Symphony in the Flint Hills Tickets
on Sale in Abilene!
This week we visited with Cassy (McDonald) Wilson about her family's business, Rawhide Portable Corral and Livestock Equipment, and their role in hosting the 2017 Symphony in the Flint Hills. Check out the video on the
Visit Abilene Kansas Facebook page!
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Advance Tickets on Sale for Geary, Dickinson and Riley County Residents:
Abilene & Junction City Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan
February 21-24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Maximum of six tickets per person, must be purchased in person
Will be issued on first-come, first-served basis
Payment by credit card only
Tickets on Sale for the Public March 4:
Walk-Up Location
Kansas City Symphony Box Office, 1703 Wyandotte, Suite 200, KC, MO
Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 4
Phone and Online Orders
816-471-0400
www.kcsymphony.org
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Abilene Bidding Farewell to City Manager
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Abilene in the News
Kansas! magazine
The Abilene & Smoky Valley Rail Road is featured in the Spring Edition of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism's Kansas! magazine.
Traveling Kansas: Abilene
The Smoky Hills Public Television show, Traveling Kansas: Abilene, will air again on Friday, March 3. The show is also available
online.
Traveling Kansas: Abilene is brought to you by:
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| Support your Local Restaurants |
KANSAS! Magazine Asks Readers to Pick their Favorite Local Eats in Kansas
KANSAS! magazine, the state's premier travel magazine, invites readers to nominate their favorite local place to eat in Kansas for the magazine's third annual readers' choice issue. Only local restaurants, cafes, food trucks, bakeries, and other eateries will be will be considered. Nominations opened Monday, January 30, 2017.
Click
here to nominate for favorite Abilene restaurant!
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Arts Council of Dickinson County
Arts Council of Dickinson County
PRESENTS
ANNUAL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST and EXHIBIT
Thursday, March 9th
The theme for this year's photography contest is "Hometown History".
Categories are as follows:
Youth (under 12)
Intermediate (12 - 17)
Adult (over 18)
Best in Show
Judge's Choice
Entries will be accepted Thursday, February 23rd, and Friday, February 24th from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Arts Council of Dickinson County's new location: The Sunflower Hotel, Suite B, 409 NW 3rd Street, Abilene. We are pleased to have Michael Hook, director of the Heritage Center, as judge.
Rules: Photos must be no larger than 8"x10", no smaller than 7"x9", no white borders on photos, and must be mounted on white mount board 11"x14". Mount board and sleeve ($1.50) are available for purchase at the Dickinson County Extension Office, 712 S. Buckeye, Abilene. A hanging hook must be placed in back so it is not visible while it is displayed. Do not frame. Photos must have been taken from March of 2015 forward, and not previously entered in this event. Photos are accepted in any format, such as camera, iPhone, etc. Entries will be judged on originality, technical excellence, presentation and adherence to theme. Three entries per person. Email:
[email protected] for an entry form. Entry forms are also available at the Arts Council office.
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Dickinson County Heritage Center
The Art Mannel Collection currently on display at the Heritage Center.
Arthur (Art) Mannel, born in 1909, donated a collection of almost 150 guns to the Heritage Center. He started working at an early age cutting hedges in Lincoln County, KS. After that, he lived a life of a modern frontiersman with vocations ranging from custom combining, cutting trees and blasting silos and bridges.
Mannel was always interested in firearms, but he didn't purchase his first gun until the 1930s
. It was a .22 caliber rifle. That gun was eventually stolen from him, and from that point on, Mannel was very cautious with his guns, even going as far as hiding them away in his silos.
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Mannel arrived in Dickinson County in 1951, and owned over 1,000 acres of land between Kansas and Montana. In December of that same year, Mannel married a local resident, Mildred Irene Rees, but tragically lost her to a heart attack within three years of their marriage.
To fill the missing void, Mannel continued buying guns, from antiques to commemorative replicas. The Heritage Center is proud to display Mannel's valuable collection in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.
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Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
2017 Royer Film Festival
The 26th Annual Paul H. Royer Film Festival series begins March 2 in the Visitors Center Auditorium. All films are free and open to the public. The movies are shown at 7 p.m. in the Visitors Center Auditorium and include free soda and popcorn.
