About the Festival
The Thousand Springs Festival takes place on Ritter Island, a 385-acre parcel that is part of the Thousand Springs State Park located in Hagerman Valley. During the past two years, over 4,000 attendees traveled to the festival. The route to get there, admittedly, is a bit off the beaten path, but once you arrive, park your car and get on the school bus that takes you down a one-lane road into the Snake River Canyon, your cares and worries will evaporate and your spirit will soar.
"This is definitely the best festival in all of southern Idaho," says comedian Danny Marona, who was master of ceremonies for the 16th, 17th and 18th annual festivals,
reprised his role again for the 19th annual festival in 2011 along with the help of Brian Neudorff from KMVT Channel 11. As Danny state, "The setting, the music, the food, the quality of the arts and crafts – it just doesn’t get any better. There is nothing that rivals it."
The event started when neighbors who lived near Ritter Island and members of The Nature Conservancy got together to raise money for the purpose of preserving the island’s astounding natural habitat. The island is also home to an old-fashioned dairy facility that belonged to one of its early owners.
Said Gene Day, one of the original organizers of the festival, "We wanted to make this the kind of craft show that you would find nowhere else in Idaho." Nowadays, Day is a board member of the Southern Idaho Land Trust (SILT), a south-central Idaho conservation group that currently runs the festival. SILT uses the proceeds to encourage and maintain conservation easements throughout the region.
Definitely this island is what puts the Thousand Springs Festival out in front. The first recorded history of Ritter Island began with the arrival of French trappers in the 1800s. In 1918 a Salt Lake businesswoman by the name of Minnie Miller purchased the island. She set up what was then a state-of-the-art dairy. She planned to breed the best Guernsey cattle on earth, and she succeeded. The island still features Miller’s buildings. During the festival, people tour the old-fashioned dairy facilities while scientists and local dairy farmers educate the public about the modern dairy industry, which is a mainstay of the Magic Valley economy.
In 1954 a federal judge by the name of Willis W. Ritter purchased the island and used it as a private hunting reserve. Then in 1986 The Nature Conservancy purchased the property, which includes two miles of river front. The Conservancy maintained it as a wildlife preserve until the organization gifted it to the state of Idaho in 2006. The island is now part of the Thousand Springs State Park complex and is maintained with money from a trust the Conservancy gave to the state of Idaho, along with fundraising efforts such as the Festival.
Ritter Island is a haven for wildlife. Waterfowl use the wetland habitat, especially in the spring and fall. Herons nest on the island, and raptors like golden eagles and prairie falcons nest along the canyon walls. During annual Christmas bird counts, Ritter Island often has one of the highest counts of bird species in Idaho.
Hundreds visit the park to enjoy its beauty each week during the summer. If you enjoy a laid-back party staged in one of the most spectacular settings on the planet, you should plan on the Thousand Springs Festival the last weekend in September. You’re going to experience a few hours of heaven on earth, guaranteed.
For the safety of our guests and the cleanliness of the park, please leave all pets at home.
