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There's nothing like a small town to help clear your mind and bring out the spirit of exploration.
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Cowboys, Calls, and Carousels - Dickinson County Heritage Center
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Throwback Thursday
Cowboy boots are essential in any cowtown. T.C. McInerney's Drover's Boot Store advertised cowboy boots in the Abilene Weekly Chronicle on October 12, 1871 - 147 years ago!
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5 Star Reviews - Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad
I've driven through Abilene many times on my way to points-west and had no idea this little railroad was there. After learning about it in Trains magazine, I purchased a couple tickets for my 11 year-old grand-daughter and myself on the 3415 steam locomotive. We came out at 10am and took pictures of the first run of the day and then rode in the caboose for the 2pm trip. It was a great day.
The crew really know their stuff, including the history of the area and of the locomotive itself.
It's so great that these locomotives are kept running. They are such an important part of our past. We will definitely be visiting again.
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"The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
June 22, 1945
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Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad
S
team Engine
Make reservations to ride the rails with the longhorns at the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad
Saturday, September 1 - 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. (during Chisholm Trail Days at Old Abilene Town)
The Steam Engine will also run Sunday, September 2 and Monday, September 3.
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Dickinson County Heritage Center
40th annual Heritage Day Festival
The 40th annual Heritage Day Festival (formerly known as the Chisholm Trail Days) features living history with demonstrations of threshing, steam engine carousel rides, antique tractor show, classic car show, model trains, blacksmith, and much more.
Exhibitors can come in and setup from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, or 8 a.m.-9 a.m. on Saturday.
The event will start on Friday evening at 3:00 p.m. with registration for a tractor ride from Abilene to Enterprise and back. The tractor ride will depart at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
Saturday, the festivities begin at 9 a.m..- 4 p.m.
Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the gate. Children 12 and under are $2. Call the Dickinson County Heritage Center for tickets at 785-263-2681.
Tombstone Talks in Solomon
The Dickinson County Heritage Center presents the 4th Annual Tombstone Talks. There will be two Tombstone Talks this year at two different locations. The first installment will be on October 13 in Solomon. The troupe will be paying homage to the great men and women of Solomon, Kansas at the Prairie Mound Cemetery. You will meet at the Solomon Senior Center for refreshments and then loaded onto the bus for the cemetery. You will take a guided walking tour through the cemetery in the evening to hear reenactors tell the stories of some of the more colorful characters of Dickinson County from their own tombstones, lit by lanterns. Get in the Halloween spirit with an evening in the cemetery.
For tickets, call the Heritage Center at 785-263-2681.
Tickets are $5 for all ages.
Tombstone Talks in Abilene
Join us for the 4th Annual Tombstone Talks at the Abilene Cemetery. Reenactors will present the life of the more colorful characters of Dickinson County from a first person narrative. Join our tour guides through a evening tour through the cemetery, stopping at the graves of those historical icons in Abilene's history.
Tickets are $5 for all ages, call the Heritage Center for more information at 785-263-2681.
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Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home
Eisenhower Baseball Controversy Lunch & Learn
August 23, 2018
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
The next Lunch & Learn program is Thursday, Aug. 23 at noon in the Eisenhower Presidential Library Visitors Center Auditorium, 200 SE 4th, Abilene. Free and open to the public, a light lunch is provided courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation on a first come, first serve basis.
Did Dwight Eisenhower play professional baseball before he went to West Point? Historians have debated the question for more than 60 years. Baseball expert Mark Eberle will discuss his research on the controversial subject. His monograph Eisenhower, Wilson and Professional Baseball in Kansas is available free and online at
https://works.bepress.com/mark-eberle
.
Eberle teaches in the Department of Biological Sciences at Fort Hays State University. He is a coauthor of Kansas Fishes and Fishes of the Central United States, Second Edition. His recently published book titled Kansas Baseball, 1858-1941, is available for purchase in the gift shop.
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Great Plains Theatre
No kids? No problem! Shrek The Musical may be fun for all ages, but that doesn't make it a kid's show! Full of adventure, heart, and humor, this show will delight entire audiences! Older patrons can enjoy every moment of this heartwarming tale of friendship, changing your destiny, and finding true love.
We are getting ready to put our largest cast yet on stage! 36 actors will take to the stage for Shrek the Musical, featuring professional actors from across America and a youth ensemble of local talent!
You may recognize James Fairchild as the reluctant hero Shrek, previously seen in Mamma Mia!, Vaughn Meccod as the enthusiastic sidekick Donkey, last seen in Ragtime, Matthew Aaron playing the villainous Lord Farquaad, who just finished The Lion in Winter as Richard the Lionheart, Shannon Cochran as the lovely Fiona, and Salina-native Maggie Spicer as Sugar Plum Fairy.
This production is complete with a youth ensemble which began with a 3-week Shrek Bootcamp where campers met with artistic director Randy West, education director Margaret Clair, music director Mark Hanson, and choreographer Sarah Hinrichsen to learn the songs and dances they will perform with the full professional cast during the August 10
th
through 19
th
run. There's no shortage of talent on the stage for this show.
Shrek the Musical
is a fun-for-the-whole-family romp through a storybook world that has a lot in common with ours today. With themes of finding your destiny, daring to be different, and accepting others, freaky flaws and all, Shrek the Musical will take the audience along on a journey of a lifetime! Tickets are available at greatplainstheatre.com, or via phone at 785.263.4574, or at the box office at 401 Cottage Ave, Abilene.
Performances run Friday, August 10th through Sunday, August 19th at Great Plains Theatre, together we are more!
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Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum
Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum
Open daily 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Free admission
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Old Abilene Town
Wild Bill's Gunfighters
Saturdays
Noon, 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Sundays
1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
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Seelye Mansion
Abilene's Historic
Seelye Mansion
is a must-see! Furnished with items from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright and home to a wooden
bowling alley that's more than 120 years old, it's no "wonder" this beautiful mansion was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas - Architecture winners by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
Tours Daily!
Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m
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Upcoming events:
- Shrek the Musical @ Great Plains Theatre - August 10-12, 14-19
- Chisholm Trails Days @ Old Abilene Town - August 31 - September 1
- 40th Annual Heritage Day Festival @ Dickinson County Heritage Center - October 5
- Tombstone Talks @ Solomon's Prairie Mound Cemetery - October 13
- Tombstone Talks @ Abilene's Cemetery - October 27
- Not Another Christmas Letter @ Great Plains Theatre - November 30-December 2, 4-9
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[email protected].
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