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Celebrate the Holiday Season in Abilene!
Join us in celebrating the holiday season! Below please find your guide to holiday activities in Abilene... and there is a lot! Activities are listed in chronological order.
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Small Business Saturday
Stop by the Abilene Travel Information Center, 201 NW 2nd from 10 am - 4 pm to pick up a special Small Business Saturday surprise*!
*Quantities limited.
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Makin' Magic - 25 Years of Fun
Makin' Magic
25 Years of Fun
November 29 - December 15
A new musical revue created by Mitchell Aiello and Layne Roate celebrating 25 years as an Equity Theatre in Abilene, KS. Arranged mostly in medleys, a group of 8 performers delights with a sampler of the music from past GPT shows over the last 25 years as well as a peek into future seasons. Performers when not singing and dancing will join the on-stage band for an entertainment that has something for everyone.
Rated PG
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Museum Store Sunday
On Sunday, December 1, 2019, over 1,200 Museum Stores representing all 50 states, 18 countries, and 5 continents will offer relaxing, inspired shopping inside your favorite museums and cultural institutions. Museum Store Sunday offers a special shopping experience in one-of-a kind stores, showcasing broad assortments of highly curated, unique, mission-specific gifts. From books to jewelry to children's products to home accessories and gourmet food, there is something for everyone. Shop knowing you are supporting the missions and programs of each participating museum and cultural institution.
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Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
SHOPPING DISCOUNT - 12.1.2019 ALL DAY
Receive a 25% discount on gift shop purchases both in our store and online! Use code "BeaPatron" at the
ILikeIkeStore.com
to receive your 25% discount on Sunday, December 1.
MOVIE SCREENING - 2 P.M.
"National Treasure" special 15th anniversary screening at 2 p.m.
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Christmas Brunch
Arts Council of Dickinson County
Saturday, December 7
Beginning at 10:30
Tickets: $20
The Arts Council of Dickinson County is pleased to host their Annual Christmas Brunch. The annual event is the perfect occasion to kick start the holiday season. The event will be held at the elegant courtyard of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, 200 SE 4th Street, Abilene, with a tasty brunch catered by Amanda's Bistro & Bakery.
The First Infantry Division Band from Ft. Riley will be the entertainment. The six piece woodwind ensemble will be playing festive tunes for Christmas, patriotic, and a number of tunes. Also performing will be young violinists of the ACDC Strings Program. Instructor Carolyn Graves will lead the students while they play background music.
The Christmas Brunch will be Saturday, December 7, 2019 beginning at 10:30. There are a limited number of tickets available. Be sure to get yours.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at West's Country Mart and the Arts Council 785-263-1884. Please call the Arts Council to purchase tickets by credit card.
Reservations are required, and tickets must be purchased by December 4th.
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Christmas with Ginger
Christmas Afternoon Tea Party
Saturday, December 7
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum
Enjoy photos with Santa and Ginger, holiday treat bags for kids and more!
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Christmas Afternoon Tea Party
Christmas Afternoon Tea Party
Saturday, December 7
11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
Visit Abilene's Victorian Inn for their 9th annual afternoon party.
Each tea party lasts 2 hours and includes 12 food items and 3 different teas.
Cost: $35 + tax per person.
Fresh lemon curd is also available for sale in the gift shop.
Reservations required. Call (785) 263-7774 for more information.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour
Tickets are $10 (all ages) and will be available at the Abilene Visitors Center, 201 NW 2nd and West's Country Mart, 1900 N Buckeye Ave.
For more information, contact the Abilene CVB at (785) 263-2231.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour - 308 N Broadway
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Homes for the Holidays - 308 N Broadway, Abilene, KS |
You are planning an overnight trip and need to find a place to stay. It wasn't so long ago that your choices were either a relative or a motel.
Today you have more options. For the truly adventurous, there is couch-surfing, which is pretty much what it sounds like - crashing overnight in a stranger's house.
For those who don't need the predictability of motels, there is Airbnb, an online marketing service that advertises space that typically would otherwise be an apartment or house.
Abilene has a handful of Airbnb listings; a cottage in a residential neighborhood was on the tour last year. This year the tour includes an upstairs downtown apartment.
David and Jonee Crump bought 308 N. Broadway nearly four years ago. The upstairs apartment had not been used for years. The ceilings were falling in, and the floors needed to be resurfaced. David is an owner of True Built, a construction/remodel company, so he had the know-how to do the work. The challenge was finding the time around his day job and volunteering to coach basketball, baseball and football, Jonee says.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour -
107 NW 10th
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Homes for the Holidays - 107 NW 10th, Abilene, KS |
When Mel and Toastie Racy decided they wanted a smaller house, Toastie had an idea what she was looking for.
