Maple Leaf Festival

10/21/2025

Another Maple Leaf Festival has come and gone, and 2025 was a good year. It's got us thinking about all the volunteer hours that go into this Festival, and the difference it makes for real people in our community.

Planning is an all year effort with too many hands behind the scenes to even begin to list them all. The volunteer Maple Leaf Festival Committee, Baldwin City, KS - Municipal Government staff, Baldwin City Police Department, Baldwin City Fire Department, Baldwin City School District (USD 348), Baker University, and so many more local organizations work together throughout the year to make this event flow as smoothly as possible.

Event set up, food booths, "guest comforts" (a polite way to say port-a-potty and trash management), traffic control, parade organization, vendor management, the music tent, kids' zone, safety, the information booth, trolleys, trams, buses, parking... ALL of these things are coordinated with dedicated volunteers who believe in the power of this event to make a difference in our community.

To everyone who spends time each year to make the Maple Leaf Festival a beautiful time for visitors and community members alike: Thank you.

We see you, and we love you!

10/19/2025

It's been a gorgeous couple of days for the 2025 Maple Leaf Festival! Vendors will be open until 5pm today, come on down!

10/19/2025

10/18/2025

10/18/2025

At the risk of being unbelievably cheesy, we’re going to paraphrase a Johnny Cash song from 1958, of all years...

A young Baldwinite named Billy Joe grew restless hanging round
A boy grown up around this town who really meant no harm
He changed his clothes and shined his boots
And combed his dark hair down
And his mother cried as he walked out

"Don't take your dog to town, son
Leave your pets at home, Bill
Don't take your dog to town"

No seriously, one more time: We love your pets and ours too, but pets are not allowed at the Festival due to City Ordinance. If you have a service animal with documentation, you’re welcome to bring them.

To quote one of the Festival Committee leaders, “Service animals are welcome. The no pets ordinance was put in place for non-service animals due to a child being mauled at the festival many years ago. Sometimes animals that have not been trained to be in crowded areas can become aggressive. It’s not their fault, but happens because they have not been in the situation before. The ordinance is just to prevent another incident such as that. Service animals are trained to be in a crowded environment such as Maple Leaf, and so they are welcome.”

The ordinance is available on the Baldwin City, KS - Municipal Government website here: https://baldwincity.citycode.net/index.html #!articleAnimalsAtEvents.

10/16/2025

10/16/2025

10/14/2025

SCAM ALERT: We’ve learned that someone is emailing individuals saying Maple Leaf Festival Booths are available and requesting payment. THIS IS A SCAM.

The Festival committee mails responses to booth applications via the US Postal Service in June and July. Please do not send money or reply to these emails. If you have a question about your festival booth, you may contact Donna Curran at 785-766-2587.

10/14/2025

With 30,000+ friends descending on Baldwin City for Maple Leaf Festival this weekend, your phone might decide to take a scenic nap. 😴 Save this quick guide RIGHT NOW before your signal waves goodbye Saturday morning!

10/13/2025