A Poet’s Persistence
NATIONALLY ACCREDITED. WITHOUT THE ROAD TRIP.
Ballew
Dodson
Tom Harper Monica Heidewald Scot Hoffman Abigail Hummel
Ken Morris Erin Nix
Welcome to the fall 2025 edition of Lawrence Magazine! There is something truly special about Lawrence, and that is the people who call this city home. Since joining Lawrence Magazine, I’ve had the privilege of meeting many incredible individuals who pour their hearts into this community. From authors and artists to activists and preservationists, their stories have continually reminded me of what I love about this city and why I am proud to raise my family here.
This issue is full of stories about people who invest in the Lawrence community, working to foster connection, promote stewardship, and create a sense of belonging. Our cover story, “Words, Legacy & Land,” on page 38, introduces Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, who demonstrates the strength of the human spirit. Susan Kraus talked with her about her newest book and her years-long struggle to preserve a cherished piece of her family’s prairie. It was inspiring to learn about her dedication to the land at a time when environmental progress often faces resistance.
In “Commemorating Conflict,” on page 33, Marsha Henry Goff had the opportunity to sit down with Katie Armitage, Paul Stuewe and Robert Phillips, the three people responsible for the success of the educational series “Civil War on the Border,” which explores the impact of Quantrill’s Raid and the Kansas-Missouri border war. We are honored to share their memories of organizing this event nearly 30 years ago and thank them for preserving our city’s history, especially at a time when political forces seek to sanitize our nation’s past.
The following pages will also introduce you to community ambassadors
Erica Gascon (page 25), who has spent the past year revamping the food served at St. John Catholic School; David Vertačnik (page 18), a sculptor whose work helps him stay connected to his roots; and George Frazier (page 12), an author seeking ways to explore the forgotten parts of Kansas.
EDITOR
Gina DeBacker
DESIGNER / ART DIRECTOR
Shelly Bryant
ADVERTISING
Joanne Morgan 785.832.7264
jmorgan@sunflowerpub.com
AD DESIGNER
Alex Tatro
COPY EDITOR
Leslie Clugston Andres
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Shirley Braunlich Katherine Dinsdale
Amber Fraley Marsha Henry Goff
Susan Kraus Michael Pearce
Nick Spacek Rochelle Valverde
Darin White
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Fally Afani Jason Dailey
Carter Gaskins Nick Krug
Michael Pearce
PUBLISHER
Bill Uhler
DIRECTOR
Bob Cucciniello
CONTACT SUNFLOWER PUBLISHING 1035 N. Third Street, Suite 101-B Lawrence, KS 66044 | 785.832.7264
EMAIL COMMENTS OR SUBSCRIPTION INFO TO lawrencemagazine@sunflowerpub.com
Gina DeBacker, editor
I hope you enjoy this issue and feel inspired to invest in the Lawrence community and advocate for continued progress.
Lawrence Magazine is a publication of Sunflower Publishing, a division of Ogden Publications, Inc.
PHOTOGRAPH Nick Krug
features smorgasbord
33 Commemorating Conflict
A look back at how the popular educational series “Civil War on the Border” has been educating Lawrence for 30 years
38
Words, Legacy and Land
Author Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg’s newest memoir traces her journey through language, land and the resilience of the human spirit
8 Passion and Persistence
Setting their minds to the music, Lawrence punk trio plans to record their first fulllength album, and a downtown music store celebrates its 25th anniversary
12 ‘An Immersive Experience’
Two local authors release new works—an inspirational journey through America’s grassland rivers and a debut novel that weaves science fiction, family drama and police procedurals
18 Back to His Roots
Sculptor David Vertačnik draws inspiration from the land
23 Lawrencium
Kansas Memorial Stadium people
25 Serving Up Change
One mom on a mission has taken over St. John Catholic School’s cafeteria, and the kids are loving the healthier options places
28 Follow the Rails
Trade cityscapes for scenic views on the Flint Hills Trail, one of Kansas’ longest rail trails
Acclaimed author Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg walks her property near Wells Overlook. Photograph by Nick Krug
Passion and Persistence
Setting their minds to the music, Lawrence punk trio plans to record their first full-length album, and a downtown music store celebrates its 25th anniversary
SCUD Strikes Hard
Lawrence punk trio, SCUD, hits just as hard as the missile they are named after. The band’s garage rock jams draw in large crowds, turning newcomers into fans within their first few songs. It’s an impressive achievement for a band that has been playing live for only two and a half years. But Cole Davidson on bass, Grant Davidson on drums, and Josh Jamison on vocals have been playing together for ages.
“Cole’s my brother, so we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Grant tells me one evening at a picnic table in Constant Park. “Josh and Cole go way back, too, so we all have this familiarity and comfortability with each other.”
Jamison and Cole, who are four years older than Grant, went to the University of Kansas together. After graduation, Cole went to Chicago for graduate school while Jamison stayed behind to earn a sound recording certificate from Johnson County Community College. Although Cole and Jamison jammed together a few times in college, they never formed a band. It wasn’t until Cole returned to Lawrence that the trio even considered it, saying today’s uncertainty is what pushed them to finally go for it.
“We all went back up here and did it, hell or high water,” Cole says. “I had some ideas I wanted to get out musically through our writing and with how we play and how it feels.”
Other bands have made an impact on SCUD’s bandmates, including The Sluts, who paved their path through the local music scene with their minimalist punk sound. “We admire that,” Grant says.
Grant also points to the English rock band Black Midi. He was stirred by one of their performances at Liberty Hall and says they are one of the few modern rock bands who are pushing and advancing the genre.
Today, SCUD regularly performs live, but it’s been a while since their last release, Strap EP, in September 2023. That’s soon to change as the band gears up to record their first full-length studio album. “We haven’t been too hurried about it. I feel like there’s no lack of ideas,” Grant says. “I love bands that write furiously and put stuff out, but I feel like we enjoy sitting with our songs more.”
“I love bands that write furiously and put stuff out, but I feel like we enjoy sitting with our songs more.”
–Grant Davidson –
Taking time with their songs helps them fully flesh out their material, Cole says. SCUD approaches their writing with a simple, catchy first pass. Then, they add texture and layers after letting the music settle for a bit. A lot of this next step happens during practice.
“We’ve hit a lot of new ideas during set-list practices,” Grant says. “We wind up deviating a little bit. It’s fun that there’s fluidity there.”
SCUD does not limit their rehearsals to practicing set-lists for an upcoming show or recording session. “It’s structured in the sense that the practice is handled as an exercise,” Cole explains. “We get to be creative and throw stuff at the walls.”
OPPOSITE SCUD band members Josh Jamison (left), Grant Davidson and Cole Davidson have been playing live for two and a half years.