A special reception with light refreshments is planned
March 2 at 6 p.m.
to recognize Hank Royer's generosity in supporting this annual film festival. Film-goers get to experience this year's festival with a new sound system and big screen installed last summer courtesy of the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation.
The 2017 Schedule is comprised of musicals with a western theme as we celebrate the Chisholm Trail 150th anniversary. All films were Academy Award winners in at least one category.
March 2 - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Starring: Jane Powell Howard Keel
Adam, the eldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife. He convinces Milly to marry him that same day. They return to his backwoods home. Only then does she discover he has six brothers - all living in his cabin. Milly sets out to reform the uncouth siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Then, after reading about the Roman capture of the Sabine women, Adam develops an inspired solution to his brothers' loneliness. Nominated for five Academy Awards and won in 1955 for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. 1954 - 102 minutes - Color
March 9 - Calamity Jane
Starring: Doris Day, Howard Keel
Deadwood, Dakota Territory, is largely the abode of men, where Indian scout Calamity Jane is as hard-riding, boastful, and handy with a gun as any; quite an overpowering personality. But the army lieutenant she favors doesn't really appreciate her finer qualities. One of Jane's boasts brings her to Chicago to recruit an actress for the Golden Garter stage. Arrived, the lady in question appears (at first) to be a more feminine rival for the favors of Jane's male friends...including her friendly enemy Wild Bill Hickok. Nominated for three Academy Awards and won in 1954 for Best Music, Original Song (Secret Love). 1953 - 101 minutes - Color
March 16 - Annie Get Your Gun
Starring: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel
A story very loosely based on the love story of Annie Oakley and Frank Butler who meet at a shooting match. Fabulous music although the lead characters have virtually nothing to do with the actual historical figures. Annie joins Frank Butler in Col. Cody's Wild West Show. They tour the world performing before Royalty as well as the public at large. Nominated for four Academy Awards and won the 1951 Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. 1950 - 107 minutes - Color
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Sponsored by: Arts Council of Dickinson County
Films will be shown at the Eisenhower Presidential Library Visitor's Center, 200 SE 4th Street.
All films are free of charge and popcorn will be provided.
A discussion will follow each film.
*Please bring a non-perishable food item.
*All items will benefit the Abilene Area Food and Clothing Bank.
The schedule and summary of the films are as follows:
Sunday, February 26 @ 2:00 (rescheduled from January) -
Monuments Men PG-13 An unlikely WWII platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners
The Best of the West TALK Series
Talk about Literature in Kansas (TALK) is a series presented in partnership with the Kansas Humanities Council and the Abilene Public Library. This program is for every Kansan who loves to read and discuss good books. The Best of the West theme celebrates the Chisholm Trail 150th and Dwight Eisenhower's love of western novels.
The TALK series is free and open to the public. The books selected for discussion are available to check out from the Abilene Public Library or purchase at the Eisenhower Presidential Library Gift Shop
Good Land
March 13, 2017
7:00 p.m. -- Book TALK
Discussion facilitated by Margy Stewart
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Eisenhower and the Great War
March 2017 - March 2018
(Library)
War erupted in Europe in 1914 and soon involved nations around the globe. The Great War as it became known shocked the world with its massive scope and the industrial-like slaughter created by advances in military technology. The United States reluctantly joined the conflict in 1917 and began to build a large professional army from the ground up. One of the young officers who helped in this endeavor was a lieutenant by the name of Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower showed remarkable talent for organization and leadership during the years of American involvement in the war. Tasked with training thousands of inexperienced troops in the new and untested art of armored warfare, Eisenhower quickly built a strong and motivated group of soldiers while overcoming severe obstacles and setbacks. This exhibit tells the story of the Great War and its influence on Eisenhower's budding leadership abilities. World War I, as it would become known later in the century, proved critical to the making of this American Icon.
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The Greyhound Hall of Fame is rotating displays and has a new trophy in the lobby.
D.D's Jackie was owned by Don & Dick Hoy of Newberg, OR. The race was 5/16th time 31.82 Chairmen were Edward Keelan and Perrine Palmer.
