Organizer Connie Torneden said Monday that 75 vendors have requested space. That’s up from roughly 65 a year ago.

“We still have people calling,” Torneden said. “So I may have to be creative. But anyway we’ll find a spot for them.”

This year’s Tonganoxie Days is special because it marks the festival’s 20th anniversary.

No special activities or merchandise will commemorate the milestone, but Torneden said Tonganoxie Days hats and visors will be available, items that are new this summer.

Although most Tonganoxie Days activities are set for Saturday, the event kicks off Friday with a barbecue contest and the Miss Tonganoxie Beauty Pageant. Both activities will be held at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds. The pageant will start at 7 p.m. Friday at the fairgrounds’ administration building. The barbecue will start Friday, but judging will start at noon Saturday.

The fairgrounds won’t just be buzzing with a hot and spicy barbecue contest. A miniature horse show will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, while a demolition derby will get under way at 6 p.m.

Activities are planned for other spots throughout Tonganoxie. The Tonganoxie Community Historical

Society, in conjunction with the Sacred Heart Altar Society, will have sponsor a quilt show at the Tonganoxie Historic Site. 201 W. Washington. Vintage quilts — those that are at least 50 years old — along with newer quilts will be on display.

The annual Friends of the Tonganoxie Library’s 10-K and 5-K runs and 5-K fun walk will start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The library also will have an art show from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

At VFW Park, the annual Country Cruisers Car Show will rev its engine starting at 10 a.m., while a Flag Day ceremony will start at 11:45 a.m. at VFW Park. A flyover was scheduled during the ceremony, but it has been canceled because pilots wouldn’t be available for Saturday.

Musicians, including Lawrence’s Allen McFarland and Tonganoxie’s Joey Glenn, are set to perform on Fourth Street. McFarland will roam downtown, and Glenn will perform at 10:45 a.m. at Fourth and Bury streets.

Activities Saturday will conclude with Teen Moonlight Hoops. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., youths ages 12 to 18 can play basketball at Chieftain Park. Music and free soft drinks will be provided.