ABOVE SCUD’s garage rock jams draw large crowds.
The band will be recording their upcoming album at Raytown Records, with Grant tackling drums at Sk8bar in Westport for its “big room sound,” resonance and natural reverb. Raytown Records, an independent show venue, organizes performances, many of which are recorded and uploaded to their YouTube channel. A mostly free resource for local music, Raytown Records has been integral to SCUD’s success.
“If you have a band … it doesn’t matter the genre … if you need a place to play, he’ll give you a place to play your show and film it and put it on YouTube,” says Grant about “Uncle Burt,” the owner of at Raytown Records. “He’s definitely somebody you want to do good for.”
“His positive energy was enough motivation for me for months of my life,” Cole echoes.
Supersonic Music Turns 25
“I’m always pinching myself, looking at 24 feet of frontage in a stone building downtown, going ‘How did you find me?’” –derek sharp –
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the downtown shop Supersonic Music. Formerly C&C Drum Shop, then later C&C Drum and Guitar, Supersonic Music opened in Lawrence in 2020, after Derek Sharp bought the store from its founder, Bill Cardwell. (Sharp also owns Supersonic Music in Topeka, which he bought from Cardwell in 1998.)
The store’s location has been key to its success. With a vibrant music scene, downtown Lawrence is the perfect place for a music shop, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s directly across the street from The Granada.
Over the years, Sharp has heard touring musicians comment, “This is how it used to be,” or “We wish we had one like this at home,” or even “We don’t see many of these across the country anymore.”
“We’re a mom-and-pop shop. We’re a little crowded,” Sharp says. “Here, the guy behind the counter knows his stuff, and our staff is friendly. We’re not corporate jerks who are just about the dollar. We help you find a solution to your problem.”
Its name has been another key to Supersonic’s success. Although the store may not be able to assist
clients with oboes or trumpet mouthpieces, as it doesn’t specialize in woodwinds or brass, it can help customers with more than just drums and guitars.
As I chat with Sharp in front of the counter, I look around the store and see everything from guitar picks to full drum kits and guitar rigs. A case full of microphones sits opposite a wall full of what seems like every drumhead imaginable. Not an inch of space is wasted, thanks to the building’s custom-built interior. Sharp used what he describes as “a pile of lumber about the size of a Volkswagen.”
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Sharp’s custom drum company, TreeHouse Drums, a second business at the same address and phone number as his Topeka location. In its basement, Sharp maintains a workshop where he custommanufactures drums used by many popular artists, including Kerry Livgren, a founding member of the rock band Kansas, and Mark Hill, a drummer from the groove band The Floozies.
TreeHouse drums are prominently displayed on a riser at the back of the downtown Lawrence store. With gorgeous inlays and etchings, they’re absolute works of art.
Aside from the great products offered by the downtown shop, it’s the people who keep Supersonic in business, Sharp says. For example, a regular who had visited the shop maybe 18 times simply to sit at the counter and chat—without spending a dime—came in that magical 19th time and spent $3,000 on a guitar.
“That’s when it dawned on me—we’re giving him more than the service of the product,” Sharp says. People go to Supersonic because the staff cares about and builds connections with their customers. “We have customers who once brought in their kids and are now bringing in their grandkids,” he adds.
But it’s the store’s international customers who surprised Sharp. He has shipped to every state in America and to every continent except Antarctica, thanks to out-of-town visitors and touring musicians. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you would never guess, Sharp says—a symphonic orchestra seeking a custom-built instrument or a military unit based in Germany or Okinawa visiting Lawrence and looking to have an item shipped their way. “I’m always pinching myself, looking at 24 feet of frontage in a stone building downtown, going ‘How did you find me?’”
THE JAYHAWK CLUB
The Jayhawk Club has a wide-range of membership options for people of all ages. From our most popular Golf membership, which includes full access to The Championship 18-hole golf course, to our Social membership, where you can enjoy the family-friendly, resort-style pool and exciting social calendar with events scheduled throughout the year; The Jayhawk Club has something for everyone.
18 HOLE GOLF COURSE
‘An Immersive Experience’
Two local authors release new works—an inspirational journey through America’s grassland rivers and a debut novel that weaves science fiction, family drama and police procedurals
Grassland River Revival
Environmental writer George Frazier’s new book is a love letter to the prairie and grasslands that make up North America. Featuring dynamic maps and vibrant photographs, Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America (University of Chicago Press, 2025) takes the reader along with Frazier and his canoe as he paddles through eight of the grassland rivers, from Montana to Colorado and Nebraska to Missouri, all the way to the Kaw River and Wakarusa wetlands. Interwoven with cultural and environmental history, insightful conversations with visionary ecologists, and personal anecdotes from his travels, this book aims to show off the great beauty—and significance—of the grasslands.
“There’s a cliché in Midwestern nature writing that gets hauled up in almost anything you read: that prairie states are flyover country,” Frazier says. “We’ve internalized this. Midwesterners, to some extent, have an inferiority complex about landscapes.”
That same mentality extends to the region’s rivers, especially the overlooked aquatic waterways that flow through prairie ecosystems. Known as grassland rivers, these waterways are shaped by their environment: slow-moving, wandering streams with shifting channels, high banks and silty beds, sustained by the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies they run through. While geographers, biologists and environmental scientists are well aware of their ecological importance, grassland rivers are seldom discussed outside academic or technical circles. “From my reading and speaking to others, there is no book for a general audience about grassland
rivers until now. They are glorious … but they are certainly forgotten.”
Grassland rivers are vital to thriving grassland ecosystems. They make up tens of thousands of miles of meandering paths, but fewer than 50 paddlers each year explore them. “I paddled almost 2,000 miles while working on this book,” Frazier says. “At night I’d dream of the motion of the canoe and the lolling green waters … riverine dreams.”
Frazier’s connection to the water and surrounding prairie is tied to his ancestral roots. “My family in western Missouri dates back to the 1840s,” he says. “Even though we’ve been city people for a couple of generations now, there’s a lot of prairie mud on our boots. … I used to have a list of reasons why I love the prairie, but as I get older, I think it chose me rather than the other way around.”
Frazier has always been interested in people’s deep, personal connections to the land, but he’s dismayed by its inaccessibility to the public—98% of Kansas is
What is George Frazier reading?
TheTransitofVenus by Shirley Hazzard
Darkenbloom by Eva Menasse, translated by Charlotte Collins
TheAnthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Author George Frazier paddled almost 2,000 miles of grassland rivers before writing his latest book.
PhotographbyCarterGaskins
privately owned. He first explored these challenges in his debut title, The Last Wild Places of Kansas (University Press of Kansas, 2017), which documented his three years roaming Kansas in search of secret, wild places.