"I have always wanted a bungalow," says Toastie. "I just love bungalows."
She and Mel had raised five children in a magnificent Gothic style home on NW 3rd (it's one of the other homes on the tour this year).
"We really loved that house," Toastie says. It didn't have enough bedrooms, but the woodwork was gorgeous and bunkbeds made it possible to fit everyone in. Her youngest was weeks old when they moved in.
It was one of the homes on the very first homes tour, in 1977. Years passed and the children grew up.
"All my kids were gone. I had taken care of that house for 20, 24 years and I just wanted small," she says. "I wanted to downsize."
She and Mel sold the house and moved into a rental. One day they drove past the bungalow at 107 NW 10th.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour -
805 Spruceway
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Homes for the Holidays - 805 Spruceway, Abilene, KS |
As director of Abilene's Convention and Visitors Bureau, it is Julie (Roller) Weeks' job to promote everything Abilene. Which gives her a special bond with Elliott Belden, whose family was the second to live in the home she and her husband, Ryan, now own.
Belden was director of public relations and advertising for United Telephone, the wildly successful enterprise founded by Abilene's own C.L. Brown that today is better known as Sprint.
"He worked in PR for the company," Julie said. "And I work in PR for Abilene."
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour -
615 NW 3rd
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Homes for the Holidays - 615 NW 3rd, Abilene KS
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When Bill and Marlene Howe moved to Abilene two years ago they knew they were getting a remarkably attractive house but they weren't entirely prepared for how nice people are. Marlene's brother, who was visiting recently, returned from a bike ride and in spite of the flat terrain said it was the hardest ride ever.
"Every person I passed waved at me," he said. "I don't have that problem where I live."
Sometimes Abilene is so wonderful it's exhausting. But the Howes are willing to take on that challenge.
"We had always wanted to retire to a small community and have an old Victorian home to work on," says Bill. "That was our dream."
Their home, at 615 NW 3rd, fit the Howes' dream nicely. It appears to have been built in 1879 by Alfred W. Rice, mayor of Abilene. A profile of Rice in 1910 describes him as "a fitting example of American pluck, pertinacity and ability": president of Abilene Wholesale Grocery, vice president of Citizens Bank, president of Rice-Johntz-Nicolay Lumber, and a stockman.
He built a house to suit. The heavy, carved wooden front doors and sweeping wraparound porch suggest money was no object. Inside, the parquet living room floor, exceptionally high ceilings and extravagantly carved stairway railing reinforce the message. Plain did not appear to be a decorating option.
The Howes landed in Abilene by chance.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour -
3125 Hawk Rd.
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Homes for the Holidays - 3125 Hawk Rd |
Justin and Kylie Hicken might be in the business of changing people's houses but they think a lot about preserving memories.
For them, it's personal.
Kylie's family, the Hoovers, have lived in Dickinson County for nearly 140 years. Four years ago Justin and Kylie moved into the house on the land acquired in 1880 by her great-great-great grandparents Samuel and Maria Zook(their granddaughter Ruth married Kylie's great-grandfather Jesse Hoover).
In 2015 the family had just buried her grandmother Geraldine Hoover.
"When we talked about renovating grandma's house there was some chatter in the family, like, 'I don't want to come see it because it will make me cry if you change too much,'" Justin recalls. "This is the thing we run into, that anchor to the past. Everyone wants an old house, they want the charm of an old house, but they don't want the problems."
The Hickens' business, Wizard of Odz and Ends, offers remodeling services that suit their clients' tastes. These don't necessarily involve incorporating the latest in electronics and materials but some clients want them to.
In their own home, at 3125 Hawk Rd., Justin and Kylie have chosen to strike a balance - creating new features they want but retaining key elements that tie them to the past.
They have had plenty of opportunity to exercise this philosophy.
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2019 Holiday Homes Tour -
612 N. Buckeye
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Homes for the Holidays - 612 N Buckeye, Abilene, KS
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As Max Long recalls it, safety concerns were what led to the decision in 1965 to teardown the original First Christian Church building at 612 N. Buckeye, which had been upgraded with a second story just 10 years earlier.
"They got worried about the bell tower, thinking it was unsafe," says Max, who started attending there more than 60 years ago. "I can't remember who tore it down. The bell tower took a week to tear down; the rest of the church went right down. The bell tower was strong."
The building that went up in its place has been in use ever since. The church will be the stop on the Homes Tour where refreshments will be available.
The congregation is one of the oldest in Abilene. Its first recorded activity was in 1872, the peak of the brief cattle boom that transformed Abilene from an outpost to the county's largest city.
