Midwest Region Activities and Events

National Park Service
2007 Park Visitor Information

Midwest Region

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument, IA
National Park Week and Earth Day, April 22-29: Join park staff for the annual weeklong celebration of America’s National Parks beginning on Earth Day. Special events and programs will be held daily, including Woodland Wildflower Walks, Special Earth Day Hikes, and a Tyke Hike. Please call the park after March 31 at (563) 873-3491 for a full list of programs and to sign up.

Guided Bird Walks, April – September: Departing from the visitor center, one guided bird walk will be held each month beginning April 22 at 10:00 a.m. Walk wetland and upland forest trails overlooking the heart of the Upper Mississippi Wildlife and Fish Refuge. For more information and a complete list of times for Bird Walks, contact the park at (563) 873-3491.

Ranger Programs, June 17 – September 3: Ranger programs will be held daily starting on June 16. Programs scheduled are: Indian Village/ Boardwalk Trail Walk, Junior Ranger Saturdays, Ancient Indian Tools, Prairie Walks, Atlatl Demonstrations.

Other programs offered throughout the year too – contact the park at (563) 873-3491 for a complete list of programs and times.

Fort Larned National Historic Site, KS
Old Guard Annual Meeting, May 5: Popular presentations and living history about the Indian Wars and Santa Fe Trail. Reservations required for some events. For more information, contact the park at (620) 285-6911.

Memorial Weekend Living History Event, May 26-28: Fort Larned will present the largest living history event in western Kansas. For more information, contact the park at (620) 285-6911.

Labor Day Weekend Living History Event, September 1-3: The park will host an Indian Wars living history event. For more information, contact the park at (620) 285-6911.

Candlelight Tour, October 13: Park staff will present an entertaining evening of tours with vignettes from the Fort’s history. Reservations open two weeks prior to the event. For more information, contact the park at (620) 285-6911.

Christmas Past, December 9: Join park staff for a free old fashioned Yuletide celebration with soldiers, hot apple cider, cookies, Santa Claus and Christmas Carols. 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM. For more information, contact the park at (620) 285-6911.

Fort Smith National Historic Site, AR
Execution Anniversary Programs, See dates below: Programs are presented at the reconstructed gallows on the anniversary dates of executions carried out during the years that the federal court at Fort Smith had jurisdiction over Indian Territory. Federal executions were conducted for 23 years, from 1873 through 1896. Seventy-nine of the eighty-six men executed here were put to death during Judge Isaac Parker’s tenure. The talks will provide a general over view of the federal court during the late 19^th century, federal law involving capital crimes, and conditions in the Indian Territory. Park rangers will present information about the condemned individuals executed on the specific date as well as information related to their court case. The free programs are offered at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the following dates:

March 17, April 3, 8, 13, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27, 30, June 26, 28, 29, 30, July 1, 6, 9, 11, 23, 25, 30, August 6, 15, 29, 30, September 3, 8, 9, 20, October 7, 10, December 20. For more information, contact the park at (479) 783-3961.

Harry S Truman National Historic Site, MO
25^th Anniversary, December 8: Join park staff as they celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the designation of the Harry S Truman Home as a unit of the NPS. For more details of events scheduled, contact the park at (816) 254-9929.

Homestead National Monument of America, NE
Heartland Storytelling Festival, May 3 & 4: Join park staff for the Heartland Storytelling Festival from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm each day. The event is held at the park visitor center. For more information about this event, contact the park at (402) 223-3514.