“I believe you need to visit places repeatedly to truly know them, and in the Midwest the first thing you run into is the question of private property,” Frazier says. “How do you experience, in a deep way, a place you can’t access much of?”
While writing his newest book, Frazier feels he may have found an answer: “In much of the Midwest and the Great Plains,” he says, “rivers are far more accessible to the public than the surrounding watersheds.”
Mark Your Calendar!
On October 5, 2–3:30 p.m., at the Lawrence Arts Center, author George Frazier will share stories from his latest book, Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America. Prepare for tales of strange riverine forests left over from the ice age, leviathan fish migrations, modern grizzlies roaming the plains, endangered plants as rare as mastodon ivory, an audacious plan to return 10,000 bison to a Great Plains biosphere reserve, and, of course, river otter mayhem. For more information, visit lplks.org
What stood out to Frazier while working on Riverine Dreams was the special power that water holds. Beyond its spiritual associations with renewal and healing, it has an ability to bring people together—politics aside. He recounts a time when a group of ranchers teamed up with members of the Sierra Club to make a deal with the army to protect their shared interests: ranching culture and the Comanche National Grassland in Colorado.
“You see the same kind of thing in Missouri, where people across the spectrum support expanding the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, voting to raise taxes for conservation decade after decade,” he adds. “Everywhere I went, people wanted the same basic things: clean drinking water, rivers that actually have water in them, and places to take their kids camping on sandbars.”
For further reading, Frazier encourages everyone to explore works by Gary Snyder, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Gretel Ehrlich, Rick Bass, Jim Harrison and Peter Matthiessen. “These folks put miles on their boots and chisel words until they sparkle like diamonds,” he says. “To me, that’s the work.”
In addition to his environmental writing, Frazier is a professor at Washburn University where he teaches courses in computer information science. His latest book, Riverine Dreams, will be published October 2, 2025.
–Shirley Braunlich
Hope for the Future
Despite the advances in humanoid robots—now welcomed into homes as family members rather than just gadgets—11-year-old Ruijie initially believes that the strange robot boy she finds in a
Author Silvia Park says their debut novel reflects the unease of today’s societal loneliness. Photograph courtesy Han Jeongseon
junkyard while searching for scrap parts is human—though perhaps a robot-enhanced one. Even with one of his legs ending at the ankle, exposing red and blue wires, she still considers him human … until doubt creeps in and she asks, “How bionic are you?”
So begins Luminous (Simon & Schuster, 2025), the genrebending debut novel by Silvia Park, Lawrence writer and assistant professor of English at the University of Kansas (she/they).
Ruijie, one of the book’s three narrators, wears “robowear,” an assistive suit that helps her navigate the world as she lives with a degenerative muscle disease. The book’s other two narrators, Morgan and Jun, are estranged siblings whose robot brother has driven a wedge between them ever since he went missing.
The three storylines ultimately merge in surprising and moving ways, all set against the backdrop of what Kij Johnson, associate professor of English at KU, calls a realistic near-future world. Johnson, a writer of speculative and experimental fiction, notes that Park has created an immersive, organic world with complex characters who are neither entirely good nor entirely bad.
“I wanted to write something joyful and something hopeful … and I think the tone of children’s literature is still embedded in this novel. The core tone of this book is one of hope.” –
Silvia Park –
“The world feels real and specific,” Johnson says. “It feels like a place with history and challenges. It’s not a dystopia, and it’s not a utopia. What [Park] has done is generate a realistic near-future world, which is very hard to do, and peopled it in convincing ways.”
The novel is set in the not-too-distant future in a reunified Korea, where advances in technology and artificial intelligence have created robots that appear to exhibit human-like empathy. The robot boy calls
himself Yoyo, and he seems to represent something both deep and dangerous. As Ruijie and her friends seek to protect Yoyo from ominous junkyard scrappers, their paths intersect with siblings Morgan and Jun. Morgan, following her father, works in robotics and has developed a new creation that threatens to slip past her control while Jun, a member of the police force’s robot crimes unit and veteran of the unification war that left him mostly bionic, is determined to solve the kidnapping of a robot girl.
The book’s interwoven narratives raise complex questions about grief and emotional processing, trauma and memory, gender and identity, disability and enhanced ability. They examine the many forms of violence that plague human society, particularly violence against women. Like their human counterparts, the book’s robot characters also contend with these societal issues, and some become victims themselves.
Park, who grew up in Seoul and splits their time between Korea and the U.S., says the book reflects the unease of today’s societal loneliness and stresses that advances in robotics are not the solution.
“Even though the tech industry is already talking about AI as the solution to loneliness, it’s very unlikely,” Park says. “If it is a source of comfort for some, it will also be a source of immense abuse, an outlet for frustration, a chance to amplify a lot of this anger and hatred that we’re already starting to see with the way technology is being used. There are people who find ways to exploit it for harm—for example, the recent proliferation of deep fakes [that] are casually used to violate women and even children.”
What is Silvia Park reading?
TheOverstory by Richard Powers
TrustExercise by Susan Choi
TheMountain intheSea by Ray Nayler
Despite these serious elements, Park originally sought to write Luminous as a children’s story. In the time it took to write the book, though, Park suffered the loss of several family members, and the book subsequently shifted into something else.
The story unfolds amid the ripple effects of loss, each narrator haunted by personal or family history. Still, the overall effect is more thought-provoking than mournful, and Park notes that there are elements of the original children’s story, despite its tonal shift into darker themes.
“When I first started this as a children’s book, it was me trying to shift gears,” Park says. “I wanted to write something joyful and something hopeful … and I think the tone of children’s literature is still embedded in this novel. The core tone of this book is one of hope.”
When the storylines resolve, some questions remain unanswered—questions about the human experience as well as what artificial intelligence and robots truly mean for humanity. Park says the book’s cover— featuring a colorful illustration of the now-extinct Korean tiger, which appears at both the beginning and end of the story—speaks to this larger question.
“When we look at our relationship with robots, one of the burning questions is always, ‘Are they going to be the end of us?’” Park says. “[Or] ‘Are we creating something that will surpass us and will find no reason to keep us around?’”
For Johnson, who discussed the book with Park early in its development, the result is a work layered with emotional and philosophical substance that she believes will resonate with a wide range of readers.
“I was lucky enough to have talked to them about it early on when they were still thinking it through,” Johnson says. “It was interesting, but I had no idea how well built it was going to be. … I think Park is going to be a major writer, all other things being equal, because I think they’re doing the kind of work that will draw attention from both science fiction and the mainstream.”
Before joining KU’s English department, Park taught creative writing at Oberlin College, the University of Utah Asia Campus and New York University. Park’s fiction has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Reactor Magazine and The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Park also received the 2018 Fiction Prize from the Sonora Review.
