Festival time: Square to see thousands this weekend

Santa-Cali-Gon (adjective) – A modern-day remembrance of three major trails of westward immigration – the Santa Fe, the California and the Oregon – that passed through Independence, Mo., chiefly in the decades preceding the American Civil War.

Let the fun begin.

This weekend the Independence Square will see upwards of 200,000 visitors, as the annual Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival stretches over four days.

Singers and musicians will perform, vendors will sell their wares, businesses will try to raise their profiles, and non-profits will raise money for their operations.

Don’t look too hard for any of the trails or the outfitters who served them. You’re a century and a half too late. Mules and oxen have been replaced by golf carts. We hasten to add, however, that the nearby National Frontier Trails Center – 318 W. Pacific Ave., not far south of the Square – tells that story very well.

Nonetheless, it’s a weekend of fun and food. Some folks who wouldn’t otherwise come to the Square get a chance to see it. Maybe a few will see something they like and come back sometime.