Next date: Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM
Across Kansas, late summer brings county fair season and all the fun that goes along with it. But what happens when the carnival stops coming? These community connectors have largely gone by the wayside due to economic challenges, but some counties have united to host community-owned carnivals. This talk will delve into the history of the carnival in Kansas, and the recent herculean efforts by small, rural communities to keep this tradition alive and thriving.
Presented by Erika Nelson, an independent artist, educator, and director of the World's Largest Things, Inc. Her research interests include roadside attractions and outsider art environments. She explores the back roads of the United States in search of the odd and unique in her mobile museum, the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things.
Please bring your own lunch. Dessert provided by the Lenexa Historical Society and Lenexa Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Ages 16 and up.
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Thompson Barn, 11184 Lackman Rd., Lenexa, KS, 66219, View Map
11184 Lackman Rd. , Lenexa, KS 66219
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