–Rochelle
Valverde
STORY BY Darin M. White
BY Jason Dailey
Sculptor David Vertačnik’s grandparents immigrated to the United States from Slovenia, a European country located near the Adriatic Sea and bordering Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. They embraced American culture, but they never forgot their roots.
“My first impression of Slovenia was like putting on a well-worn pair of tennis shoes. The fit was extremely comfortable,” Vertačnik says about his first visit to his ancestral land.
His family settled in Indiana and raised Vertačnik on their 60-acre farm. It was here that Vertačnik says he was taught hard work—his father could build most anything, and his mother was a registered nurse.
Back to His Roots
Sculptor David Vertačnik draws inspiration from the land
ceramics, thanks to Indiana State’s strong ceramics program and Vertačnik’s inspiring ceramics professor, Dick Hay.
“I learned how to throw pots, but I definitely wasn’t a potter,” he says. “Working with clay, I learned partto-part relationships. The spatial relationships of the vessel and its component parts are visually critical.”
He also learned plaster mold-making from Hay. Many of the pieces he created at Indiana State were cast from molds, resulting in three-dimensional forms that engaged with spatial depth.
“That [three-dimensional space] was something extremely intriguing,” Vertačnik says. “It wasn’t flat. It was in the round.”
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State, then earned his master of fine arts degree at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Upstate New York—the ceramics mecca during the 1970s.
Glenn Zwygart, a sculpture professor at Alfred who works in fabricated steel, provided Vertačnik with a studio space. This was a huge turning point in his career, he says, because it led him to incorporate steel into his work. Adopting this multimedia approach, Vertačnik expanded into more materials, and now he wonders what his art would have looked like had he been introduced to metal casting earlier in his career.
ABOVE Sculptor David Vertačnik was raised on a working farm and incorporates agrarian images into his art.
OPPOSITE Inspired by a walk along a rail trail and his brother’s suggestion to place a piece there, Vertačnik’s large-scale sculpture Homeward reflects on travel and the passage of time.
Armed with a strong work ethic and a connection to his heritage, Vertačnik studied business at Indiana State. It wasn’t until he dated an art major from Ball State University that he considered studying visual arts. His business studies weren’t going well, and he enjoyed the studio environment—a place where he could work with his hands.
Eventually, he shifted his classes to the school of visual arts. He took up the study of contemporary
In 1979, he moved to Kansas, where he began to teach at the University of Kansas. When teaching his ceramics students, he often speaks on the “bowling alley effect” in which sculptors create a piece that is visually strong from only one side. “But sculpture is round, 360 degrees. The piece should be visually interesting as it is rotated,” he explains.
His sculptures vary from countertop-sized pieces to large pieces for public spaces. “My art is about line and space,” he says; it touches on “landscape, figural
comparison, and contrasting materials against each other.” He refers to himself as a formalist who is influenced by surrealists such as Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Jean Tinguely, Joan Miró and Alberto Giacometti. Through his work, Vertačnik creates narratives that serve as a means for his exploration and curiosity. He draws inspiration from the land without creating a direct representation. Figures and forms are a muse, not a portrayal. If the viewer uncovers this internal dialogue, even a fragment of the thought process, they might glimpse inside the maker’s mind, forge their own interpretation, or simply admire the aesthetics.
“My art is about humanity and humanity’s earthbound ties. It’s about the land and our responsibility toward it. It’s about primitive symbols that relate to my heritage, as well as the natural world,” he says.
Raised by strong parents on a working farm in the Midwest, Vertačnik says his use of incorporating the land into his work is a direct reflection of his background. “I have always been attracted to agrarian images—plants, agricultural tools, the fruitful soil— using them to describe and symbolize life cycles such as fertility, growth, depletion and renewal.”
In his work, Vertačnik uses movement and a variety of materials, including cast bronze, ceramics, found industrial objects and agricultural tools. He describes his work as “energetic, intriguing and descriptive but elusive.”
“I want my sculpture to reflect the significance and vulnerability of humankind’s relation to the earth in a time of increasingly dehumanized technology,” he says. “I want my viewers to think. I want them to be provoked.”
A cast bronze sculpture titled Prairie Twist fully represents his work. In this smaller piece, two Ford Model A crankshafts rise out of a textured base that resembles legs. Atop these appendages, a gnarled branch ties itself into an open, circular knot. Bits of the branch extend past the opening with various manmade objects emerging from the natural offshoots. As if eyeing the world, an industrial object—perhaps a gear fragment—hangs suspended from one of the branch shoots in the center of the knot.
Today, Vertačnik and his wife, Wendy, still live on the Lawrence farm where they once ran Vertačnik’s Orchard—a place that, for him, has always echoed his childhood farm. Much of his work can be found in private collections as well as public spaces, including Overland Park Convention Center, Bethel College in Newton, Emprise Bank in Wichita and three large-scale sculptures along a river walk in Most na Soči, Slovenia. Later this fall, his newest piece, Homeward, will be installed on the Tilden trailhead, a rail-trail running through Brownsburg, Indiana.
Still heeding his family’s advice, Vertačnik uses his work to stay connected to his roots. His sculptures are more than just objects; they encompass the land, the people and life itself.
ABOVE Vertačnik uses caste bronze in a lot of his sculptures, including Prairie Twist (left), a smaller piece that blends industrial and natural elements. Photograph by Aaron Paden
Aaron Paden
Lawrencium
Kansas Memorial Stadium
University of Kansas football fans are eager to celebrate game day back on their home turf. Last season, Jayhawks played home games at the Kansas City NFL team stadium and Children’s Mercy Park while Kansas Memorial Stadium underwent renovations. These $250-million stadium upgrades included new amenities, seating and modernized features, aiming to enhance the full game day experience. For the stadium’s grand re-opening, Jayhawks kicked off the 2025 football season August 23, hosting Fresno State.
Stadium Beginnings
Before it became Memorial Stadium, the KU football field was known as McCook Field, named after Colonel John McCook, who donated $2,500 toward its construction in the spring of 1892. The first KU football game was held there on October 27, 1892. McCook Field originally seated only 800 people.
Didknow?you
one.
Originally dedicated on November 11, 1922 two.
Built to honor the 129 students and alumni who died making “the world safe for democracy” in World War I three.
First major war memorial built on KU campus four.
Seventh college football stadium built in the U.S. five.
