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May 4, 2013
QUILTS ON DISPLAY!
Come by and see the display of beautiful work by local area quilters. Selected quilts are for sale. If you are looking to make a quilt of your own, we have two quilts made from kits available at our Smoky River Quilt Shoppe in downtown Oakley. The quilt shoppe has many kits available to make your first quilting project a success, and they offer classes for the beginner, or the seasoned quilter.
April 6, 2013
Join us April 13th at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas for the debut of the Buffalo Bill "Dime Novel" Display on load from the Buffalo Bill Musem & Grave in Golden, Colorado. Curator Steve Friesen will be here at 1:00 p.m. to present the display and give a short talk. Steve is also the author of Buffalo Bill, Scout, Showman,Visionary and will be on hand to sign his book. The book is available for purchase in our gift shop, or bring along your copy.
"William F. Cody, the man, became Buffalo Bill, the superhero, in the nearly 2,000 dime novels published during and after his lifetime. As vividly illustrated on their covers, Buffalo Bill confronted ancient evils, unusual villains, and situations no ordinary mortal could manage. This helped lay the groundwork for Superman, Batman and many other superheroes that would come later." from the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave website The Dime Novel display will run through the summer at the cultural center.
 
April 1, 2013
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: Roy Jessup Studios, Oakley, Kansas.
 Roy has a flair for western art and does some amazing pencil and watercolor work. His work is on display full time at Cute as a Button Gallery in downtown Oakley. Join us at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in April to see Roy's work on display. Some of his work is for sale and their are prints available of some of his most popular works, including the pencil of "Hercules and Goliath".
Blog September 20, 2012
State Cornhusking Contest in Oakley October 13
Mark your calendars to join in the fun at the Kansas State Cornhusking Contest on Saturday, October 13th. See how cornhusking was done "back in the day" when horses, wagons and hand hooks were used to husk the corn. Enter the contest in one of the many categories, including the novice group for the newbie huskers who will learn the techniques from the pros. Contest registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
 
