Uncovering Kansas

In November 2017, on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday during Thanksgiving weekend, we took a day trip to Chase County for their Country Christmas Festival. It was the community's official Christmas season kick-off. Here's a fun fact: The very first recordings we did for this podcast are in this episode! We needed to practice. More importantly we knew we'd return to Cottonwood Falls in November 2018 and the journey and experience was worth an episode. We've appended and updated these first recordings with an interview Rachel did with Toni Schneider, Chase County Chamber of Commerce Outreach Coordinator, in late October 2018. Toni and Rachel discuss details for this year's celebration. There is a lot happening in Chase County on November 23 and 24 for kids and adults, including the Ugly Sweater 5k Run, the Holiday Home Tour, Arts and Craft Shows, Silent Auction, a visit from Santa, and the parade.

Please listen to the episode, we think you'll enjoy it. And we hope you not only consider supporting small businesses during the holiday season but that you'll consider visiting and supporting smaller communities as well. If you live in northeastern Kansas, Chase County is an easy and accessible drive from the suburbs and the community's Christmas Festival is a great way to spend a day with family and friends.

While on the Big Kansas Road Trip, I came up with an idea to set up a pop-up restaurant in small towns in Kansas that can't support a wide variety or large number of restaurants. I think it would be fun, but can't pull it off by myself. If you are interested in joining the effort to establish a pop-up restaurant in Kansas small towns, let me know - there is a form on our website that you can submit.

This is the second episode of the 3-part series about the 2018 Big Kansas Road Trip. This episode focuses on the experience we had on the trip. Specifically, the people we met.

As a reminder, the Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT) is hosted by the Kansas Sampler Foundation – whose mission is to preserve, sustain, and grow rural culture by educating Kansans about Kansas and by networking and supporting rural communities. And the Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT) is a multi-day event where people are encouraged to explore 3 Kansas counties that have been selected by Kansas Sampler Foundation.

In the background of the BKRT is a vibe. There's a rhythm of hospitality offering a consistent experience not typically available to travelers. Because these small towns were expecting visitors from all across Kansas, they were ready and willing to engage. People from Kansas are always friendly – but this was more than just saying hello as you passed each other on the sidewalk. They were there to represent their town and talk to strangers and engage in conversations usually reserved for your closest friends.

This is the first in a three-episode series about the Big Kansas Road Trip.

2018 was the inaugural year for the Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT), a cultural event conceived by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, whose mission is to preserve, sustain, and grow rural culture by educating Kansans about Kansas and by networking and supporting rural communities.

Three Kansas counties and a specific weekend were chosen as the official venue and timeframe for the BKRT. The 2018 counties were Barber, Comanche, and Kiowa, located in the south-central region of Kansas (see map below). The towns within the designated counties rolled out the red carpet for visitors, who explored the area and interacted with locals to get firsthand accounts of places, history and legends.

This episode is about the highlights from the trip. To see the full show notes, check out our website.

On this episode, we uncover a unique program in Johnson County Kansas that enables and encourages commercial art-making by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Papercrete Works is a program created by Johnson County Developmental Supports (JCDS) that marries art, commerce, and recycling to create an opportunity for clients of JCDS to earn an hourly wage.

I learned of the program's existence when I visited their open studio at InterUrban ArtHouse.

The term Papercrete is used to describe a mixture of cement, water, and recycled paper that gets poured into molds to make flower pots, picture frames, paperweights, decorative bowls, and other art objects. The process requires a wide range of skill sets, and allows people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to put their skills to work for an hourly wage. Some people shred the recycled paper, some mix the concrete, others fill the molds, use fine motor skills to paint the items, and even learn sales and marketing skills when the items are sold at art shows or other events.

One of my goals for Uncovering Kansas is to help educate Kansans about interesting and innovative things going on in Kansas and to start conversations that discuss and challenge stereotypes. And I think Papercrete Works art studio does this. There are many ways to look at programs like this, but as soon as I walked into the Papercrete Works art studio, I knew this would be an enlightening interview for me. I sat down with Micah Wickstrom, Ben Koontz, Jaimie Cureton, and Deb Bartholomew to talk about the program. Michah is the Papercrete Works Program Coordinator, Deb is a JCDS Team Lead, and both Ben and Jaimie are clients of JCDS who are working for Papercrete Works.