First college football stadium built west of the Mississippi River
A Few Enhancements …
• New chairback seating in the west and north seating areas
• 4x more food and beverage offerings
• 50% increase in area per seat
• 50% more leg room per seat
• Increased number of elevators
• Improved accessible seating
• Videoboard 2.5x larger and 60 feet closer to the field
Important Dates
May 10, 1921
More than 4,000 KU students show up for “Stadium Day” to help demolish the old stadium seating at McCook Field
October 3, 1921
The first game held at Memorial Stadium; KU beats K-State 21-7
1927
Phog Allen’s dream of a horseshoe-style stadium is completed, increasing seating to 25,000
1961
KU wins its first bowl game in the Bluebonnet Bowl against Rice University in Texas
1965
East and west stands are expanded, increasing seating to 51,000
1999/2000
$26 million restorations are completed
2021
KU celebrates 100 years of football
STORY BY Katherine Dinsdale PHOTOGRAPHY BY Carter Gaskins
Serving Up Change
One mom on a mission has taken over St.
John Catholic School’s cafeteria,
and the kids are loving the healthier
options
Erica Gascon says she was deeply discouraged by years of chicken-nugget lunches at her children’s school.
“I just wanted food to be better,” the admittedly food-obsessed mother of four says. “When the bar is low, you can only go up.”
So, the former real estate agent, pharmaceutical sales rep and restaurant worker joined the St. John Catholic School’s cafeteria staff in 2024. She donned a pink baseball cap embroidered with the words “Lunch Lady” and embarked on a heartfelt mission to transform the school’s food system.
“All I have to do is tweak recipes I’d use for small dinner parties by multiplying them by 20,” she says.
“[Principal Jeff Harkin] told me I had to follow the guidelines of the USDA for school lunches,” Gascon says. “Beyond that, he didn’t care what I cooked.”
Learning Lessons
Gascon began learning her way around the St. John’s kitchen—the same kitchen that turns out 800 to 1,000 tamales for the St. John’s Mexican Fiesta each June. She phoned her friend Simon Bates, co-owner of the East Lawrence restaurant Bon Bon, to help her identify a shiny, unfamiliar piece of equipment occupying the space of a standard stove. Bates explained that it was a tilt skillet, a workhorse for sautéing and braising. The whole surface tilts to pour large amounts of food into half-sheet serving pans.
Aside from learning the art of the tilt, Gascon became proficient in the accounting necessities of her new job. She learned to count meals served and determine how many students are eligible for free and reduced lunches. She stewed over what in the world to do with the unpopular 1% milk mandated
“The most important goal for me this year was getting rid of processed food and cooking as much from scratch as possible.” –
Erica Gascon –
and subsidized by the USDA. She began learning kids’ preferences and photographing new menu items to send to teachers so students could consider their choices before lunchtime. She also offered younger children samples of unfamiliar fare.
“Kids are often afraid of new foods, and it helps them to have samples to try,” she says. “It may take a day or two for a first grader to wrap his mind around Vietnamese banh mi.”
Harkin says Gascon’s impact on the school food program was immediate. “Erica and her staff put love and care into their work, and that has translated into healthy, clean and delicious food that the kids love,” he says. “I have heard countless positive comments from students, parents and staff about the changes she has brought to our nutrition program.”
Gascon counted the year a success, as well. “The most important goal for me this year was getting rid of processed food and cooking as much from scratch as possible,” she says, acknowledging that she has learned a lot along the way.
After an incident where she seasoned a tortilla soup with Indian chili powder instead of regular chili
ABOVE Erica Gascon likes to offer younger children samples of new foods in the St. John cafeteria.
powder, she now knows to check and double-check the spice labels. Indian chili powder is much hotter, and even after loading the soup with sour cream, Gascon says the mishap resulted in an unusually high number of water fountain runs through the afternoon.
She also learned to double-check the equipment after her Crock-Pot surprised her with a raw pork shoulder. She had to think on her feet and quickly design alternative plans for the 200 students lining up for pulled pork.
Food Matters
Gascon and her clientele see eye-to-eye on many food matters. French dip day, for example, is very popular, although Gascon admits that the high-quality, 100% grass-fed beef donated by a St. John’s family might have something to do with that. Hamburgers, which Gascon “hand-patties,” are another favorite meal among the children.
Still, there are a few matters where Gascon and her clientele agree to disagree—soups are mostly non-starters, and most children are suspicious of things green. But Gascon was pleased when popular opinion eventually swung in favor of a new menu item, pesto pasta.
“At first, students were leery of the vivid green,” Gascon says. “I watched most of them pivot to grab cold sandwiches. But then a few brave kids tried the dish.” Eventually, word spread that the pesto pasta, created by another mom who helps Gascon in the cafeteria, was “magnifico.” “Now it’s one of our top five all-time faves,” she adds.
Jenna Sheldon-Sherman, a mom at St. John’s, says her picky kindergartner loves the pesto pasta and now looks forward to trying new foods from Gascon. “Each day, he comes home raving about whatever was served that day. Now, he eats a greater variety of foods and is willing to try almost anything,” she says. “No matter what he tries, he always says Erica makes it better.”
“Teachers love the food we offer, and I want to eat it, too. That’s part of my criteria. I make food I want to eat,” she says. “I have three back-to-back lunches to serve. I want it to be piping hot and fresh. I want to serve food when it is at its best. I don’t want it sitting under a warmer for an hour.”
There are a few things that Gascon doesn’t do in her kitchen. She doesn’t make homemade bread, but she does make homemade bone and vegetable broth from scraps. She also doesn’t prepare special foods to accommodate gluten-free or lactose-intolerant diets.
However, she believes the variety of food she offers provides plenty of choices for the students.
“I track the experiments they haven’t loved. I make sure we have a variety of proteins and a fresh salad bar that includes two different kinds of lettuce and 12 to 15 different fresh vegetables, including broccoli, peppers, carrots, beets, olives, mushrooms and a variety of fruits. Homemade Caesar salads— paired with a homemade dressing made by another St. John’s mom who also makes the popular pesto— are legend,” Gascon says. “The truth is, we just crush Caesar salads. The kids love it.”
To prepare her kitchen for a day of serving gradeschool foodies, Gascon places orders with a wholesale distributor and visits the store a couple of times a week. She tries her best not to waste food or have too many leftovers, admitting her own kids get tired of eating lunch leftovers for dinner.
Wholesome and Tasty
Parents have told Gascon that during home meals, their kids will lament, “This was good, but not as good as Ms. Gascon’s.” Parents even complain that their kids now want to buy school lunch five days a week. She smiles at that idea. “I say to those parents, ‘You’re welcome.’ The kids are getting good food.”
“In families, there can be such a pull for instant foods. There are so many after-school activities today; we are all busier and busier and always on the go. I don’t judge anyone for how they manage to get their kids fed. I have my own four kids going four different directions,” Gascon says. “But I also see the food system getting worse and worse, and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.
