Everyone has tried and true favorites in Kansas, like Kansas City barbecue, Dodge City lawmen and Fort Riley military heroes, but the state will also surprise visitors with iconic experiences in space, under the earth and on the canvas. No matter where you meet in Kansas, there will be plenty of fascinating history and a hearty welcome.
Wichita/Hutchinson
With a nickname like “Cowtown” derived from 19th century cattle drives, it’s expected that Wichita’s most iconic attraction is its Western heritage. Those days live on at the Old Cowtown Museum, a 23-acre living history village that gives visitors the full Old West experience, from cold sasparillas to wagon rides and even an occasional gunfight in the streets, just like in the movies. With more than 50 historic and re-created buildings, planners can build the perfect event, from a small reception to renting the whole village for a true Old West blowout with costumed performers.
On the other side of the historic coin is Wichita’s Native American heritage, which is memorialized in the Keeper of the Plains, a 44-foot-tall statue located on ancient sacred ground by the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers.
“It’s the most photographed public art in Wichita and is dedicated to the Native Americans who once called the area home,” says James Williams, communications manager for the Go Wichita CVB. “At night, massive fire pots around the Keeper illuminate the sky, creating a setting that cannot be missed while in Wichita.”
The site is less than five minutes away from the Mid-America All Indian Center and Exploration Place, which offers meeting and event space for up to 700 attendees, making it a lovely evening walk after a reception.
In the greater Hutchinson area, they’ve laid claim to treasures in the sky and underground. If it’s difficult to think of Kansas exploring the wild blue, remember that this is the state that gave the world Amelia Earhart, so the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a natural fit. Each meeting space is amazing, from the Discovery Room and its full-scale replica of the International Space Station to the Grand Lobby with a full-scale space shuttle replica hanging from the ceiling. With a museum, space simulator, lab simulator, IMAX theater and planetarium, planners can rent the whole complex and have an evening’s entertainment custom-built for their group.
At Strataca, attendees can enjoy a truly unique experience: exploring an active salt mine 650 feet underground. Strataca is the only active salt mine in the U.S. that allows tours, and activities include a train ride through parts of the mine cleared in the 1950s to the mining gallery, where attendees can peek into the life of a salt miner. An event in the StrataCenter, which can accommodate up to 250 people, will top off a one-of-a-kind day.
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Dodge City
Sometimes an entire town is an icon, and that’s definitely the case with Dodge City. It’s hard to say which is more famous, the town’s actual Wild West history and lawman Wyatt Earp or its fictional history with Gunsmoke and Marshal Matt Dillon. Either way, Dodge City has had a considerable impact on pop culture, and is irresistible to groups.
The most obvious choice for group events is the Boot Hill Museum, according to Jan Stevens, director of the Dodge City CVB, who recommends a roving reception.
“They can start at the Long Branch Saloon, walk through the gun display and the cemetery into the banquet room where costumed characters serve treats,” Stevens says. “It’s a very popular option, and (attendees) can spend some time just relaxing and seeing characters like Marshal Dillion, Miss Kitty and the Can-can girls.”
Another spot growing in popularity with groups is the Depot Theater, the largest restored Santa Fe Depot in the state of Kansas. The Depot now contains a theater and a restaurant, and offers a package for groups, including backstage tours, dinner and a Broadway-style show.
“It’s a little bit more expensive, but worth it,” Stevens says. “It mixes a bit of culture into a meeting and groups really enjoy it.”
The Depot Theater can accommodate up to 160 people for an event, while the Boot Hill Museum experience can handle up to 300.
Kansas City
Everyone in Kansas City has an opinion on barbecue, but no one disputes that Kansas City on both sides of the state line has some of the best in the nation. On the Kansas side, planners can bring that unmistakable taste to their event with catering from Joe’s Kansas City BBQ, Gates Bar-B-Q or the famous Arthur Bryant’s. Attendees can walk off that meal with a trip through Kaw Park and learn the colorful history of Lewis & Clark’s brief stop at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers.
Overland Park
In the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, the Museum at Prairiefire beckons with a bright facade of color and plenty of interactive exhibits in natural history. Planners can choose from a variety of spaces, including the interactive Discovery Room or the stunning Great Hall, where dinners are presided over by a looming T-Rex.
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For attendees with an artistic bent, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, located on the Johnson County Community College campus, offers a bevy of galleries with permanent and visiting exhibitions. With more than 12,000 square feet of exhibition space, the museum welcomes events, from meetings to receptions, and catering is available.
On the musical side, the Kansas City Strings violin shop is the only site in the U.S. where professional quality stringed instruments are made. Planners can arrange tours of the facility with the Overland Park CVB, and watch these beautiful instruments come to life.
New Theatre Restaurant is another iconic group choice in town, serving upscale cuisine and showcasing celebrity performers and Broadway musicals and comedies. Topeka/Lawrence
As the state capital, Topeka is filled with must-see sites. The Kansas State Capitol and Governor’s Mansion offer free tours, including the Capitol Dome Tour, which allows visitors to climb nearly 300 steps to the top of the dome itself, and then go outside for an amazing view of the city. Planners can hold events at either location, but will need permission from the state to do so.
One historic site in Topeka holds national significance: The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site commemorates the decision to de-segregate schools, and the museum is located at one of the schools that sparked the landmark Supreme Court case. The former Monroe Elementary school building contains several rooms of exhibits, including the Kindergarten Room, restored to how it looked in the 1950s, and a bookstore focused on educational and civil rights reads. Planners can arrange for a group tour and historical interpreter, or even plan an event on the grounds. Another option is to plan an afternoon around the Capitol, the Brown vs. Board site and the Ritchie House, built by John and Mary Jane Ritchie in 1856. The Ritchies were abolitionists, and they used their home as a stop for the Underground Railroad. Group tours with a costumed interpreter are available. All three sites are located in downtown Topeka.
Located on the Oregon Trail, Old Prairie Town is a lovely time capsule from the Victorian era with a mansion built in 1870, botanical gardens and a small village to explore. Groups can meet in a one-room schoolhouse or enjoy a dinner cooked on the hearth fire in a 1850s-era cabin.
Once home to poet Langston Hughes and writer/artist William S. Burroughs, the nearby town of Lawrence has become a top art destination. The National Endowment for the Arts has named it one of the top twelve cities in the U.S. for professional artists, and planners can include that artistic side by arranging an art stroll at galleries downtown or holding an event at the Spencer Museum of Art, one of the top college-owned art collections in the country.
Roughly 65 miles north of Topeka and Lawrence is Atchinson, home to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Planners can set up trolley or coach tours of Earhart-related attractions, including the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.
Manhattan
Located a short distance from Junction City, Manhattan has its own claim to fame as the “Little Apple,” since it was named in 1855 after the New York home of the town’s initial investors. The early days of life near Fort Riley can be rediscovered at the Riley County Historic Museum, or planners can schedule a walking tour of Kansas State University, the oldest land grant university west of the Mississippi. K-State also has a number of facilities for events, including the university’s Student Union, a 270,000-square-foot facility with more than two dozen meeting spaces, including seven ballrooms. Groups can also arrange tours of campus sites like the nuclear reactor or take part in an art workshop at the Beach Museum of Art.
Junction City/Geary County
Known as the hometown to Fort Riley, Geary County hosts a multitude of historic sites, including the U.S. Calvary Museum, a museum dedicated to the 1st Calvary Division known as the Big Red One, and the Custer House, once home to General George Custer. Group tours can be arranged, along with guide services and speakers.
Beth Bartlett is thinking of becoming a can-can dancer in Dodge City.
