Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita is celebrating the National Day of the Cowboy which is an annual celebration of the workers who created the American West and their impact on the history of Wichita.
There will be demonstrations of the many skills that were required to do this tough, demanding and unpredictable work, including branding, roping and saddle sitting, as well as bull whip skills, the farrier trade and leather tooling.
The Tri-State Holden Posse will present two Kids’ Gun Safety programs and the River City Renegades will have a Main Street gunfight at 12:45 p.m., overseen by the Wichita Police Department. Other entertainment options include performances by Daisy Longstem’s Saloon Girls and the Entre Nous Victorian Dancers, cowboy music from Dave “Zerf” Zerfas, a scavenger hunt, Best Dressed cowboy/cowgirl costume contest, Serpentine – Dr. Beaumont’s Traveling Medicine Show, along with several historical lectures and displays, wagon rides, a hobby horse rodeo, plus food and craft vendors and more.
A celebration for Wichita’s 153rd birthday starts at 4 p.m. in Turnverein Hall with speeches and then cake and lemonade for everyone!
Regular museum admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth, $6 children aged 5-11, and children four and under get in free. Cowtown members receive free admission.
Old Cowtown participates in the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families Museum program, so military and their families receive free admission through Labor Day. Kansas residents with K-12 aged kids in school may also take advantage of the Kansas State Department of Education Sunflower Summer program to receive free admission.
Fun fact: Wichita was incorporated as a city on July 21, 1870. One of the signers of the incorporation petition – and the only woman – was Billy the Kid’s mother, Catherine McCarty. Interesting, right? I first learned about this at a Diamond W Wranglers performance, and then later looked it up in the history of Wichita at the Wichita Metro Chamber website.
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Old Cowtown Museum; 1865 W Museum Blvd. in Wichita
Cost: $9 adults, $8 senior citizens (62+), $7 youth (12-17), $6 kids (5-11)