You didn’t have to get soaked by a firehose during Party in the Park, but a crowd chose to do just that – and loved it.

Kids and adults alike lined 17th Street Terrace on the south side of Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday morning for the annual Kiwanis Wet & Dry Parade.

Floats entered from McKinley Street and started the “dry” phase, simply passing by cheering onlookers and tossing candy to kids. But when the entries crossed the railroad tracks, the water fight was on. Six concrete mixer trucks dropped loads of water onto the street and teams on floats sprayed water at the crowd, which returned the favor. The audience formed a gauntlet of water blasters and squirt guns. There was a stock tank of water for the spectators to refill their weapons, but they could also just scoop up more water from the ditches, which filled as the mixer trucks flooded the street. A firetruck from the Great Bend Fire Department was also in the lineup, spraying everyone.

Barb Esfeld from the Great Bend Kiwanis Club said this was the best year yet for the Wet/Dry Parade, “and the City has some ideas to make the event even better.”

Earlier in the morning, Party in the Park kicked off with the traditional Oozefest Mud Volleyball tournament. Fun continued into the afternoon with a vendors’ fair, activities for kids and adults, and a car show. It all wrapped up Saturday night with a concert featuring local favorite HomeBrew and up-and-coming country singer Dylan Schneider.

This past weekend may not have been the official end of summer, but Sunday was the last day for the Wetlands Waterpark to be open to the general public. (There’s still Bark at the Waterpark for dogs this Saturday, and Ellinwood and Claflin’s swimming pools are open this week.)

Kids go back to school this month. Thursday is the 11th annual Business Showcase, presented by Credit Union of America, where local businesses highlight their products and services with booths at the Panther Activities Center. It’s only for school employees; Great Bend USD 428 staff will arrive starting at 9 a.m. and at 9:45 a.m. it will be open to all other invited schools, including college personnel, private school staff and home school educators.

If you’re still hoping for some summer fun that’s not related to getting back to school, Hoisington’s annual Labor Day celebration takes place from Sept. 4-7.