Bikes, discs and track: Thousands visit Emporia for event packed May

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Emporia is hosting thousands of people in the coming weeks. Many visiting those events will be from out of town. Thursday, May 23, hundreds of college cleats hit the track as division two athletes took part in the National Championship, in Emporia, Kansas. "It's my job to try to bring people to [...]

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Emporia is hosting thousands of people in the coming weeks. Many visiting those events will be from out of town.

Thursday, May 23, hundreds of college cleats hit the track as division two athletes took part in the National Championship, in Emporia, Kansas.

"It's my job to try to bring people to town, and so these festivals, these events, these championship caliber events that we host do exactly that," Visit Emporia director LeLan Dains said. "To share that with the rest of the world, the things we enjoy doing, and the rest of the world came and they agreed, it's a pretty special place."

Starting Wednesday, May 29 through Sunday, June 2, is Unbound Gravel, one of the largest long-distance bike races in the country. Followed by a weekend tournament for one of Emporia's favorite sports, disc golf.

"Showing people something they don't get to normally see," Dynamic Discs Manager Trace Herzog said. "Disc golf is still a very niche sport, there's not a lot of opportunities for people to experience it in this capacity. We have Masters Worlds coming up two weekends from now."

Herzog manages the disc golf store where he says major events become a great opportunity to introduce visitors to something new.

"We really do strive to help those new players feel as welcome to the sport and welcome to the community as possible, so that's what we've really been focused on for this week with all those awesome people coming in for the track meet," Herzog said.

KSNT 27 News also spoke with Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking, who said sometimes all it takes is a visit for people to appreciate what Emporia has to offer.

"Through Unbound and Dynamic Disc, we've had people who moved to Emporia after having been here and seeing it," Cocking said. "So, just another opportunity to get eyes on Emporia, another opportunity to experience Emporia and see all the great shops that we have on Main Street."

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