering West 83rd Street. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Emmy Wiesner focused on her fishing game at the festival’s carnival area. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Carnival rides lit up West 83rd Street in De Soto on Friday, August 29. Photo credit Kylie Graham.A young rider smiled while being swung around on the “Scrambler” ride. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Festival goers entered the De Soto Days carnival at the corner of West 83rd Street and Delaware Street. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Riders flew through the sunset on the “Cliff Hanger” on Friday night at the De Soto Days Festival. Photo credit Kylie Graham.
Kylie Graham is a Johnson County native and graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who does freelance photography around the Kansas City metro.