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Great Plains Theatre
Dieter Concert Hall Art Gallery Officially Open
Great Plains Theatre is pleased to announce the opening of the Dieter Concert Hall Art Gallery within its walls. The gallery, currently featuring works from artists such as Jim Hagan, Anita Wong, and Inga Bow, hopes to encourage visitors to the theatre to make time to appreciate differing types of art. Art has many mediums, and the effect pieces can have differ from person to person.
The Dieter Concert Hall Art Gallery will be a constantly evolving gallery with an emphasis on local and regional talent, without precluding national or international artists. There are many talented artists in the region surrounding Abilene, and Great Plains Theatre hopes to develop relationships with artist from across the state to curate one of a kind exhibits.
The current exhibit is curated from a donated collection from Lorraine McClain, and presents scenes familiar to any who call rural Kansas their home, though maybe not as they've seen them before. With mixed styles, watercolors, oils and acrylics, and ceramics, these familiar landscapes are rendered new and unique against the ubiquitous backdrop of prairie with which Kansans are familiar.
"I greatly appreciate Lorraine and David McClain for donating these pieces to initiate the gallery. This idea has been in the works since we moved into the 401 Cottage location and we are thrilled that it has come to fruition," said Elizabeth Weese, Executive Director of Great Plains Theatre. The Dieter Concert Hall Art Gallery was a passion project for Elizabeth, who is excited about the new experiences that the gallery provides for guests at the theatre.
When asked about the peculiar name for the gallery Elizabeth explained, "when we found the Dieter Concert Hall sign in the wreckage (the sign was originally presented in honor of GPT Patron, Ruth Dieter) after the fire we knew we had to save it. We hung it in the foyer of our new space, and daily it reminds us how far we've come in such a short time. What a wonderful way to honor the old while embracing the new by naming our new gallery the Dieter Concert Hall Gallery."
All pieces, unless specifically set aside and marked, are available for purchase. Artists are encouraged to contact [email protected] with any questions about exhibition within the gallery. So, when you come down to Great Plains Theatre, whether you're coming for a movie, a play, to watch an improv show, or maybe it's our weekly game night, peruse through the art on the walls, you may find your new favorite piece.
*Abilene Native* Geff Dawson - Cowboy Poetry & Western Music
February 25 - 7:00 p.m.
Geff was one of the featured cowboy western entertainers at Silver Dollar City's Salute to the Great American Cowboy in 2007, 2008, and again in 2012. He was the 2006 Silver Buckle Champion and Best of the Best winner at the world's only Western Legends Roundup Cowboy Poetry Rodeo in 2006. In 2009, he won the Best of the West Shootout. The events were held in Kanab, Utah where he competed against 70+ other contestants. He followed it with a trip to the Colorado State Fair, where he won the People's Choice Buckle, and was the Reserve Champion in their cowboy poetry competition. Most Recently, he was honored as a 2012 inductee into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame.
General Admission: $15, Table for Four $80
Irish Folk Music to Return to GPT!
Cinema
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Jeffcoat Photography Studio
From the Jeffcoat Museum Collection is the Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger" , (1965 - 1970). It was a popular and inexpensive instant camera selling for $19.95 (equivalent to $152 in 2006). It was the first Polaroid roll film to develop outside the camera.
During the lifetime of the Swinger Camera, Neil Armstrong took "one small step" - on the moon, followed by Edwin 'Buzz' Aldren, Jr.; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot April 4, 1968; In 1967 the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football was played and later known as Super Bowl I; 1966 Simon and Garfunkel release their album, 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'; On November 22, 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated; 1967; Plastic milk bottles were introduced; and in 1968, the Big Mac was introduced at McDonalds for 49 cents.
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Click image to access calendar
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Abilene is home to 202 rooms. Whether you're in town to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, enjoy a show at the Great Plains Theatre, attend the Central Kansas Free Fair, meet with greyhound industry leaders or take a ride on the Abilene & Smokey Valley Railroad, we invite you to extend your visit and spend the night and enjoy all Abilene has to offer!
Click
here to learn more about places to stay in Abilene!
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Have an upcoming event? Help us, help you. We do our best to stay up-to-date, but please make sure to include us in your event and special promotions. Please send announcements to: [email protected].
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We do our best to make sure all information is correct.
It is advisable to always call ahead before visiting.
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