Church records show that on July 28 of that year a minister from Illinois held a service in the home of Andrew F. Hart. Mr. Hart had just homesteaded a quarter section of land at Jeep Rd. and 2800 Avenue - the paperwork is dated July 1, 1872. (The Kansas Horticulture Report in 1886 lists Mr. Hart as planting one of the first fruit trees in Dickinson County in 1872.)
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Breakfast with Santa
Saturday, December 7
9-10 am
Abilene Civic Center
Ticket Cost: $5.00 per person regardless of age.
Breakfast will include a cinnamon roll and juice. There will be a coloring and craft table, story time, and of course your chance to visit with Santa Claus.
Tickets must be purchased by Monday, December 2. Purchase your tickets at the Abilene Community Center or by calling the office (785) 263-7266.
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Christmas Magic
Holiday Activities & Treats throughout Downtown Abilene
Saturday, December 7
3 - 8 p.m.
Attendees are invited to pick up their goodie bag and program map of scheduled activities at Cowork Abilene, 300 N Cedar.
Old Abilene Town Christmas
Saturday, December 7, 4-10 pm
Sunday, December 8, 1-9 pm
Visit the Alamo Saloon and enjoy hot chocolate. See the Christmas lights and visit the Clock Shop - Old Abilene's Town "winter wonderland".
Downtown Carriage Rides
Saturday, December 7
3:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Little Ike Park
Sponsored by Community Foundation of Dickinson County.
Mayor's Holiday Tree Lighting & Visits with Santa
Saturday, December 7
6:00 p.m.
Abilene Civic Center
(Free digital download)
Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce Turkey Toss
Saturday, December 7
7:00 p.m.
KABI Radio Station
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Kris Kringle Market
Saturday, December 7
4:00 - 8:00 pm
300 Block of Broadway
Downtown Abilene
Roasted nuts, fresh pretzels, bratwurst and hot spiced wine, music in the air, kids playing, sounds of laughter and holiday cheer, this is the authentic German style Kris Kringle Market atmosphere! Visitors can explore Historic Downtown Abilene, visit our local retailers, vendor's with German food, crafts, food, warm wine, while listening to great Christmas music.
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Abilene Municipal Band Holiday Concert
Sunday, December 8, 2019
2:00 - 4:00 pm
Come enjoy the sounds of the season as the Abilene Municipal Band performs classic and modern Christmas pieces! Bring the family and enjoy this free concert at the Eisenhower Visitor's Center auditorium!
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A Very Prairie Christmas
Sunday, December 8
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Dickinson County Historical Society
Enjoy a live Nativity presented by the
Abilene Faith Lutheran Church
in the historic Prichard Barn.
Special presentations will be given by period re-enactors, b
ringing to life stories of Dickinson County ancestors.
Cookies, hot chocolate, and punch will be served.
Santa will be available to see children.
Luminaries
, music, vintage activities and merry displays will
showcase the wonders of Christmas on the Kansas prairie!
Come and enjoy a festive evening!
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Holiday Trolley Tour
Friday, December 13
Saturday, December 14
Friday, December 20
Saturday, December 21
Departures at 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Cost: $5 per person ages 3 and older.
Cash or check only.
Reservations: Please call Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad at 785-263-1077
Pickup and drop off at the Abilene Civic Center, 201 NW 2nd.
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Santa Train
Sunday, December 14, 2019
Abilene & Smoky Valley Train Depot
Noon - 13 spots left
1:00 pm - FULL
2:00 pm - FULL
Buy your tickets early! Seats are limited. The Abilene Parks and Recreation is sponsoring a holiday train ride with the Abilene Smoky Valley Railroad Association. Santa always enjoys the ride with everyone. He also enjoys seeing old and new faces. The train ride is approximately 45 minutes long. It travels from the historic Abilene Depot to one mile west of Enterprise and back. The passengers will ride in the enclosed heated car with Santa. Ms. Cheryl from the Abilene Children's Library will be aboard. Santa will be available to listen to your Christmas wish list and you may have your picture taken with him.
You must pre-register for this train ride. There will be no tickets sold the day of the train ride! No exceptions!
Purchase tickets online or by calling the office (785) 263-7266.
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Cowboy Christmas
Sunday, December 14, 2019
Noon - 4:00 pm
Join us for chili and cinnamon rolls in the Alamo
Saloon!
Take a sleigh ride and warm up with some hot chocolate!
Get your stocking stuffers at the General Store and enjoy the holiday spirit at Old Abilene Town!
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Seelye Mansion Holiday Tours
Abilene's historic Seelye Mansion is exceptionally beautiful during the holiday season.
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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