Mahaffie Special Events

2008 Schedule

Animal Feeding Time
Thursdays June through August
3 p.m.
$1 per person, ages 3 and up (proceeds go toward animal care)
Come and learn how the Mahaffie family cared for their livestock in the past and how we care for our animals today. Talk with site staff as they feed the horses and cattle - and help feed chickens!

Stagecoach Saturdays
First and Third Saturdays of each month April through October
10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Ride our stagecoach and tour the Mahaffie house. Stagecoach rides - $2 or $1 with paid house tour.

Brownie Girl Scout Day  (fee charged)
April 12
9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

This program is now full. If you have questions about scheduling a different program, please call 913.971.5111.

Brownie Scouts can earn their "Try It" patch and a special Mahaffie patch. Try your hand at embroidery or make a button collage. Ride the stagecoach, learn about life on the western trails and enjoy 19th Century games. This program is for Brownie Scouts only. Registration is required. Call Mahaffie at 913-971-5111 for details. A $10/Scout registration fee will be charged; adults will be admitted for free.

Civil War On the Border 2008 (12th Year)
April 19 and 20
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Return to the Civil War at our 12th annual re-enactment, with activities the whole family can enjoy. Period music, children's games and activities, presentations on clothing of the era, food vendors, stagecoach rides, demonstrations by artillery, cavalry, and infantry units and an afternoon battle each day! Free, suggested donation of $2/adults, $1/child. Scheduled to appear is the Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard from Fort Riley Kansas. Other activities include a presentation by Clarina Nichols from the Kansas Humanities Council and activities from the Lecompton Reenactors Association.   Get more event information.

Olathe Junior Service League's Reading Trails Fun Fest 
May 3
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Join the Olathe Junior Service League in this annual event to kick off a summer of reading. Activities will be presented along with stagecoach rides. Free admission.

Summer History Camp
Week-long sessions in June and July
For children going into kindergarten through grade 7. Join us for a week of history filled fun! Each week will offer a different theme and different age level. Call for more details. Cost is $72/child/week (Olathe residents) or $80/child/week (non residents) for Storybook Camp; $135/child/week (Olathe residents) or $148/child/week (non residents) for other camps. Children must be entering the grade being offered. Call 913-971-5111 for registration information & fees.

Olathe Civic Band Children's Concert & Mahaffie Family Fun Night
June 10
Activities begin at 6:30 p.m.; Concert begins at 7 p.m.
Free admission for concert; fee for stagecoach rides; lemonade for sale. City Council members will hand out free frozen treats!

Independence Day, 19th Century Style
July 5
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Celebrate Independence Day with historic activities!. There will be a reading of the Declaration of Independence at 12 p.m., followed by a canon firing! The Bluegrass Missourians, a bluegrass band, will be performing at 1 p.m. And the Shawnee Indian Missioners will play the Mahaffie Stagecoach Drivers in 19th century baseball at 2 p.m. The baseball rules will be explained to encourage visitor participation in the game. Bring a picnic lunch, blankets and chairs and enjoy this American celebration!

Wild West Show & Bullwhacker Days
Sept. 27 and 28
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Don't miss the excitement as Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, trick riders, and other performers and cowboy re-enactors recreate the Wild West shows of the late 1800s! Two arena shows daily (featuring new acts - including a cattle drive!) along with lots of other activities celebrating the west in fact and fiction and the heritage of the western trails. Music, merchandise vendors, living history demonstrations, and lots of activities for children, including panning for real gold, an air gun shooting gallery, and a rubber-band gun shooting gallery for the littlest tumbleweeds. Expanded seating will be available during this year's arena shows. Admission is $5 for adults; and $3 for children ages 5-11. Children under 5 admitted free. Seating for the arena shows at 12:00 and 3:00 opens 45 minutes prior to show start. Pre-show arena activities for children including a stick horse race daily, are limited to the first 50 children pre-registering at the front gate.

Cemetery Tours
October 16, 17, and 18
Tours leave at 7, 7:30 and 8 p.m.
Come experience history brought to life by characters in the Olathe City Cemetery. Visit the graves of some of Olathe's founders and meet the people who rest here as they come alive to tell their stories. You'll meet members of the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site family, and other notable citizens. Refreshments. Free admission; donations gratefully accepted. Meet at Northview Elementary School, 905 N. Walker.

Christmas Open-House
December 6
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Experience Christmas from the mid 19th century and early 20th century. The house will be decorated for 1860s holidays plus music, refreshments, and 1860s crafters/vendors. Visit Santa, see Father Christmas and shop in the gift shop. Free admission. Donations gratefully accepted.