Independence, otherwise known as “Queen City” where the California, Santa Fe and Oregon wagon trails commenced, will be celebrating its storied history with a festival on Labor Day.
The 53rd annual SantaCaliGon Days Festival—named for the three historic trails—draws around 200,000 visitors to Independence every year. This year’s festival will be headlined by country music artist Phil Vassar on August 30.
Although the first three trails festival was held in 1940, it wasn’t until 1973 that it became a reliable annual city tradition. To honor the historic significance of the Queen City, SantaCaliGon maintains a “Main Street 1849” section, which recreates the look and feel of the pioneer era…