The layout was slightly different, but the result was all the same: a great time was had by all who attended the 2025 Halfway to Everywhere Music and Arts Festival this past weekend in Emporia.
This year’s installment of the festival shifted its look slightly, with half of its activities taking place in the downtown corridor, as it has since its inception, on Friday before moving to Champions Landing for the main event Saturday afternoon and evening. Founder and lead organizer Hank Osterhout stated he is very pleased with how far the event has come in recent years and how warmly the community has embraced it.
When asked what he thinks the benefits are for having the festival in Emporia, Osterhout says there is more than one answer to that question.
Friday’s list of activities included bands on four stages in downtown Emporia, an open mic stage, street performers, a battle of the bands and much more. As for major changes on Saturday, this was the first year that included an on-site camping option at Champions Landing, which seemed to garner plenty of attention as several tents were set up across the property from Friday into Saturday.
In addition to the musical performances, the schedule also included the first Halfway Huck Disc Golf Tournament, a fitting addition given the host site. Musical performances kicked up in the early afternoon and rocked the Champs property well into the late evening hours, carrying over into early Sunday morning.
Champs owner Jeremy Rusco says they were very pleased to team up with Halfway, saying he believes Champs is a natural site for an event like it, adding he believes this year was a big step forward for both the festival and Champs as well.
When he took over ownership of the Emporia Country Club back in 2023, renaming it Champions Landing, Rusco promised it would be an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone in the community with a wide variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. He believes teaming up with Halfway is one way they have kept that promise to Emporia.
While he was very pleased with the overall product, Osterhout, ever the perfectionist, says he was, as always, keeping a mental checklist of things he feels could be improved for 2026, including possibly beginning the activities on Friday a bit later.
This weekend was the sixth annual Music and Arts Festival with more than 20 bands and performers taking to the stages as part of the two-day-long festivities.
*Click here for KVOE’s YouTube channel, including video from the event.
For more information on Halfway to Everywhere and future events, be sure to visit H2EFest.org.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon and Chuck Samples/KVOE News
