Music is the Fountain of Youth at the Walnut Valley Festival

Age is just a number, they say, or maybe youth is a state of mind.

The real danger in retirement is sitting down and doing nothing. Those who stay active do well. There are many older people at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, and most of them are doing fine. I am about to hit 70 myself, on the last day of the festival, I sometimes feel like I’m one of the younger ones.

I saw how age didn’t hold people back twice while working a gate at the Walnut Valley Festival this year. I worked the overnight shift a few times this year. It involves two people hanging around an entrance, checking wristbands and window stickers. So far it’s been boring and not interesting - which is what you want while doing security.

One night I worked with a lady named Carol. She is 90 and has been coming to the festival for years, and like me, works for her camping and ticket.

She drove herself from Nebraska, about 400 miles away, for this year’s festival. She said she didn’t pull her camper herself this year, though she did until recently. She talked about various campers she has had over the years and has always done what she wanted or needed to do.

She used a cane and a walker at times during the overnight shift. She moved slowly and deliberately, but didn’t have much trouble getting around.

Another person I worked with was a man from this area, who was in his 80s. He has been to almost all of the festivals. In the early years there were only a few campers, and for a long time there were so few that things like a lineup and landrush were not even needed.

A lot of people who come to the festival are musicians. The jam sessions that go all night are legendary. Neither of those two were musicians, though; they just enjoy the music and being involved with the festival in some way. Someone has to listen to the music.