When Walnut Valley Festival begins this year, organizers, vendors, and patrons will be missing a special guy–long-time Grounds Director Rick Meyer. Meyer, who had directed setup, operations, and teardown of the event, passed away September 30, 2023, just after last year’s festival. The City of Winfield, Cowley County Fair Board, and Walnut Valley Festival are working together to create a permanent stage at the Winfield Fairgrounds, with a plaque recognizing Meyer’s contributions to Winfield. Cost of the project will be shared between the three organizations, and an accompanying public fund drive will supplement their contributions. Walnut Valley Festival will be collecting contributions on grounds during festival, and will be raffling off an autographed copy of last year’s poster in order to raise funds for the project.