WICHITA, Kansas, May 8, 2008 – Riverfest 2008 kicks off Friday and organizers have been hard at work despite a shortage of volunteers.

Volunteers unload souvenirs for the 37th annual Riverfest. Organizers expect record crowds for the nine-day festival and this year look for stricter enforcement of where those crowds can go.

"The events will have gates and we'll ask that if people come through the gates, they'll have a button on,” said Susan Burchill with Riverfest marketing.

The button is your all-access pass to 70 events including the concerts. Without it, you’ll only be allowed in the food court.

"We charge that button price, not to make a lot of money or take it for Wichita festivals,” Burchill said. “It's to make the festival bigger and better every year for the people of Wichita and the surrounding area."

The outlying communities of Wichita were targeted for this year’s festival by a six-week marketing campaign.

"We've done a lot of regional things as far as newspaper, radio, and TV to try and get people to come to Wichita and spend the week with us,” Burchill said.

Ads were run in Salina, Emporia, Hutchinson and Ark City and admission buttons have been available at local convenience stores like Quik Trip.

For Wichitan Dale Campbell, collecting Riverfest buttons has become a summer tradition.

"I've been attending the river festival for 25 years,” Campbell said.

With the marketing campaign and a greater emphasis placed on the need for buttons, Riverfest organizers are projecting the 2008 festival to bring in $30 million to the city.