Meet Me in Shawnee: How to Have Fun in this Kansas City

Drone on Demand

Shawnee has a unique history. Part of the Oregon Trail when Kansas was a territory, it later became an area known for large-scale farming. Today, this suburb of Kansas City – with a population of more than 69,000 residents – is a great place to raise a family, as it boasts great schools and is an active, affordable community. Plus, the city’s Parks & Recreation Department has a goal to have a park every one-third of a mile.

“Those are the amenities and the things that really draw people to Shawnee,” says Jill Chalfie, former city council member and longtime Shawnee resident. “I’m thankful for those things, and I feel like that’s what makes our city unique. Our family has really utilized the entire spectrum of recreational amenities that we have available here.”

Here’s a look at some of the fun things to do in Shawnee.

Family-Friendly Fun Things to Do in Shawnee

Shawnee has no shortage of places families can have fun, whether they want to explore Shawnee’s past, play sports or games, or simply get their wiggles out.

At Shawnee Town 1929, visitors can experience what life was like in the late 1920s. The property includes an 1880s farmhouse, a barn, a smokehouse and a one-room schoolhouse. It also features a jail, a grocer, an undertaker, a typewriter repair shop, an ice house, a barbershop and a Chevrolet dealer and service station.

“They try to focus on some of the things that were in our city in 1929 and incorporate everything together,” says Mayor Mickey Sandifer. “From my understanding, Shawnee wasn’t affected like other parts of the country during the Depression because it had truck farming and was growing vegetables for the community, and it was a commodity everyone needed.”

Aztec Shawnee Theater, which went through a three-year restoration process, now offers concerts, classic movies and events. Park Lanes is Shawnee’s longtime bowling alley, offering eight lanes, cosmic bowling, an arcade, a bar and a snack shack that serves burgers, pizza and appetizers.

At The Rush FunPlex, families can go bowling, drive go-karts or bumper cars, play laser tag, billiards, mini golf and arcade games, go rock climbing and play in foam pits.

At Sky Zone, kids can bounce to their heart’s content, but the activity center offers trampoline jousting and basketball, a zip line, dodgeball, a ninja warrior course, rock climbing, playground equipment and foam pits.

The SuperKidz Club is designed for kids 12 and under and lets little ones burn off some steam while their parents relax in the cafe. There are ball pits, indoor playground equipment and a makerspace for crafty kids.

Enjoy Shawnee’s Special Events

Shawnee holds many community events throughout the year that draw the community together. Some are monthly, some are annual and others focus on national holidays.

“We have our Wheels & Dreams car shows and the Tour de Shawnee that rides all throughout the city. We have a championship barbecue event called Great Grillers; we have a food truck event and concerts in different parks in the summertime,” Sandifer says. “Those are free to everyone, and at our Fourth of July event, we have an incredible fireworks display that thousands of people show up to watch.”

PARKED, which is held the Friday before the Fourth of July, kicks off National Parks and Recreation Month.

One of the city’s most popular events is Old Shawnee Days – it is held the first full weekend in June and features a parade, food and retail vendors, a carnival, live music and other performances.

The Moonlight Market, held downtown, is another resident favorite. 

“We had a farmers market for years, but it wasn’t drawing a huge crowd each week and so we thought outside of the box on how we could enhance that, and it became the Moonlight Market,” Chalfie says. “On the evening of the third Thursday of every month from May through November, we have some of the things you’d see at a farmers market, like fresh produce, but we have food trucks, live music, locally crafted items and local breweries. It’s an amazing event because it really is something that all ages enjoy.”

Moonlight Markets are themed and end with a Christkindl market in November with the mayor’s Christmas tree lighting.

Explore Plenty of Parks

With an abundance of parks, Shawnee offers plenty of options when it comes to outdoor recreation and play.

Shawnee Mission Park is a more than 1,600-acre park with a large lake that’s popular for fishing and boating, numerous picnic areas, trails, a dog park and a disc golf course. It’s a great place for archery, horseback riding and mountain biking. It is home to the Theatre in the Park as well as a beach and marina that offers watercraft rentals.

Shawnee’s Valley of Champions is a sports complex that features 10 turfed and lighted baseball and softball fields, 12 additional softball fields, grass soccer fields, indoor gym space for basketball and volleyball, sand volleyball and two ice skating rinks. The complex draws over 1 million people each year to its youth and adult sports tournaments.

With its numerous amenities and superb quality of life, Shawnee is much more than a suburb and much more than a small town.

“Shawnee is called the Little Big Town – it just keeps that hometown feeling and is a city with heart,” Sandifer says. “It’s just an amazing community and always has been.”