Hot Springs National Park, AR
Anniversary of Hot Springs Reservation, April 20 & 21: Activities will kick off on Friday with educational programs in the morning and a special ceremony at 3 p.m. with events continuing in the evening. Visitors will be able to meet “Andrew Jackson” the President who signed the legislation creating Hot Springs Reservation on April 20, 1832. Deer Dancers from Hot Springs sister city Hanamaki, Japan will perform. On Saturday there will also be free entertainment throughout the day. More details will be announced later. For more information about these events, contact the park at (501) 623-2824.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, IA
Hooverfest, August 3 – 5: 19^th century craft demonstrators will present their skills near the Birthplace Cottage and the Blacksmith Shop. The festival will also have food vendors, free children’s activities, an outdoor art show, and community events. Presidential Road Races and Hooverball National Championships on Saturday require fees to participate. A complete schedule of events and activities is available online at www.hooverassociation.org. For more information about this festival, contact the park at (319) 643-5327.

Prairie Heritage Day, September 3: Call the park at (319) 643-5327 for more information about this event.

Jefferson National Ezpansion Memorial

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, MO
Anniversary of Dred Scott Decision, March 3: The 150^th Anniversary (March 6, 1857) of the Dred Scott Decision, which began in St. Louis’ Old Courthouse and was set in motion by two St. Louis slaves, Dred and Harriet Scott. A special exhibit at the Old Courthouse on the case and its impacts and connections to the civil rights movement in this country will open on March 3 and run for one year. For more information about this special exhibit, contact the park at (314) 655-1600.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways, MO
Two festivals of traditional Ozark culture - the Ozark Heritage Days will be held June 8th & 9th at Big Spring near Van Buren, Missouri, and the "Haunting in the Hills" will be held at Alley Mill near Eminence, Missouri in October. (dates TBA) Both events feature live music, storytelling, demonstrations of traditional crafts such as barrelmaking, candlemaking, soapmaking, wood carving, etc. During the summer, there will be ongoing craft and cultural demonstrations at Alley Mill, as well as exciting and informative interpretive programs every weekend in the major campgrounds. The historic Alley Mill will be open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day for those looking to get a feel for life in an Ozarks frontier settlement of the 1890s, complete with one room school and blacksmith shop. For more updated information see our website at: www.nps.gov/ozar.

Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, OH
Carronade Weekends, June – Dates TBA, July – Dates TBA: A series of cannon firing demonstration swill be conducted using the monument’s reproduction 32-pounder carronade. Interpretive talks and firing demonstrations will take place on Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. All firing demonstrations will take place on the monument grounds just to the west of the Memorial.

Interpretive Programs, Summer: Daily interpretive talks by park rangers will begin the week of June 18^th. Talks are given every hour beginning at 11:00 am and ending at 4:00 pm. Friday through Sunday, the talks are given by rangers in period clothing and followed by a musket firing demonstration.

Historic Weekend, September 8-9: Parade. Memorial Program (Location TBA), Historic weekend in September is a celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. Activities for the weekend include a formal ceremony, a performance by the Toledo Symphony, War of 1812 encampment, cannonade and musket firing demonstration, a parade, and a Boy Scout Camporee. Toledo Symphony (Location TBA) (Evening performance: 6:30 pm).For more information about these programs, contact the park at (419) 285-2184.

Voyageurs National Park, MN

Kid’s Art Contest Preparation in Orr, April 7: Voyageurs National Park is sponsoring the 4^th Annual Kid’s Art Contest for National Park Week in April. Come to the Orr Travel Information Center from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. to play park-inspired games and to create a drawing or painting to enter the contest. At supplies will be provided and all entries will be exhibited at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. Prizes will be awarded in several age categories and all young artists will receive a Certificate of Participation for entering the contest. For more information about this special event, contact the park at (218) 283-9821.

National Park Week Open House and Kids Art Awards Ceremony, April 21: Join park staff for family fun, games, snacks and treats and the Awards Ceremony for the 4^th Annual Kids Art Contest at the park. For more information, visit the park website at www.nps.gov/voya or call the park at (218) 283-9821.

Birders Rendezvous, June 1-3: Join park staff for a weekend of fun and learning as we welcome back thousands of migratory birds. Enjoy guided boat tours, canoe trips, walks and lectures. Some events require a fee, all require pre-registration. Visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/voya or call the park at (218) 283-9821.