Santa-Cali-Gon begins

Today through Monday, Independence will celebrate the city’s distinction as the starting point of the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails.

The Independence Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence’s annual festival and ode to the “Queen City of Trails,” will officially get under way at noon today and run through Monday in and around the Independence Square.

Emily Braton, marketing communications coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce, said more than 200,000 visitors attended the festival last year and that this year’s event should draw the same amount of visitors, if not more.

“Our booth sales have been great,” Braton said. “Market vendor tents sold out and there are only a few street vendor spaces available. We are very excited.” 

Santa-Cali-Gon, in its 36th year, actually began in 1940, but a second festival was not held until after World War II in 1947. In 1973 the festival, known then as Three Trails Days, became an annual event, becoming Santa-Cali-Gon the following year.

This year’s event will feature craft and food booths, a beer tent, a venue for community acts performers, a main stage for entertainers such as Liverpool, Rhett Atkins and Lorrie Morgan and a stage for gospel acts and singers. A mist tent to help guests stay cool and an air-conditioned “Pardners” tent will also be available, Braton said.

“There is something for everyone,” Braton said. “Shopping, festival food, free concerts for all ages, history lesson at the Free Trappers encampment, and a giant carnival midway for kids and the young at heart.”

Santa-Cali-Gon Days has been ranked among the top 10 festivals in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine of Orlando, Fla., Braton said, adding the standings are determined by crafters.

“We were ranked No. 7 out of 200 festivals in the nation,” Braton said of the 2007 festival.

More than 100 local non-profit organizations benefit from the Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival. Braton said surveys show participating non-profits generate 1/3 of their annual budgets from their festival sales. Retail sales in Independence during the festival are estimated at $3 million. All area hotels sell out of rooms and local convenience stores have been known to run out of products, Braton said.