It's a festival that through the years has fallen on some of the hottest, most uncomfortable days of the summer. But on Saturday morning, those involved with the 2009 edition of Trails West! - from organizers and volunteers to artists and concert-goers - were basking in the cool of a sunny, 70-degree day.

"This is perfect," said Helen Hundley, a volunteer who was selling Trails West! T-shirts with her daughter-in-law, Brandi Bilderback. "Great weather, and our T-shirt sales are going well."

For the first time, the festival in Civic Center Park was selling T-shirts from previous years, for $1 each. New T-shirts with the 2009 logo were going for $15 and $17. "So you can get a new T-shirt and three old ones for only $20." Ms. Hundley said. "You can't beat that."

Ms. Bilderback, an art student, said one of the reasons she wanted to volunteer was the wealth of artwork at the festival. A total of 30 booths were displaying and selling everything from jewelry to watercolors. "One day I plan to teach art, and this is a good way to meet people," she added.

One of those artists, Jerry Brown of Lee's Summit, Mo., was displaying his pastel paintings. He shows his work throughout the Midwest, and has been to Trails West! several times.

"I came here for a number of years, then I took a break, and now I'm back," he said. "I like it. It's laid-back and comfortable."

Some artwork was being created on the spot. Adriann Dunn, a high school student from Savannah, Mo., was painting an image based on the old Big Chief writing tablet. It was part of an Artists in Action project, where various artists were painting different scenes, or "postcards," depicting St. Joseph's history.

"It's what we call a moveable mural," said Erika Nelson of Lucas, Kan., who was in charge of the project. "It's a series of panels, and by the time we're finished, we'll have a good snapshot of St. Joseph."

Ms. Nelson said she has noticed two distinct audiences for Trails West! "You have the music audiences who come out at night, and then the people who come in the daytime to look at the art," she said. "It's a lot calmer right now."

And what a difference in the weather. "Last year it was hot and we were working only in the shade." She paused and laughed. "Now I have two shirts on."

The prospects of a boost in attendance due to the nice weather were not lost on Teresa Fankhauser, director of the Allied Arts Council. "Last night we had 8,000 people, and we might be able to double that tonight," she said. "And Loverboy (the Sunday night musical headliner) is popular, so we're expecting a good crowd for that."

Ms. Fankhauser noted that more than 40,000 people attended Trails West! last year. "If this great weather holds, we might do a little better this year," she added.

And even though the first songs from country headliner Heidi Newfield were more than eight hours away, some of those music fans Ms. Nelson spoke of were already assembling. Nichole Hardin, Christine Phelps and Stacey Gries had brought folding chairs and staked out a prime spot, about 50 feet from the stage. They were sunbathing, reading and texting their friends until the show started at 8 p.m.

"This is the best way to get a good seat," Ms. Gries said. "If we waited until 4 p.m., we'd be back there on the hill."

Terry Jordan can be reached

at terryj@npgco.com.