To help, Gascon has three part-time employees and several parent volunteers. Upper-grade students take turns working in the lunchroom as well. “Once I was feeding the kids well, everyone wanted to help. The enthusiasm continues to build, and the truth is, I love to be on my feet,” Gascon says. “I like the day to go fast. I come in at 8 a.m., then suddenly it’s 1 p.m. I often wonder, ‘What just happened?’”
One thing the kids do miss from St. John’s cafeteria food of yesteryear is the “chickenwich,” a processed (and then frozen) concoction of dark-colored meat in a breaded coating. On the last day of the 2024–2025 school year, Gascon served chickenwiches over waffles with syrup. It was an exception to her from-scratch recipes, but it cleaned out the last of the leftovers and was a memorable last lunch for the Lunch Lady’s first year.
OPPOSITE Gascon doesn’t judge parents for how they feed their busy kids; she hopes to promote healthier choices amid a broken food system.
Follow the Rails
Trade cityscapes for scenic views on the Flint Hills Trail, one of Kansas’ longest rail trails
Avid Lawrence cyclist Dave Wiley likes to pedal in a variety of places. Sometimes he cycles trails between steep, timbered bluffs and gently flowing rivers. If he’s lucky, Wiley might see an eagle swoop down for a fish or watch a herd of deer scramble up the slopes. Other times, he likes to cycle through wide expanses of prairie. These trails bisect a seemingly endless sea of native prairie grasses and vibrant wildflowers that duck and roll in the wind like an inland tide.
Bicyclists like Wiley get to ride through both of these varied landscapes whenever they pedal the Flint Hills Trail. “It takes only 30 minutes to get on the Flint Hills Trail in Ottawa,” Wiley says. “From there, I have so many options of where I can ride and for how long. I love the variety of views … the things I can see.”
The Long Haul
At Flint Hills Trail State Park, hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders can enjoy 92 miles of recreational paths, stretching from Osawatomie to Council Grove. Built on an old railroad corridor, it is Kansas’ longest recreational trail and one of the longest rail-trail conversions in the United States, according to Kansas state parks regional supervisor Jeff Bender.
This railroad route was built in the 1880s. Rail service was abandoned a century later, and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy acquired it in 1995, later transferring ownership to the Kanza RailTrails Conservancy (KRTC). Relying entirely on the support of
volunteers and monetary donations, the KRTC developed 60 miles of the trail in sections. In 2014, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks took on an advisory role, says trail manager Trent McCown, to help maintain the trail and facilitate several areas of construction.
The Flint Hills Trail was named a state park in 2018. Today, volunteers continue to play an important role in managing and maintaining the trail. And unlike most state parks, a daily user fee is not required.
Change of Scenery
The beauty of the Flint Hills Trail is unmatched. Starting at the eastern trailhead, which sits at the edge of Osawatomie, visitors immediately pass through the Marais des Cygnes river valley. Often framed by steep ridges of Ozark-like forests of huge oaks, hickories and other hardwoods, the Marais des Cygnes river valley is steeped in natural beauty.
For many miles, the trail passes beneath overhanging trees, their branches interlocked. Wiley appreciates that these “tree tunnels” provide shade in the heat of summer and shelter anytime a strong wind blows. For much of April, redbud trees line the trail with vibrant lavender-tinged blossoms. October and November’s fall foliage also provides a tapestry of colors.
The trail goes over clear streams, through fertile croplands, past grazing cattle and by seasonal marshlands. Eventually, it leads
riders into the heart of the legendary Flint Hills, famous for its expansive views of tallgrass prairie. Despite being called the Flint Hills Trail, it never makes more than a 3-degree incline, as per railroad requirements.
The Flint Hills Trail connects riders to two other scenic rail-trails: the Prairie Spirit Trail, which intersects in Ottawa and heads south for 51 miles before it meets the 7-mile Southwind Rail Trail, and the unfinished Landon Nature Trail, which intersects near Quenemo and stretches north for 38 miles into Topeka.
Getting Better and Better
McCown says the trail will undergo a number of improvements over the next few years, thanks to a $24.8 million federal grant awarded in 2022. This will include opening the remainder of the 118-mile rail-trail from Council Grove west to Herington. This spring also saw the construction of a new bridge over railway tracks a few miles west of Ottawa. This addition improved trail conditions for cyclists who, for years, have been redirected through a 3-mile gravel detour around the tracks. Other improvements will include repairing and replacing other bridges, resurfacing worn areas, and adding drinking fountains, toilets and shaded resting areas at trailheads. (For current updates, visit ksoutdoors.com/Services/Flint-Hills-Trail-Project.)
Once the trail opens all the way to Herington, Bender says it will pass by 12 towns and several unincorporated hamlets. These historic communities, which include Council Grove, Osage City, Ottawa and Osawatomie, welcome visitors with upgraded trailheads and wellmarked routes, and many host regular cycling events.
Legacy Square in downtown Ottawa is a 20,000-square-foot green space where the Flint Hills Trail meets the Prairie Spirit Trail. Made possible by private donations, it has hosted several special events, including live music and cycling.
Ottawa Bike and Trail, located at the edge of the square along the town’s main street, is a popular local hub for the Flint Hills Trail. As well as selling, renting and repairing traditional bikes and e-bikes, the shop hosts special events to help cyclists better enjoy the trail.
The shop also hosts two weekly rides, weather permitting. On Thursday evenings, the Not Lost Brewing Gravel Group Ride ends at a local brewery. On Saturday mornings, the Gravel Group Ride meets for waffles and coffee, then hits the trail. Both are casual, no-drop rides.
Rural Douglas County cyclist Phillip Gallagher makes the short drive to Ottawa for some of the organized rides. “Most of the time, on the Saturday rides, I start with coffee and waffles when I get into town, then I may grab lunch after my ride is over,” Gallagher says. “We’re very fortunate to have a trail like that so close.”
WITHJAYHAWKCHECKING
conflict commemorating
A look back at how the popular educational series “Civil War on the Border” has been educating Lawrence for 30 years
STORY BY Marsha Henry Goff
In 1990,
historian Katie Armitage approached Lawrence High School history teacher Paul Stuewe with a project that she was working on. After her children had completed their entire public-school education without learning anything about Quantrill’s Raid, she set to work developing educational activities to commemorate the raid’s 131st anniversary, and she sought Stuewe’s help in furthering the program. Little did they know that the program would be going strong 31 years later and grow to a week’s worth of educational activities.
The two began collaborating on various bus tours focused on Quantrill’s Raid, including a memorable double-decker bus tour on June 15, 1991, which took 100 members of the Kansas State Historical Society from the Eldridge Hotel to a sudden stop at the University of Kansas as lightning struck Hoch Auditorium. Stuewe vividly recalls flames shooting skyward as the bus descended the hill.
