June Jaunt festivities were going strong Saturday when it started to rain, putting a damper on activities for the second consecutive evening. Even so, the annual weekend of fun drew crowds downtown.

Community Coordinator Christina Hayes noted that most of the activities and live entertainment took place as scheduled.

“We only ended up canceling two things, the movie night Friday and the robot and headliner band Taylor Fugitt on Saturday,” she said. 

Neither of these events will be rescheduled. Fugitt will be at The Tipsy Bull this Saturday, June 10, in Dorrance.

Great Bend has been blessed with good weather during June Jaunt over the past 12 years, Hayes said. Only one other year has been disrupted by rain, and that time wasn’t as bad as this year.

Rains started last Thursday, canceling the City Band Concert, which was not a June Jaunt event.

So far this month, Great Bend has received 4.8 inches of rain.

The rain on Friday evening saw the Great Bend Public Library move its Summer Reading Kickoff indoors. There was still a car show in Jack Kilby Square but the outdoor movie was canceled.

Saturday’s highlights included live bands, magic shows and the Flow Foundry acrobatics show, as well as free games in Jack Kilby Square until the next downpour.

One event was the creation of a “mosaic wall” on Saturday. People were invited to have their photos taken and the image was printed out as a special sticker. Each sticker was added to the mosaic to become part of a larger picture. For those interested in seeing what the final image looks like, Hayes said it will be posted on the Explore Great Bend Facebook page sometime this week.

The June Jaunt Jumbo Monopoly promotion in downtown stores is still going on until June 12.

June Jaunt is part of a larger event, the K-96 June Jaunt (k96junejuant.com), with events along Kansas highway 96 in Tribune, Scott City and Great Bend.

“June Jaunt has always been successful for Great Bend,” Hayes said.