I love Hutchinson’s cultural scene, from the top-notch community theater to the Hutchinson Art Center and public art to street festivals, chocolate crawls, parades and proclamations.
My favorite week is always Smallville Festival week.
From its humble 2013 beginnings to the full-fledged three-day community-wide blur of events and activities for all ages, the Smallville Festival began as a proclamation signed by the mayor to rename the city “Smallville” after the fictional hometown of Clark Kent. The three-day celebration begins on June’s third Thursday and continues through the following Saturday.
In the Superman comics, Smallville’s influence shaped the superhero’s moral core. In Hutchinson, the event features one of the largest Third Thursday celebrations downtown, with food, cosplay and costume contests. Michael was asked to portray Clark Kent and he got to work figuring out the look and tracking down the blue undershirt with the famous “S” logo.
Friday brought daylong events downtown, culminating in a street party presented by Salt City Brewery and featuring local recording artist Logan Mize. The Hutchinson Zoo held Zooper Family Night, a family-oriented educational activity.
Saturday was even busier. Beginning at 8 a.m., a 5k race 650 ft underground at Strataca was held. The Cosmosphere hosted its first Amazing Space Race, an exciting opportunity to learn while solving clues throughout the building. A Downtown Hutch scavenger hunt explored the similarities between Hutchinson and Smallville.
The inaugural Hutch Comic Con filled the Meadowlark Building on the Kansas State Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., followed by the Smallville Fair, Food & Tunes, offering food, drinks, $4 Ye Old Mill rides, and a showing of the “Justice League” movie.
Juneteenth observances continued on Friday with a blood drive and on Saturday with brunch and a hair show.
The Family Community Theatre held an amazing production of “12 Angry Jurors.” The Fox Theatre screened the classic film “Imitation of Life” on Thursday and Saturday.
Smallville may be fictional, but the spirit is not. The festival showcases the downtown’s vibrancy, allows everyone to enjoy and celebrate as they wish, and leaves a large economic footprint.
This week has been busy with activities, and we have scrambled to cover as many as possible. Now, the Smallville Tribune returns to its humble Hutchinson roots, and we move on, but the essence of Smallville lingers.