In 1994, the duo spoke at a dinner at the Eldridge Hotel called “Dine with Patriots, Traitors and Ruffians in the Crystal Ballroom,” which featured nine reenactors, including figures such as John Brown, President Abraham Lincoln, sheriff Samuel Jones and doctor John Stringfellow. They also created a one-hour program at the Community Building sponsored by Lawrence Parks and Recreation, where they read personal accounts of the raid.
Armitage and Stuewe laid the groundwork for “Civil War on the Border” in 1995 as they developed summer education programs about the raid. However, Stuewe says the event evolved into what it is today in 1997. Robert Phillips, whose partnership group owned and operated the Eldridge Hotel, hosted that year’s event at the hotel—kicking off its sponsorship of the event—and helped organize a full schedule of activities, officially titled “Civil War on the Western Frontier.” Armitage offered bus tours, Stuewe provided horse-drawn trolley tours, and Phillips expanded the program into a full week.
Although Stuewe, Armitage and Phillips all credit each other for the program’s success, it is unlikely that the program would have grown to such heights without the creative thinking and passion for history of these three talented individuals.
The Major Players
Armitage worked at Watkins Museum from 1977 to 1980 as a research assistant, planning an exhibit titled “On the Banks of the Kaw.” She also worked for the Kansas State Historical Society in the education department, where, among other duties, she developed
Watkins Turns50!
On April 26, Watkins Museum of History marked its 50th anniversary with a confetti cake shaped like its iconic building. Built in 1888 by J.B. Watkins to house his Land and Mortgage Company and Watkins National Bank, the building was later donated to the city of Lawrence by Watkins’s widow, Elizabeth Watkins, in 1929, and it served as the city hall until 1970.
When city hall moved to a different building, the title reverted to nine beneficiaries of Elizabeth’s will, who generously transferred it to the Douglas County Historical Society. After five years of restoration, the building reopened in 1975 as the Elizabeth M. Watkins Community Museum.
To properly celebrate its anniversary, Watkins received funding from Stevens and Brand law firm to create exhibits featuring other institutions celebrating milestones: Stevens and Brand, 100 years; Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, 75 years; and Douglas County Community Foundation, 25 years.
Additionally, this year Watkins Museum will be the first host in Kansas for Americans, a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition that highlights how American Indian images, names and stories have long been part of the nation’s identity. In partnership with Humanities Kansas and Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, this exhibit will run from August 23 to October 5.
Watkins remains committed to preserving and sharing Douglas County’s heritage. Celebrating its anniversary provided Watkins leaders with a chance to reflect on its history and look to its future.
“With a staff of about 10 and even more volunteers, the museum plans to only get bigger and better each day,” says deputy director of engagement Will Haynes. “Through changing exhibits and engaging events, we hope to always draw people back as well as welcome new faces.”
a traveling trunk used to share historical artifacts. She is perhaps best known in Lawrence for her willingness to lend her knowledge and time to any historical project, including once giving a bus tour to World War II Army Rangers who were in Lawrence for a national reunion.
“Armitage is the godmother of Lawrence and Kansas history,” Stuewe says. “As a friend and mentor, she has taught me much through her example and support, which I am forever grateful as are the generations of Lawrencians who have learned from her presentations and tours.”
For more than a decade, Armitage led nighttime flashlight tours of Oak Hill Cemetery, where most of those killed in Quantrill’s Raid are buried—some in a mass grave. At various graves, reenactors portraying some of the victims, or survivors later buried there, would speak to tour participants about the raid.
After retiring from his 44-year teaching career, Stuewe continues to hear from former high school students because of his skill for making history engaging. In 1990, he authored Kansas Revisited: Historical Images and Perspectives, a book about Kansas history geared toward junior high students. He later taught a class at KU using his book, along with several KU history professors.
Phillips was a businessman who realized that expanding programming for “Civil War on the Western Frontier” into a week’s worth of activities could attract more visitors to the hotel. However, he also aimed to create an event that would “sell the community,” an idea he says was suggested by Steve Jansen, director of Watkins Museum at the time. Moreover, Phillips wanted to have some fun by blending his love for horses and history. “If you can do fun things and make money at it,” Phillips says, “that makes it even more fun!”
Phillips is also responsible for Lawrence’s beloved OldFashioned Christmas Parade, originally called The Eldridge Hotel Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade. His ideas “add to the uniqueness of what makes Lawrence a great place to live,” Stuewe says.
Bringing Ideas to Life
Phillips has friends across the U.S. who have helped him realize many of his creative ideas. For instance, Phillips thought it would be fun to reenact a stagecoach run because the Eldridge brothers once operated a stage line from Kansas City to Lawrence to Lecompton. A friend from Texas loaned Phillips his stagecoach and even brought it to Lawrence himself. Phillips successfully made a Sunday run from Lawrence to Lecompton, where local residents were celebrating their annual Territorial Days festival.
From the minute you walk in the door, Bridge Haven is a wonderful home with a family atmosphere. Heather Bravence
The upbeat and friendly atmosphere at Bridge Haven made all the difference to Joe and us, so thank you. - Jill & Phillip Baringer You feel their love in all the little things
Debby Crady
Norma Rose
The following Thursday, he planned another trip that took him to Riverside School in Lawrence, where students had written letters to Lecompton students that would later be delivered by stagecoach. “We never made it, but we tried,”
Phillips says regretfully.
“We had a wreck and almost turned the stagecoach over. Worst of all, my helper was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized when he fell while trying to untangle the horses’ lines and was stepped on by one of the big horses.”
He also recalls the year he recruited volunteer reenactors who set up an encampment by the river. “Reenactors are hard to work with; they’re a different breed,” Phillips says. “They wanted everything to be historically accurate. We furnished them with food and gunpowder. They said they wanted chicken because it was easy to cook so I asked them how many live chickens they wanted. They decided it didn’t have to be that accurate.”
Cha-cha-changes
About 20 years ago, Watkins Museum adopted the program as a fundraising event, partnering with other community nonprofits. One dollar from every ticket sale gets donated to a selected nonprofit.
In 2021, the event’s name was shortened to “Civil War on the Border.” Will Haynes, deputy director for engagement and learning at Watkins, is responsible for managing the program’s schedule. “We do a version that’s a little bit scaled back to fit within our resources,” he says. “It stays true to the principles for which it was first begun as a way to commemorate an event from the most important era in our history.”
Haynes introduced annual themes to explore different topics and engage with leading Civil War historians. The organization also continues to offer walking and bus tours, along with a memorial service for the raid’s victims. Each year, Haynes hosts various online discussions with experts on the theme.
