Venues

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The main north/south street in Great Bend is Main Street, which is also US-281.
The main east/west street in Great Bend is Tenth Street, which is also US-56 (the Santa Fé Trail).
The other east/west streets are numbered with a few exceptions:

• 13th Street is named Lakin.
• 14th Street is named Forest west of downtown.
• 14th Street is named Park east of downtown.
• 15th Street is a beautiful boulevard named Broadway.
• There is no 11th Street west of Washington.

Crest Theatre

From Tenth & Main, the Crest Theatre is 3 blocks north and half a block east on Lakin. The Crest is on the Courthouse Square (which features a “quilt walk”). The Crest (shown at right) is on the south side of Lakin. (Click on that picture for a better view.) Directly across the street from the Crest in the Courthouse Square is the Moses Memorial Bandshell which may be used for some events (weather pemitting).

One block north of Lakin & Main, at the corner of Forest & Main, is the Barton Arts Center, the home of the Barton County Arts Council, under whose auspices the Festival is being held. In October, 2000, the Arts Center featured Oscar Micheaux in a window display. Plans are being made for an exhibit worth visiting during the Festival. Some Festival activities may be held at the Arts Center.

A few steps east of the Crest is Kansas Avenue. The Elks Club is one block south at 12th Street. They'll host an informal Saturday luncheon for those attending the festival. Being within easy walking distance of the Crest means that the lunch break can be kept reasonably short and also provide an opportunity to mingle.

Broadway

About two miles west of downtown is the Great Bend cemetery. Especially during the spring, Broadway is a very pleasant street to follow between downtown and the cemetery. (Click on the photo at the right for a better view.) The cemetery will be the location of a wreath laying and other ceremonies (including the Buffalo Soldiers).

The map at the top of this page also shows the location of the two largest motels in Great Bend, the Holiday Inn and the Best Western Angus Inn. These are about a mile west of downtown Great Bend on Tenth Street.

At the northeast corner of town is the Golden Belt Country Club, the venue for Sunday evening's Oscar party.

Clicking on the map at the top of this page will take you to the same at MapBlast. You can then zoom in or out for the scale you prefer. You are then welcome to print copies of these maps prior to your visit.

Another venue of interest is the Eden Valley Cemetery where several of Micheaux' relatives are buried. If you want to visit that cemetery, we have maps and directions for you.