The Amelia Earhart Festival weekend has arrived in Atchison, meaning a swell of out-of-area visitors as well as traffic changes due to festival-related reasons.

According to a release from the City of Atchison, the traffic affects will be felt Saturday, starting early in the morning.

Those closings include:

-6th Street Viaduct/6th Street from US-59 to the alley North of Commercial Street.

-Commercial Street from 5th Street to 9th Street. 5th Street will remain open. 6th, 7th & 8th Streets will be closed at Commercial Street.

-Commercial Street from River Road to 4th Street. 2nd Street remains open until 3PM.

-3rd Street from Kansas Ave. to Main Street.

-River Road from Atchison Street to Commercial Street.

More closings will go in place Saturday afternoon around 3:00, with the City’s release saying that will include:

-Main Street from 5th Street East toward the Missouri River.

-4th Street from US-59 to Kansas Ave. Traffic coming to Atchison from Missouri is advised to use 10th Street to access Atchison’s downtown.

-2nd Street from Kansas Ave. to Main Street.

-The River Road closure will extend North of Atchison Street to the North Boat Ramp.

-Santa Fe Street from 2nd Street to North Terrace in addition to North Terrace.

-Atchison Street from 2nd Street to River Road

Downtown Atchison will be alive with family-friendly activities Saturday, while Benedictine College will again host Earhart-themed events, including the Speaker’s Symposium, featuring Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award winner Mandy Horvath.

Friday, Atchison’s Warnock Lake will be closed all day, due to the evening’s LakeFest country music concert, which traditionally marks the start of the Amelia Earhart Festival, held each year to honor the famed aviator who called Atchison her childhood home.

The front gates of Warnock Lake will open Friday at 4:00, but only for those with tickets to the concert, featuring the music of Erik Dylan, Michael Ray, and headliner Chris Janson.

The festival has been held for more than two decades, but was called off in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.