Dam Jam has new home, expects up to 10,000 this weekend

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — It’s called the Dam Jam because the music festival is held near the dam at Lake Afton, and they’re expecting up to 10,000 people this weekend.

“But what we want to achieve is put your phones down, have fun, you just get together and be friends and make new friends,” said Dam Jam promoter C J Wilson.

Wilson says the festival lost its spot at El Dorado Lake last year. She says it’s a “state thing” where they are moving festivals away from state lakes.

Sedgwick County said yes to hosting Dam Jam.

“And Sedgwick County embraced us and that was awesome,” said Wilson. “And they’ve been hands-on, fully effective, and that’s what I like. So, I’m hoping that as a team, together, the sponsors and the county and us, we can do an event that can last 20 years that can help our economy.”

Sedgwick County has emergency staffing at Lake Afton for the Friday and Saturday event.

“We’ve got a lot of our first responder agencies out there ready to respond to any kind of emergency that comes with having crowds at this kind of event,” said Julie Stimson, Sedgwick County emergency management director. “Finding people in a large park, communication is key. We have enough people out here without taking away resources from the rest of the county. We have everything covered.

The Dam Jam Festival continues Saturday. Gates open at 4 p.m.

As a reminder to both campers and music festival goers, Lake Afton remains under a blue-green algae warning. That means you are not allowed in the water until the warning is later lifted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.