The fun doesn't stop at husking corn. There will be food and fun for the whole family. Kids can take part in the corn money dig and the pumpkin carving and decorating contest. There will also be a corn toss contest for all.
Gals, need a little shopping break? Head into town to shop or over to the 4-H Building for "Girls Day Out" where all kinds vendors will be with their wares for women.
Come on out and plan to spend the day!
May 15, 2012
Buffalo Bill Days in Oakley, June 8,9
Saturday June 9th, Buffalo Bill Days list of events.
- Tri-County Cruisers Car Show at the Annie Oakley Park – Fifth Street
Cruise in event Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. at Oakley Motors, 611 S. Freeman. Car show begins Saturday at 10 a.m. Over 100 new and antique cars will be on display. The CYO will be sponsoring a barbeque at the park.
- City Wide Garage Sale Saturday, 8:00 a.m – All over Town!
- Free Day at the Cool Pool Saturday – Annie Oakley Park
- Arts & Crafts fair at the VFW – 317 Center Avenue
Fair starts Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Come for arts, crafts, food and fun.
- Matinee Movie at the Palace Theater – Center Avenue
In addition to the regular Saturday evening 7 p.m. showing of the selected movie, the student run Palace Theater will offer a 4 p.m. matinee showing. Along with the usual movie concessions, there will be Subway sandwiches. Money raised supports the theater and the students’ college scholarship fund.
- 3rd Annual Wild West Quilt Roundup – Quilt show – 318 Center Avenue.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admission $3.00. Quilt demonstrations and door prizes throughout the day.
- Buffalo Bill Events Saturday at the Buffalo Bill Cabin and statue at US Hwy 83 & 2nd Street.
UP UP & AWAY: Noon kicks off the events with kids kite flying. We want to see how many kites we can get up there, so bring out your kite.
Kids – at 1 p.m. we need your help in making a Human OAKLEY spelled on the side of the hill where our Buffalo Bill Statue stands. Then at 1:30, Randy Sauer will be playing music for the kids so kids from 5 to 95, be ready to dance.
 STOMP at the Statue: 2:00 p.m. Randy will teach us a song that we will dance to up at the statue. Its a STOMP MOB! Don’t miss it.
Buffalo Bill, Kirk Shapland will be here from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. with his Buffalo Bill stories. Get your picture taken with Buffalo Bill.
HOG ROAST: The Knights of Columbus is serving up a pig at the Buffalo Bill Sculpture between the hours of 3pm and 7pm. Whistlin’ Pig will also be here with lemonade, snow cones, chocolate dipped waffles.
And – give a big welcome to Biking Across Kansas, BAK, who will be stopping overnight in Oakley on the first leg of their bicycle tour across the state.
Blog May 8, 2012
Groundbreaking held May 3rd for the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center
Miller Construction out of Goodland was awarded the contract to build the 8,000 sqare foot Buffalo Bill Cultural Center at the site of the twice life-sized Buffalo Bill bronze statue in Oakley. The groundbreaking was held May 3rd. The Wild West Historical Foundation board of directors was joined by the Oakley Ambassadors, city officials and a representative from the Kansas Department of Commerce. Buffalo Bill Bronze artists and scupturers Charlie and Pat Norton also joined the ceremony which was covered by three newpapers: The Hays Daily News, Colby Free Press and the Oakley Graphic. Below is an artist rendition of the new center planned to be open the first of November.
Blog: April 21, 2012
The Buffalo Bill Cultural & Visitor Center to open fall 2012
The Wild West Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the breaking ground for the construction of their new Buffalo Bill Cultural & Visitor Center at the site of the twice life size bronze Buffalo Bill Sculpture in Oakley.
The gift shop will showcase Kansas made products and artists. The visitor center will provide travel information for the entire state of Kansas.
The 8,000 square foot facility will have a 3,000 square foot multi-purpose event center that can host meetings, weddings and events of up to 350 people. Booking for 2013 events has begun. Call 785-671-1000 for more information.
Groundbreaking for the new center will be held on May 3rd, 2012 and 9:00 a.m. at the Buffalo Bill sculpture site located in Oakley on US Hwy 83 at Second Street. Everyone is welcome. The center is scheduled to open in November of 2012.
Blog: March 2, 2012
Want a real "wild west" experience? Take a drive on the Western Vistas Historic Byway.
Itinerary for day trip on the southern portion of the byway.
Estimated Exploration time, 4-6 hours.
Start in Oakley at US Hwy 83 and Second Street, the site of the 2x life sized bronze sculpture of Buffalo Bill. Stop in at the cabin gift shop for coffee and a map of the byway. Take a short drive down Second Street into town and visit the Fick Fossil & History Museum where you will see many fossils found in this area, a soddie house and historical artifacts from the Smoky Hill Trail.
With map in hand, head south on Hwy 83 out of Oakley. About 25 miles south, turn east on Jayhawk Roakd and take a drive through Monument Rocks. Don't forget your camera, and don't be shy about getting out of the car and getting dirty. Visit Keystone Gallery & Gift Shop on your way out to check out the marine fossils and other historical artifacts on display.
 
Take a buffalo ranch tour at the Duff Meat Ranch just south of the Keystone Gallery. Your tour will take you through a herd of almost 400 head of buffalo. Your tour guide will load you in the back of a pickup - or a flat bed trailer if you have a pack of people - and you will ride into and along side the buffalo. Book your tour ahead of time to ensure a spot for the day and time you are going.
 
After your tour, continue south on Hwy 83 to Scott City and visit the El Quartelo Museum and Jerry Thomas Art Gallery. The theme of the El Quartelejo Museum is a developing story line, one which traces the history of this region of western Kansas through the stories told by the fossil discoveries on exhibit to present day Scott County information. Visitors can choose to either follow the story line, or simply browse in areas which are of interest to them. Separate displays are set up in several different rooms, and rotating exhibits change often. Appeal for both adults a nd children has been achieved. Exhibits allow youngsters to touch and even “dig” for their own fossils. Two distinct areas of the museum house local Indian and Pioneer History, while a third room has antique farm machinery, along with horse-drawn buggies from the early 1900s. A major addendum to the facility occurred in 2010: The Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection, containing the work of nationally recognized Wildlife and Western Artist, Jerry Thomas. reprinted from the El Quartelejo Museum website.
HAPPY TRAILS! |
