Every January 29th, Kansans statewide come together to celebrate Kansas Day, commemorating this 34th state joining the union back in 1861 after arduous efforts to enter as a free state. People in cities and small towns alike honour their storied shared history through festivals, museum exhibits, parades and beyond. This guide outlines the diverse regional events and abundant family-friendly activities Kansas Day offers for making meaningful community connections.
From Dodge City gunslinger reenactments to lively pioneer festivals in the state capital, discovering new sights tied to the tenacious frontier spirit thriving across Kansas provides teachable moments for both kids and adults. Mark the annual milestone at home or discover hidden gems in a new town. With no shortage of festivities, the only challenge is choosing which of the commemorative events to attend.
Eastern Kansas Events
Northeast Kansas offers numerous family-friendly activities in conjunction with historical sites spanning early frontier settlements, the pathway westward on the Oregon Trail and the Bleeding Kansas struggle.
Baldwin City
Each year the Douglas County Fairgrounds fills with rustic demonstrations, settler games and contests for its Kansas Day Festival. Folks can churn butter, pan for gold, craft cornhusk dolls and more alongside wagon ride reenactments of the Black Jack Battlefield skirmish led by John Brown on September 1, 1856.
Lawrence
Watkins Museum highlights new artefacts relevant to Quantrill’s Raid with special exhibits and speakers discussing how the devastation propelled Lawrence’s resolve. Other sites like the Robert Miller Spot, the Eldridge Hotel and Memorial Hall offer reduced specials highlighting architectural history.
Leavenworth
The First City Museum hosts children’s crafts, special talks and walking tours delving into Leavenworth’s complex role as an early Kansas territory hub through today. Families also enjoy horse-led rides through historic downtown while eating special-themed treats.
Olathe
The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm launches inaugural Kansas Day festivities this year on newly acquired land near Olathe focused on early settlement living history. Period cooking, farming, games and stagecoach rides teach about difficult chapters in the state’s path toward freedom.
Topeka Festivities
The capital unsurprisingly hosts abundant events for this important state milestone.
Topeka Kansas Day Events
| Event | Details |
|---|---|
| Kansas Museum of History | Formal events at the Capitol Building recognizing important state milestones and leaders. Features speakers, musical performances and appearances by dignitaries |
| Topeka Festival | 2-day interactive family-fun festival held downtown and at the Capitol with historical reenactors, games, contests, crafts & displays |
| Kansas Day Ceremony | The annual fundraising dinner brings together community leaders and honours Kansans making positive impacts with a keynote address |
| Great Overland Station | Annual fundraising dinner brings together community leaders and honors Kansans making positive impacts with a keynote address |
Wamego
The town embraces its Wizard of Oz legacy by having folks dress as characters in the annual Kansas Day parade that zips down Lincoln Street led by Mayor Dorothy in ruby red shoes while businesses host specials.
Central Kansas Festivities
Smack in the heartland, the Flint Hills and small towns of central Kansas offer quirky events celebrating history and community.
Cottonwood Falls
Chase County, the “Pride of the Flint Hills”, puts on special roundups and chuckwagon-style good ole family fun celebrating favourite son Dwight D. Eisenhower’s leadership alongside the Tallgrass National Preserve’s scenic vistas and wildlife.
Ellsworth
Showcasing heritage as a historically grand cattle drive stop, Ellsworth enjoys some famed Kansas Day ribbing with a community barbecue cook-off in honour of those Texas cattle trailblazers settling the frontier.
Hutchinson
The Cosmosphere doubles down on heavenly fun with astronomy-themed planetarium shows about celestial lore that guide freedom seekers navigating towards Kansas with crafts and special NASA speaker appearances to excite future generations onward.
Strong City
Rich history merges with small-town hospitality during a community chilli contest under the stars at the Cottonwood River Greenway. Storytellers recount favourite tales for laughter and wisdom besides crackling bonfires.
Western Festivities
Out west it’s all about ranching, rodeos and rowdy frontier fun on January 29th.
Dodge City
It’s high noon in old Dodge with cowboy-mounted shooting competitions, can-can song and dance revues, themed museum programs, and shootouts with harrowed marshals staving off baddies in the streets.
Hays
From zoo events to pioneer craft demonstrations, and Wild West reenactments with historic figures to boot-scootin’ musical performances, Hays offers endless entertainment backdropped by frontier fort architecture.
Wichita
A family favourite raucous good time, the Old Cowtown Museum doubles down with extra reenactments, activities and performances to delight kids of all ages with tractor parades, calf wrangling, chuckwagon vittles and trick roping spectacles.
Western Kansas Kansas Day Celebrations
| City | Main Attractions |
|---|---|
| Dodge City | Gunfighting reenactments, saddle-up rodeo events, saloon can-can variety shows |
| Hays | Wild West skits at Fort Hays, zoo activities, western music & dancing, pioneer crafts |
| Wichita | Old Cowtown wagon parades & race events, trick roping, calf wrangling at the rodeo grounds |
Year-Round Education
Can’t wait til next January 29th for your next exciting Kansas history adventure? Consider putting some of these sites on your family field trip list.
State Capitol Building Tour
Topeka’s capitol complex towers above all with ornate dome architecture and expansive murals relaying state history alongside the central “Ad Astra” statue and intrepid explorers perched high.
Boot Hill Museum
See what life was like for marshal lawmen, saloon gals, schoolmarms and rowdy cowboys on the wild frontier in western Kansas heyday.
Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm
The Pony Express delivers frontier living history on a restored Civil War era farmstead with workings exhibits from blacksmith demonstrations to apothecary shops and general stores even the kiddos operate.
Community Connections
Beyond the annual celebrations and family trip ideas, Kansas Day activates citizens year-round through service projects honouring community heritage and helping those in need today.
Collection Drives
Towns often host food, clothing and book drives donating to area shelters and schools in honour of the state’s agricultural and educational progress.
Preservation Volunteerism
Volunteers tidy ageing cemeteries, clear brush choking old wagon trail paths lost to time and repaint statues erected long ago so new generations understand previous generations’ sacrifice and vision paving the way for them today.
Outreach Storytelling with Seniors
Hearing firsthand from elders offers perspective on the progress they witnessed firsthand. Student visits to retirement homes to document oral family tales steward legacies once the elders pass on.
Upcoming Cultural Performances and Concerts in Kansas
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| February 6th | Kansas City Symphony Presents: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 | Helzberg Hall, Kansas City, MO |
| February 12th-14th | She Loves Me – Musical Performance | Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre, Hutchinson, KS |
| February 27th-28th | “Romeo and Juliet” by the Ballet Wichita | Fope Theatre, Wichita, KS |
Whether you choose to attend a symphony, ballet, or any other cultural performance, you are sure to be impressed by the talent and creativity of local artists. Celebrate the diversity of Kansas by experiencing the different artistic expressions the state has to offer.
Conclusion
Come January 29th, Kansas Day events across the Sunflower State offer fun and enduring education for citizens of all ages through immersive activities. The shared stories, values and traditions that built this distinctive state come alive again when experiencing the dress, pastimes, foods and even hardships ancestors endured displayed at museums and festivals across Kansas counties today. From simple town parades to elaborately staged pioneer reenactments, locals keep history’s humbling lessons and the sacrifices that paved the way vibrantly accessible for newcomers and visitors. This guides your family, class or community organization on ways to actively celebrate and expand upon Kansas’ thunderous spirit and renowned hospitality this year and for years to come.