I enjoyed learning about the success the program is having in just 2 ½ years. The program assists people like Ben and Jaime with necessary skills development to participate in the the community. To learn more about the program, check out their website. If you are in Johnson County, their open studio at InterUrban ArtHouse is on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Papercrete Works Website

On this episode of Uncovering Kansas, we talk to Sarah about foster care and her plan for Joy Meadows. We think that you'll learn a lot about the state of foster care in Kansas and find that another innovative Kansan has come up with a great idea to help improve the system. (Note: this is an abridged version of the interview because we had such a great conversation!)

The foster care system in Kansas is facing some pretty big challenges. With about 7,600 children in foster care in Kansas, there are only about 2,700 approved foster families. This means that a lot of foster children are sleeping in a different location every night, or in the foster care offices on couches or cots.

Sarah Oberndorfer has come up with a plan to help address this issue by creating a community of foster homes in Basehor Kansas, called Joy Meadows. By creating a neighborhood where all of the homes are foster families, there is a built-in support structure that will reduce foster family burnout, increase capacity for foster children, and ensure more siblings get to stay together. In addition, the neighborhood will have a community center that will allow social services to come to the families, reducing the amount of time spent driving to and from appointments.

On this episode of Uncovering Kansas, we talk to Sarah about foster care and her plan for Joy Meadows. We think that you'll learn a lot about the state of foster care in Kansas and find that another innovative Kansan has come up with a great idea to help improve the system.

Joy Meadows website

August is a time for County Fairs in Kansas. All County Fairs have the same key elements: animals, carnival rides and games, crafts, and plenty of food. We encourage you to change things up and visit a county fair in a county you've never been to. This way, you get to enjoy all of the traditional County Fair elements while also experiencing a part of Kansas you've never experienced before.

Here are the featured county fairs:

Dodge City Days July 27-Aug 5

Crawford County Fair Aug 1-4

Cowley County Fair Aug 2-6

Inter-State Fair and Rodeo Aug 13-18 – in Coffeeville Kansas

Yoder Heritage Days – Aug 25

In addition to County Fairs, here are some other festivals or events going on across Kansas in August:

Wild Bill Hickock Rodeo Aug 1-4

Abilene Kansas

This event features saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie down roping, team roping, women's barrel racing, bull riding! Over 500 cowboys and cowgirls compete for over $37,500 in added prize money, plus entertaining specialty acts between events!

Taste of Kansas Dinner Aug 4

Wakeeney Kansas

This farm to fork dinner brings the best of local Kansas cuisine to you at Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. Las Vegas trained chef & WaKeeney resident, Ean Mong will pair Kansas wines with dishes prepared using only Kansas ingredients for the multi-course dinner. Featuring musical entertainment by Lucas Maddy.

Ranching Saturdays Aug 4

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Strong City

experience daily activities on a working ranch. Living history interpreters demonstrate activities such as: stove cooking, music, gardening, quilting, carpentry, roping, fence repair, saddling, wool spinning, sewing, stall cleaning, and housekeeping.

The K&O Farm, Home, & Ranch Show Aug 17-19

Winfield Fair Grounds

The show features a tractor rodeo, garden and antique tractor pulls, arts-and-crafts show, and a variety of other attractions.

Sand Creek Summer Days Aug 17-19

Newton, Kansas

This is not your typical festival! Featuring a Floating Flotilla Parade, Human Foosball Tournament, Cardboard Regatta, and 80s costume contest in addition to all of the usual festival events.

Roots Festival Aug 24 -25

Paola, Kansas

Non-stop music is on the agenda, plus a BBQ Contest, and plenty of crafts and food.

In this episode of Uncovering Kansas, we talk with Kate McNair, Managing Editor of Elementia Literary Magazine, a publication written, edited, and produced completely by teens.

Website

In this episode of Uncovering Kansas, we talk with Mike Paget, the founder of Green Guitar Folk House, a music series in Lenexa that brings national touring singer songwriters into an intimate venue for people who love music.

Green Guitar Folk House Website

Green Guitar Folk House Facebook Page

In our first episode, we'll cover what Uncovering Kansas is all about and how it came to be. We hope you are as excited about it as we are. We are working on getting iTunes set up, but in the meantime, please follow us on Facebook so that you can get updates when future episodes are released.