FEATURED EVENT: COASTING ALONG
Riding the campy Fire in the Hole roller coaster was a rite of passage for many visitors to Branson, Missouri’s Silver Dollar City from 1972 through 2023. Although the attraction retired at the end of last season (after seeing more than 25 million riders), current and future generations won’t miss out.

Silver Dollar City’s newest ride, Fire in the Hole features a 19th-century volunteer fire-fighting storyline, three gravity-driven drops and a water-splash finale. Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City Company.

The 1880s-themed amusement park opened a new Fire in the Hole ride this spring. The $30 million roller coaster—nearly a third-of-a-mile long and housed in a five-story, temperature-controlled building—is the largest indoor family roller coaster in the Midwest. The ride’s storyline, inspired by the original Fire in the Hole, has riders in their own old-fashioned pumper wagons (a predecessor to fire trucks) band together to save a mining town from burning, all while experiencing advanced onboard audio and special effects, three thrilling drops and a splash-landing. SilverDollarCity.com

FEATURED EVENT: DISNEY AT 100
It will be a homecoming of sorts when Disney100: The Exhibition opens in Union Station’s 20,000-square-foot Bank of America Gallery for its May 24 through November 30 run. Walt Disney spent part of his childhood in Kansas City, Missouri, and he created his first animated film business there before moving to Los Angeles and starting what would become The Walt Disney Company in 1923.

Take a photo with Mickey Mouse inside The Magic of Sound and Musicgallery at Disney100: The Exhibition. © Disney

Produced by the Walt Disney Archives and Semmel Exhibitions, this centennial collection showcases 250 artifacts and 14 interactive installations. Instead of a timeline format, the exhibition uses storytelling to recount the history and innovations of Disney. Its 10 galleries range from The Magic of Sound and Music to Your Disney World, a look at Disney’s theme parks.

Among the treasures on display are Disneyland Park Employee Badge #1, issued to Walt Disney in 1955; seldom viewed works of art; costumes and iconic props. UnionStation.org

51ST ANNUAL TULSA INTERNATIONAL MAYFEST
May 10–12
Take in dance, theater and music performances across multiple outdoor stages along with the works of local and juried visual artists at this family-friendly, free festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Arts and Historic Greenwood districts. TulsaMayfest.org

Blackbear Bosin’s iconic Keeper of the Plains sculpture in Wichita, Kansas, will be rededicated to mark its 50th anniversary. Photo courtesy of Visit Wichita

KEEPER OF THE PLAINS PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE
May 18
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of artist Blackbear Bosin’s 44-foot-tall Keeper of the Plains steel sculpture in downtown Wichita, Kansas. The free festivities include a rededication ceremony, indoor powwow, outdoor Native performances, games and activities, free admission to the Mid-America All-Indian Museum and a fireworks finale set to Native music. TheIndianMuseum.org/50th, 316/350-3340

Artists from around the country will be selling their wares at the Paseo Arts Festival in Oklahoma City; Photo Courtesy of Visit OKC

PASEO ARTS FESTIVAL
May 25–27
Nearly 100 artists from across the country are invited to this free event in the Paseo Arts District of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They’ll bring painting, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, and other art forms to peruse and purchase. Entertainment includes 50 live performances on two stages, a kids activity area, and a food court alongside the district’s restaurants, galleries and shops. ThePaseo.org, 405/525-2688

50TH-ANNIVERSARY LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE CAST PARTY
May 31–June 2
A celebration of 50 years of the Little House on the Prairie TV show based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books will take place during the annual Prairie Days at the Little House on the Prairie Museum near Independence, Kansas. More than a dozen original cast members are confirmed to attend, including Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder). The Ingalls family lived on the site of the museum from 1869 to 1871, and it is where daughter Carrie Ingalls was born. Facebook.com/LittleHouseOnThePrairieMuseum

As leader of the Allied troops in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the event at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas, on June 1 and 6; Photo courtesy of Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene, KS

