Make the Most of a Visit to Lawrence, Kansas
Visit Lawrence Kansas for Great Food, Shopping and Entertainment
Oct 5, 2009
Though small, the vibrant city of Lawrence, Kansas, is home to many artists and art, live music, sports events, beautifully landscaped parks and a historic downtown that features great shopping.
Home of the Jayhawks
Home to the University of Kansas, Lawrence is a great place to catch a ball game. Tickets to see KU’s National Championship Men’s Basketball team are tough to get, but there are almost always tickets available to the KU women’s basketball games. KU’s football team continues to gain more respect across the nation, and the newly improved Memorial Stadium boasts $30 million in improvements, including sky boxes and a giant MegaVision video board.
Other games that visitors may take in while they’re in Lawrence include University of Kansas baseball, softball, volleyball, rowing and swimming, depending, of course, on what time of year it is.
Shopping
Lawrence, Kansas features a downtown that boasts historic buildings and an active shopping district. Visitors may be surprised at the variety of goods and foods they’ll find. Shops include clothing, jewelry, University of Kansas licensed clothing and goods, European foods and goods, art galleries, music and movies, ethnic goods and clothing.
Food and Drink
Downtown Lawrence is also home to a big variety of restaurants, coffee shops and drinking establishments. Visitors will find that they may partake of food from all over the world, including Thai, Greek, Italian, American, Indian and Middle Eastern. Enjoy a fresh micro brew at Kansas’ first legal brewery since prohibition, or choose from any number of sports bars or small watering holes for a beer, wine or mixed drink.
Live Music and Entertainment
Lawrence is home to several downtown venues that are famous for live music and feature local as well as nationally known bands. These include the Bottleneck, the Granada, Abe & Jakes Landing, the Jackpot Saloon & Music Hall, the Jazzhaus, historic Liberty Hall and the Replay Lounge.
The Lied Center, located on the west campus of the University of Kansas, regularly features nationally and internationally renown entertainment acts that include theatrical performances, ballet, jazz performances, classical music, and famous speakers and comedy acts.
Annual Events
There are a number of entertaining events that take place yearly and are open to the public in Lawrence, Kansas.
Art in the Park takes place at South Park in downtown Lawrence the first Sunday in May. The Art Tougeau Parade is an annual automobile parade of decorated cars and other wheeled vehicles which also takes place sometime in May.
The Pickin' & Fiddlin' Championships is usually held the last weekend in August and features open competitions of fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and dulcimer playing, as well as folk singing. The competition is open to the public on Sunday in South Park in downtown Lawrence.
The Indian Art Market is a two-day outdoor art festival and pow-wow held the second weekend in September featuring works and dancing by Native Americans at the historic Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence.
The Kaw Valley Farm Tour takes place in October. One low ticket price covers each vehicle of visitors who may then tour almost 20 working farms in the Kaw River Valley just outside Lawrence. The Kaw Valley Farm Tour includes demonstrations and sampling including: honey extraction, wine making and tasting, cider making, jam making, cut flower farming, green houses, goat dairy products, spinning and weaving demonstrations and much more.
The annual ArtWalk is a two-day self-guided tour of Lawrence artists' studios and local art galleries that takes place over a full weekend in October.
The Downtown Lawrence Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade takes place in downtown Lawrence in December and features seasonally decorated horse-drawn carriages, coaches, wagons and buggies. The annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is a large parade that also goes through downtown, the proceeds of which go to local charitable organizations.
A trip to Lawrence, Kansas, whether on your way to a vacation destination in another state, or as a side trip from Kansas City, is well worth the visit.
For more information, visit the Lawrence Kansas Convention and Visitor's Bureau website.
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