Andrew Gaug
Andrew Gaug
Community Events
2 min. read

Thousands turn out for Lenexa Spinach Festival after storms pass, sun comes out

The annual celebration of Lenexa being the one-time "Spinach Capital of the World" brought out people for food, history and friendly games.

Popeye
A family poses with Olive Oyl and Popeye. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.

While the annual Spinach Festival in Lenexa on Saturday started out with rain, the crowds showed up once the sun came out.

Thousands of people crowded Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park for the annual event — one of the city’s biggest — taking part in both culinary and physical activities.

Visitors were able to check out vendors, try different preparations of spinach and cheer on little contestants in the Swee’Pea Baby Crawling Contest.

Here are images of the celebration, captured through the Post’s lens:

Facepaint
A kid gets face paint at the Spinach Festival. Photo Andrew Gaug.
Grill
Food gets prepared at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Slide
A young visitor goes down the slide at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Slide
Kids go down the slide at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Steel drums
Chill Phil plays the steel drums at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Strength test
A person measures up at the strength test at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Kid
A kid takes their chance at the strength test at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Spinach bowl
People serve spinach salads from the World’s Largest Spinach Salad. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Spinach Festival sign
A kid poses at the Spinach Festival sign. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Musician Rick McClellan
Musician Rick McClellan performs at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Makeup
A kid gets facepaint at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Lemon
Lemons are turned into lemonade on The Good Lemon Drink Co.’s food truck at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Bike ride
People go on a pedicab ride at the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Dog
A dog takes a break during the Spinach Festival. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Lenexa workers
Lenexa workers prepare the mat for the Swee’Pea Baby Crawling Contest. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Baby Crawl
A baby crawls in the Swee’Pea Baby Crawling Contest. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.
Baby crawl
A baby crawls in the Swee’Pea Baby Crawling Contest. Photo credit Andrew Gaug.

About the author

Andrew Gaug
Andrew Gaug

? Hi! I’m Andrew Gaug, and I cover Shawnee and Lenexa for the Johnson County Post.

I received my bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and started my career as a business reporter for The Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio.

I spent 14 years as a multimedia reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press before joining the Post in 2023.

Have a story idea or a comment about our coverage you’d like to share? Email me at [email protected].

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