This year’s event ran August 21–24. For the theme, “The Civil War and Religion,” the museum partnered with local churches to host events, and the memorial was held at Plymouth Church. Stuewe remains involved in the event and gave a presentation at St. Luke AME Church about the origins of “Civil War on the Border.”
While reflecting on her part in creating and expanding the long-lasting and still popular “Civil War on the Border,” Armitage expresses pride in what she, Stuewe and Phillips have achieved. “It was a great idea and I was very happy to be involved.”
Cottin’s Hardware Farmers’ Market
Ongoing–September 25 cottinshardware.com
Gathering of local food vendors in the parking lot of Cottin’s Hardware on Thursdays, 4–6:30 p.m.
Final Fridays
Recurring monthly on the last Friday explorelawrence.com
Downtown Lawrence, the Warehouse Arts District and other places throughout the city participate in a festival that offers a variety of free arts and culture exhibits and events, 5–9 p.m.
Lawrence Farmers’ Market
Ongoing–November 29 lawrencefarmersmarket.org
The state’s oldest continually operating farmers’ market welcomes visitors on Saturdays, 7:30–11:30 a.m.
Madeline
September 12, 13, 15 lawrenceartscenter.org
The Lawrence Ballet Theatre presents a dance performance at the Lawrence Public Library, inspired by Ludwig Bemelmans’ beloved children’s book.
events
fall 2025
Haskell Indian Art Market
October 4–5
haskell.edu/hiam
One of the nation’s premier open-air markets for authentic Native-made art, the Haskell Indian Art Market also features dances, musical celebrations and food vendors.
Kaw Valley Farm Tour
October 4–5
kawvalleyfarmtour.org
For one weekend, dozens of farms, ranches, wineries and other food producers open their gates to visitors for tours, samples and children’s activities. Pay just $10 vehicle entry fee for the entire weekend.
Noah Reid
October 4
#IMOMSOHARD:
The Flashback Tour
September 13 lied.ku.edu
Mom-comedy duo Jen Smedley and Kristin Hensley explore womanhood, motherhood and friendship in their live show at the Lied Center.
Next to Normal
September 19–21, 25–28
theatrelawrence.com
Theatre Lawrence presents the Pulitzer Prize–winning rock musical that explores mental illness, grief and the struggles of a suburban family.
Rev It Up! Hot Rod Street Festival
September 27
revitupcarshow.org
More than 200 hot rods, dragsters and more converge around South Park for a free-admission charity fundraiser benefitting the Ballard Center. The festival features food trucks and a musical performance by Deke Dickerson.
Silent Sky
October 3–5
kutheatre.com
University of Kansas Theatre presents the poignant play about Henrietta Leavitt, a pioneering astronomer in the early 1900s who made groundbreaking discoveries amid sexism and societal barriers.
liberty-hall.com
Acclaimed singer-songwriter of Schitt’s Creek fame performs at Liberty Hall.
Runway + Rhythm
October 4
lawrenceartscenter.org
The Lawrence Art Center’s newest fundraiser features a designer showcase and dance party.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
October 13
haskell.edu
Celebration honoring Native and Indigenous communities; city holiday and classes closed at Haskell Indian Nations University.
TINA: The Tina Turner Musical
October 14
lied.ku.edu
The Lied Center presents the uplifting comeback story of the queen of rock ’n’ roll.
Lawrence Zombie Walk
October 16
lawrencezombiewalk.com
Civic-minded zombies assemble with donations for the Lawrence Humane Society at South Park at 6 p.m., then shuffle through downtown as the sun sets over Massachusetts Street.
events fall 2025
Late Night in the Phog
October 17
kuathletics.com
The University of Kansas basketball teams kick off their winter season with their traditional night of scrimmage, skits and musical performances.
Dinner on the Curve
October 18
van-go.org
Van Go’s annual funky fundraiser offers an evening of dinner, cocktails and a live art auction.
Imagination Movers
October 18
lied.ku.edu
The Emmy Award-winning children’s music group performs at the Lied Center.
Ellis Paul
October 19
lied.ku.edu
Singer-songwriter and folk storyteller performs at the Lied Center.
Matthew Morrison
October 22
lied.ku.edu
Broadway and TV star performs at the Lied Center.
Ghosting Lawrence
October 23–25
lawrenceartscenter.org
A theatrical and musical tour of haunted or legendary Lawrence sites.
The Rocky Horror Show
October 23–25
theatrelawrence.com
Theatre Lawrence presents a live performance of the cult-classic rock musical about the night naïve newlyweds Brad and Janet stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s bizarre mansion.
The 25th Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee
October 24–26, 29–31
kutheatre.com
University of Kansas Theatre presents the musical comedy about six eccentric sixth-graders competing in a small-town spelling championship.
Ziggy & Miles
October 26
lied.ku.edu
Classical guitarist brothers perform at the Lied Center.
Haunting Humanities
October 29
spencerart.ku.edu
The Hall Center for the Humanities presents an all-ages night of spooky presentations, activities and games at Abe & Jake’s Landing.
Here to Pee
November 2
liberty-hall.com
Liberty Hall presents the comedy protest tour led by trans comedian Ren Q. Dawe, featuring an all-trans comedian lineup. Proceeds benefit local LGBTQ+ nonprofits challenging anti-trans bathroom bills.
Return of the Sacred Red Rock
November 8
spencerart.ku.edu
Spencer Museum of Art presents a free screening of the documentary film about the return of the Kaw Nation’s sacred rock at the Kansas Union, followed by a panel discussion with project leaders.
Fall Dance Concert
November 14–16
theatredance.ku.edu
The University Dance Company presents its annual fall concert, ranging from contemporary dance to ballet, jazz and hip-hop.
Kansas Music Hall of Fame
November 22
liberty-hall.com
Kansas Music Hall of Fame hosts its 20th anniversary induction ceremony and concert at Liberty Hall.
Quote the Raven
November 25
lawrenceartscenter.org
Canadian folk duo Jordan Coaker and Kirsten Rodden-Clarke perform at the Lawrence Arts Center.
Thanksgiving Day 5K and Fun Run
November 27
runlawerence.org
RunLawrence hosts its annual 5K and fun run in North Lawrence. Proceeds benefit Woodlawn Elementary School and local youth running programs.
Festival of Trees
November 28–December 7
oconnellchildrensshelter.org/festival-of-trees View decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses at this annual holiday event that benefits O’Connell Children’s Shelter.
Santa Rescue and Holiday Light Ceremony
November 28
downtownlawrence.com
Downtown Lawrence kicks off the holidays with its annual lighting ceremony, featuring a special sighting of Santa on Weaver’s Department Store roof as he is rescued by the local fire department.
