Wichita Children's Theater

We attended a performance of Chicken Little by the Wichita Children's Theatre.  Angel loves the Wichita Children's Theatre and she and the kiddos look forward to their performance every year.  They always do an interesting twist on a fairy tale and are quite entertaining.  The year Chicken Little was a chicken hawk, not a chicken and it was Henny Penny who thought the sky was falling.  It was an interesting twist, but I (Angel) had a hard time staying focused, because I kept thinking, "That's not right.  It should be Chicken Little."  I thought maybe it was just my normal traumatic brain injury response to change, but the kiddos were confused too.  They thought it should be Chicken Little who thought the sky was falling.

The costumes were amazing as always and a very fun way for actors to change characters.  I think I want a chicken cape and hat for Halloween (or turkey or duck or something)  :)  It is always fun when the cast involves the audience during the play and the audience did not disappoint.  I think the best part of the Wichita Children's Theatre productions is watching the response of the kiddos in the audience.  They really stay involved and watching.

Svensk Hyllningsfest

October 8 took us to Lindsborg for Svensk Hyllningsfest.  We arrived as the parade was heading down the street and the rain was just beginning.  It sprinkled on and off all day but nothing could damper the feelings and activities.  You really felt like you were in the middle of a Swedish festival when you looked at all the people in authentic Swedish garb walking around. 

The Parade

Every parade should have bag pipers

Besides the normal fun shops along the main street, there were arts and crafts tents and food vendors as well to help you enjoy your day.  The arts and craft vendors didn't just have product to sell.  Many of them were producing more of their product as you watched.  It was fascinating and we could have watched all day.



Eric's favorite craft--a Santa with a hat twisted
by a Kansas tornado



What a cool ice cream maker.
Who knew?

Live music in the arts & crafts tent was awesome!!

It was recommended that we try a Viking on a Stick for lunch.  The line was super long at that food vendor and they actually ran out shortly after we got ours.  The kiddos and Eric tried Viking on a Stick and Angel had Swedish pancakes.  No one was disappointed.  In fact, our son still talks about his Viking on a Stick.

The main stage had entertainment all day--dancers and singers, etc.  We didn't get to see all of it, but did have a chance to see and hear some.

When they said there would be cloggers, we expected grown ups.
Oh well, you have to start somewhere.

We have visited Lindsborg before, but it was Memorial Day, so this time more of the stores were open and we got to see inside the Anatoly Karpov School of Chess and watch dala horses being made.

http://kansas150th-150thingstodoinkansas.blogspot.com/2011/06/80-exploring-lindsborg.html

If you want to learn about chess, the Anatoly Karpov School of Chess is the place for you.  There are tons of chess boards set up for you to practice on and free lessons are offered.  We even got to see a chess game in progress and hear some instruction.  Wish we lived closer.

Hemslöjd

Kansas Weather

We took off on our adventure October 8 trusting the weather man.  The forecast said there would be little to no rain by the time we got to Lindsborg. Well, we were almost there and the rain hadn't stopped. So, we called ahead to discover the rain hadn't gotten to Lindsorg yet and everything was to go on as scheduled.  So, we kept driving.

Well, we must have brought the rain with us because it started sprinkling as we arrived.  It sprinkled off and on all day, but no major downpours.  Gotta love Festival goers--a little rain didn't stop anything.  These people were dedicated and dancing, etc. in costume even with the rain.  Maybe everyone was doing a rain dance.  We sure are thankful for the rain even if it did make the Festival a little wet and prevent us from visiting a pumpkin patch this weekend.  Oh, well, October is not over.  We'll just try again.  The rain is so welcome!!!  Gotta love Kansas weather.  You never know what you will get.

Celebrating 150 Adventures!!!

WE DID IT!!!  We made it to 150 adventures around the great state of Kansas.  That is definitely worth celebrating.  So, we stopped in at Russell Stover Candies for some ice cream.   We were slightly disappointed to see that Russell Stover Candies has been remodeled and the window where you could view the factory is now gone.  It has been replaced with a TV playing a looping story (Eric says it's 1:45 minutes of annoying repeat) about the history of Russell Stovers.   In our opinion, the only real reason to stop at the factory NOW is to check out the Bloopers, Seconds or sales.  If you just want a regular box of candy, you can probably find a store close to you that will carry Russell Stover Candies.

But the ice cream was good and the celebration was necessary.  It is not everyday you reach the goal of 150 Kansas adventures. :)  Now on to the PLUSES.

The wall behind Angel USED to be the viewing window.

Check out all those colors