New owners Carol and Kevin Shankland, Brandi and Jim Varner, and Rowena and Cody Shankland stand at the entrance to JunkFest, off its new DirtRoad, North Cedar, just two miles as the crow flies from its previous location.
by Holly Allen
A Valley Falls tradition going on its 7th year, JunkFest weekend has come again. The event, which began as a 36-vendor affair in a field on Doniphan Road, was forged from a friendship between two women, Jami Heinen and Megan Belveal.
As JunkFest has grown over the years — at last count 200 vendors and more than 12,000 shoppers in 2022 — it has outgrown its previous home at Belveal Farms. For that reason, primarily, DirtRoad Divas Heinen and Belveal decided to sell the event at the conclusion of last year, hoping for a better fit in a new location.
Though the duo had received offers from groups in towns like Tonganoxie, they were insistent the event, created, in part, to bring business to Jefferson County, stay in Valley Falls.
Ultimately, a deal was struck between the original visionaries and its new owners, Carol and Kevin Shankland, their son and daughter-in-law, Rowena and Cody Shankland, and family friends, Brandi and Jim Varner, all Valley Falls.
Though this year DirtRoad JunkFest will take place on a different dirt road, at Shankland Farms on North Cedar, just two miles west of its origin, it will resemble closely the same event shoppers and vendors alike have flocked to each October.
“What Jami and Megan started was an amazing thing for our town, but it had outgrown them,” stated Brandi. “We have the space here to see it continue to grow as something positive for the community, and there are six of us all in to run it.”
Brandi, brought on board to help with the event last year, says once she received a text stating the former owners were ready to sell, it took the six new owners less than 30 minutes to make the decision to buy it.
“I felt like helping out last year, I had acquired enough experience and knowledge to have a baseline for where to start,” she stated. “It was meant to be.”
The other new owners had also helped out at the event over the years, and had an idea of the scope of what they were getting themselves into.
Shankland Ranch, which comprises 400 acres owned by Kevin and Carol at 14900 N. Cedar Road, provides a sprawling new backdrop for JunkFest. The group has afforded 12 acres for parking, and a 4-acre backup lot for overspill, with two designated entrance gates and one exit.
“From our time working at JunkFest, we knew we had to address the parking issue,” stated Cody. “I think we’ve done that. But we will re-evaluate after this first year, and make adjustments, where necessary.”
There will be a $5 parking fee per vehicle, regardless of size or number of occupants. A portion of the parking proceeds will go toward The Fallen Outdoors, an organization which provides outdoor adventures for military veterans. There is no entry fee for the event itself.
Though the original intention was to hold steady this year at 200 vendors, the same as last year, the booth count has been pulled back to 180, due to the number of requests for extra large lots. About 60% are repeat vendors from last year.
“We had a lot of startup to do this year, building fences, plotting maps, creating infrastructure, so we wanted to keep it close to the scope of last year,” said Kevin. “Next year we won’t have as much startup, and we will be able to think bigger.”
A full 6.5 acres has been made available for vendor booths, with plenty of room to grow in nearly every direction.
The new owners have made small adjustments after witnessing and listening to critique of last year’s event — more parking, wider pathways, more trash cans, more bathrooms (especially handicapped accessible ones), overnight security, and places to sit.
The group has focused on making sure there are plenty of “junk” vendors, another request from shoppers at past events. More primitives than ever will be available to peruse this year, with many of them given priority placement up front. The Shanklands and Varners even plan to include their own vendor booth of rusty treasures.
“We want everyone who attends to see that this is our passion, too,” stated Brandi.
A major addition this year is The Elevator Bar and Grill’s shaded beer garden, with a pond view and yard games.
Carol has worked to cultivate a pumpkin patch, and overseen the building of photo opportunities and places to sit and relax, creating adult swings out of antique chair backs and swingset frames. She has turned the JunkYard, the kids’ play area, into a fenced in haven for youth, adding good ol’ fashioned favorites such as hopscotch and a cornpit, stick horses, an obstacle course, a roping bull, and a treehouse. Two adults will be on hand to supervise the children of anyone who wants to wander and shop while their kids play. Every kid who comes to play will leave with a prize.
The group is hoping the event will become an experience as much as a shopping trip, and a place where memories can be made in the country. The picturesque location features rolling hills and several ponds.
Kevin and Cody are avid hunters, and the Shankland’s acreage is crisscrossed with deer trails and buggy paths. Kevin will spend his time taking families on Wilderness Buggy Rides. A quick tour of the land affords the opportunity to view cows, buzzards, deer, and turkey, among other wildlife.
DirtRoad JunkFest will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 at Shankland Farms.
There will be a special holding area and hold tickets for large item purchases and 10 buggies available to deliver them to vehicles. The UTVs will also serve the public by shuttling those in need back and forth from the parking lot through the event space.
There are 30-plus support crew signed on to help with JunkFest, many of them Shankland family members, who are coming from both coasts to lend a hand. In all, Kevin and Carol have seven children and 23 grandchildren.
“And 15 of them will be staying in my house during JunkFest,” said Carol. “We hope to pay for their services in food and lodging.”
Their priority these past few weeks has been to spread the word and ensure they get as many shoppers as possible out to the new location to support their vendors.
“The vendors are our main priority; they’re our customers,” said Jim. “Jami and Megan built on that, and that’s why its been so successful. We are hoping to give our vendors a fun and exciting forum in which to display their talents and passions.”
JunkFest has ten sponsors helping out this first year, all small businesses devoted to supporting local families and communities.
“Part of our purpose here is to help grow local small businesses and entrepreneurs,” stated Rowena. “We hope that bringing people to town for a couple days each year, we will provide a small bit of help in seeing our local businesses succeed.”
The new owners want to remind attendees that the event is rural, and technology is not always dependable in the country — bringing cash just in case is never a bad idea.
Though utilizing generators this year, there is a possibility of adding electricity in the future. With a little dirtwork, there is room for the event to even double in size, though whether that is right for JunkFest is a question that will need answered. The new owners intend to utilize this first year as an opportunity to make mistakes, and to learn from them.
“This is just a start,” stated Brandi. “We have a crazy passion to make this grow for our community, and we are definitely looking ahead to improve the experience for both vendor and shopper.”
Brandi, in administration at BNSF Railway, and Jim, a deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s department, have a son, Brigg, 16, and a daughter, Kinzie, 14.
Cody and Rowena, who both work for the United States Postal Service in industrial maintenance and as a mail handler, are parents to Caden, 16, and Helena, 14.
Kevin and Carol are both retired from the USPS. Six of their seven children also work for USPS — the seventh is in marketing for PBS.
As did the Heinens and Belveals before them, the Shanklands and Varners intend to keep JunkFest a family affair. And that includes their vendors.
“We like to tell them, ‘you’re a part of the family now — the JunkFest family.”