Gunfights, chuckwagon dinners and a parade on tap Saturday for Day of the Cowboy
If you’re still rustling up plans for this weekend, you can consider paying homage to the cowboy.
Saturday is National Day of the Cowboy, an annual observation held since 2005 on the fourth Saturday of July to celebrate the pioneer heritage and cowboy culture. Several places in Kansas and in neighboring state Oklahoma — whose histories are rich with pioneers, cowboys, cattle and other American West icons — have planned events for the day.
In Kansas
Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 W. Museum Blvd. in Wichita, is celebrating Wichita’s birthday, which was July 21, as well as the city’s time as a cattle town and major stop on the Chisholm Trail.
The trail is named after Jesse Chisholm, who opened Wichita’s first business in 1863, a trading post. Chisholm’s descendant Patrick Murphy will be a featured guest, while Humanities Kansas speaker Gene Chavez will talk at 12:15 p.m. about the history of the Vaqueros, an early version of the cowboy brought by Spanish settlers to what would become the American Southwest and Mexico.
The museum is encouraging visitors to wear cowboy-theme clothing and compete for the “best-dressed buckaroo. Expect gunfights, cowboy roping and other cowboy skills to be demonstrated. Since it’s a birthday party for Wichita, free cake and lemonade will be served until it runs out.
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; admission: $9 adults, $7 seniors 62 and older, $7 youth ages 12-17, $6 kids ages 5-11, free for kids 4 and younger and museum members. More info: oldcowtown.org
Prairie Rose Chuckwagon, 15231 SW Parallel St. in Benton, is bringing back its original band, the Home Rangers, when the Old West entertainment venue started in 1999, to perform Saturday night. Gates open at 5 p.m. with horse-drawn wagon rides and old Western movies featuring Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers playing in its two theaters. The dinner bell rings at 6:15 p.m. for the smoked brisket buffet, with entertainment following dinner.
Admission: $35; $10 for kids ages 3-12 and free for kids under 3. Reservations necessary; call 316-778-2121. More info: prairierosechuckwagon.com
Dodge City celebrates its Western heritage with the Dodge City Days festival, started in 1960 and running through Aug. 4 this year. Festival organizers have tied in National Day of the Cowboy in recent years.
Three guests from the National Day of the Cowboy nonprofit organization will participate in the Western parade that starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The festival includes a PRCA rodeo, a cattle drive and the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the Dodge City Cowboy Band. While in Dodge City, visit Boot Hill Museum and its Cowboy Hall of Fame and Long Branch Saloon variety show.
Museum info: boothill.org; Dodge City Days info: dodgecitydays.org
Pioneer Bluffs Center for Flint Hills Ranching Heritage at Rogler Ranch, 696 Kansas Highway 177, north of Matfield Green, will showcase and preserve ranch life with its Saturday activities. Cattle brands used on Flint Hill ranches will be demonstrated with wood branding, local ranch families will talk about ranch life and a videographer will record ranch life memories. Cowboy poetry, music and roping skills among other activities are planned.
Hours: 2-7 p.m.; admission by donation. Reservations requested. To RSVP, to schedule a recorded interview to share stories or for additional information, contact Lynn Smith at lynn@pioneerbluffs.org or 620-753-3484. More info: pioneerbluffs.org
Flint Hills Discovery Center, 316 S. 3rd St. in Manhattan, will have activities such as horseshoe and bison chip tossing and rope making. Cowboy tools of the trade will be on display and there will be free wagon rides.
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: $9 adults, with discounts available. More info: flinthillsdiscovery.org
In Oklahoma
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. in Oklahoma City, always celebrates the cowboy and Western life but has some special themed activities planned for Saturday, like rope making and bandanna decorating, cowboy music and cowboy tales.
Hours: museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with National Day of the Cowboy activities from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Admission: $12.50, with discounts available. More info: nationalcowboymuseum.org
Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, 1000 Chisholm Trail Parkway in Duncan, celebrates National Day of the Cowboy by offering free admission to all museum activities. This year’s schedule includes author Kristi Eaton who will share “Okie” stories from her book, bison ranchers talking about raising bison, cowboy music and admission to the nationally touring exhibit “Bison: Ancient. Massive. Wild.”, which ends July 28.
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., special free admission pricing. More info: onthechisholmtrail.com
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 12:00 AM.