D-DAY+80 COMMEMORATION
June 1 and 6
Commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings along France’s Normandy coast during World War II at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas, the boyhood home and final resting place of Dwight D. Eisenhower. On June 1, the Symphony at Sunset concert includes food vendors and educational activities. The  June 6  event includes a “meet a WWII veteran” reception, speakers, military reenactors, hands-on programs and more. Both events are on the grounds of the Eisenhower complex and offer free admission to the museum, which is hosting a special exhibition by French photographer Fabrice Bourge, a native of Normandy. EisenhowerLibrary.gov, EisenhowerFoundation.net, 785/263-6700

Family carnival fun, country music concerts, a car show and more fun await at the National Sand Bass Festival; Photo courtesy of Chickasha Country

NATIONAL SAND BASS FESTIVAL
June 3–8
This free festival in the town square of Madill, Oklahoma, in the Lake Texoma area, is packed with events for the whole family. Highlights include a daily carnival, arts and crafts vendors, five nights of country music concerts, a car show, fun runs, games and competitions for all ages. SandBassFestival.org

Come to the dead center of the US—Oklahoma City—for a four-day film festival.

DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL
June 6–9
Named for its geographic location in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma—the dead center of the US—this film festival is the state’s largest with more than 150 independent films over four days at venues across the city. DeadCenter is designated an Academy Award-qualifying fest for animated and live action shorts. DeadCenterFilm.org, 405/246-9233

OAHE DAYS ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 14–15
Steamboat Park on the east bank of the Missouri River in the capital city of Pierre, South Dakota, hosts this festival centered on concerts and arts and crafts vendor booths. Other activities include dance performances, carnival rides, inflatables and games, competitions and more. Oahedays.com, 605/220-0269

COUNTRY STAMPEDE FESTIVAL
June 27–29
Jon Pardi, Riley Green, Chris Janson and Jackson Dean are among the artists performing at this annual outdoor country music and camping festival in a new location this year: Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas. CountryStampede.com, 785/539-2222

Sisseton, South Dakota, hosts the state’s longest-running powwow, with dance performances, a rodeo and more.

SISSETON WAHPETON OYATE WACIPI
July 4–7
Started in 1867, this is the longest-running wacipi, or powwow, in South Dakota and second oldest in the country. Held at Agency Village Ceremonial Grounds, seven miles south of Sisseton, the annual event includes daily dance performances plus food and craft vendors, a rodeo and more. Sisseton.com, 605/698-8284

Badlands National Park is appealing at all times of day—and night. Come see the stars at the park’s annual Astronomy Festival. Photo by MeLinda Schnyder

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL
July 5–7
See spectacular dark skies during nightly telescope viewings and explore free daytime activities for the whole family at South Dakota’s Badlands National Park, marking its 85th anniversary. NPS.gov/BadL, 605/433-5361

Amelia Earhart’s hometown of Atchison, Kansas, celebrates her birthday with a blast of a party that includes aerobatic flights and much more; Photo by MeLinda Schnyder

AMELIA EARHART FESTIVAL
July 19–20
The famed aviator was born on July 24, 1897, and her hometown of Atchison, Kansas, throws a party each summer to celebrate her birthday. Partygoers can enjoy performances of wing walking and other aerobatic flights, a symposium, a car show, food, craft booths, children’s activities, fireworks and music. Diamond Rio headlines this year’s riverfront concert. Birthday activities happen across the city and at a variety of area attractions, including the new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum and the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum. VisitAtchison.com/Highlight/Amelia-Earhart-Festival, 913/426-3911

A three-mile parade through Deadwood, South Dakoa, is a treasured part of the Days of ’76 events.

DAYS OF ’76 PARADE & RODEO
July 21–27
Started in 1924 as a way to honor the pioneers who ventured into the gold-filled gulches of Dakota Territory in 1876, this annual event includes an outdoor rodeo that is a member of the PRCA’s Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a Historic Days of ’76 parade that takes place Friday and repeats Saturday. The 3-mile parade through Deadwood, South Dakota, follows the history of the region and includes a wagon collection otherwise housed at the Days of ’76 Museum. DaysOf76.com, 605/578-2872