City of Shawnee

Parks and Rec Month

Parks & Recreation Month Logo
Each July, Shawnee Parks & Recreation joins the National Recreation and Parks Association to celebrate the spaces, places, programs and people that make up the Parks & Recreation field. We join the celebration with free programs, events, activities and fun surprises for residents and neighbors. Join in as we Explore, Engage and Connect this July!

Special Parks & Recreation Month Events

Popsicles in the Park: Monday, July 1
Chill out this July with a refreshing twist at Popsicles in the Park! Dive into summer at one of our fantastic splash pads and savor a delicious frozen delight. While you're here, don't forget to snag one of our fabulous calendars, packed with exciting FREE activities for Parks & Recreation Month! Let's make this summer unforgettable! 

Date: July 1, 2024
Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Cost: Free
Location: Gum Springs Park
Freedom Fling: Thursday, July 4
Make a splash this 4th of July! Each pool will have concession specials and games every hour beginning at 1:00pm with our annual soda pop drop at 2:00pm!

Date: July 4, 2024
Time: 12:30pm-5:00pm
Cost: Free for season pass holders, 1/2 price admission with a canned food donation
Location: The Thomas A. Soetaert Aquatic Center and Splash Cove
Popsicles in the Park: Saturday, July 6
Chill out this July with a refreshing twist at Popsicles in the Park! Dive into summer at one of our fantastic splash pads and savor a delicious frozen delight. While you're here, don't forget to snag one of our fabulous calendars, packed with exciting FREE activities for Parks & Recreation Month! Let's make this summer unforgettable! 

Date: July 6, 2024
Time: 10:00am-11:00am
Cost: Free
Location: Wilder Bluff Park
Zumba: Monday, July 8
Take the "work" out of workout by mixing low-intensity and high intensity moves in an interval-style, calorie-burning dance fitness party! Once the Latin and World rhythms take over, you'll see why Zumba Fitness classes are often called exercise in disguise.

Date: July 8, 2024
Time: 7:00pm-8:00pm
Cost: Free
Location: The Shawnee Civic Centre
Time Travelers: Thursday, July 11
Our favorite summer series is BACK! Bring your family and enjoy a trip back to 1929 with interactive day at our historic truck farm or recreated Shawnee downtown, every Tuesday and Thursday from June 11 to August 1. Enjoy fan favorite activities like farmstead laundry and grocery shopping along with NEW bonus activities and special guests featured each week! Each week features a new theme with different highlights, and kids can also pick up a scavenger hunt for added fun.  

Life on a Truck Farm It’s the busy season on the farm! Time to harvest and wash the vegetables, hang laundry, and make lunch in the farm kitchen. 

Date: July 11, 2024
Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
Cost: Regular Admission
Location: Shawnee Town 1929

hawnee Town 1929/Herman Laird Park
Yoga in the Park: Saturday, July 13
Join us for a FREE morning stretch in a beautiful park setting. This practice is great for beginners, and a nice "recovery" workout for athletes. Please bring a mat and water bottle.

Date: July 13, 2024
Time: 9:00am-10:00am
Cost: Free
Location: Erfurt Park
Touch-a-Truck: Wednesday, July 17
Fire trucks and tractors and bobcats, oh my! Bring your little ones out to Shawnee Town 1929/Herman Laird Park on Wednesday, July 17th. Watch their eyes light up as they sit in the driver's seat of these big trucks and old rigs, we will have some of our 1920s vehicles on display as well! 

Date: July 17, 2024
Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
Cost: FREE
Location: Shawnee Town 1929/Herman Laird Park
Mobile Wellness Fair: Saturday, July 20
We are Healthier Because We Live Here! Join Shawnee Parks & Recreation and our Mobile Wellness Hub partners for a monthly Mobile Wellness Fair. These fairs are FREE and open to the public. Each fair will include food distribution from Harvesters, wellness screenings, fun and games with Shawnee's Wellness Hub, and special entertainment.

The Mobile Wellness Fair Food Pantry is available for anyone in the community. Each participant receives a healthy amount of meat, fruit, vegetables & other items. Distribution begins at 9:30am and goes till 11:30am or till the food has been distributed.


Date: July 20, 2024
Time: 9:30am-11:30am
Cost: Free
Location: Shawanoe Elementary School, 11230 W 75th St
Dive-In Movie: Saturday, July 20
Join your family, friends, and neighbors for a Dive-In Movie Night on Saturday, July 20th at the Soetaert Aquatic Center, 13805 Johnson Drive. The gates will open at 8:00 p.m. and the movie, Finding Dory, will start at dusk. Bring your own flotation device or use ours.

Date: July 20, 2024
Time: The gates open at 8:00pm and the movie begins at dusk
Cost: Free with a canned food donation
Location: The Thomas A. Soetaert Aquatic Center
Dance Fit 21: Monday, July 22
Get a full body workout with this high-energy dance fitness class! Halie Strickler with Dance Fit 21 is excited to share her Adaptive Recreation class with a special outdoor program in honor of Parks & Recreation Month. Grab friend and grow in strength, endurance, and accountability to meet your fitness goals!

Date: July 22, 2024
Time: 10:00am-10:45am
Cost: FREE
Location: The Shawnee Civic Centre
Jammin' on the Green: Wednesday, July 24
Sit under the summer sky and enjoy tunes by Kansas City’s own Grand Marquis! Inspired by the Kansas City blues scene, New Orleans jazz, and Memphis soul, Grand Marquis creates a blend of American roots music with plenty of original material and revitalized classics.

Admission is free, and bottled water and popsicles are provided. Guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs, and limited bench and picnic table seating is available. Be sure to park and enter by the Visitor Center at 11501 W 57th Street, Shawnee, KS 66203.

Date: July 24, 2024
Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm
Cost: FREE
Location: Shawnee Town 1929
Aqua Bootcamp: Saturday, July 27
Join us to burn calories and de-stress with this high-intensity  workout at the pool! Using weights, floats, deep and shallow water, this workout focuses on toning your body with interval strength and cardiovascular training. Bring your suit and get ready to feel a new kind of burn under the sun!

Date: July 27, 2024
Time: 9:00am-10:00am
Cost: FREE
Location: Thomas A. Soetaert Aquatic Center

Pre-Registration for this activity is required. Register online.
Pickleball: Wednesday, July 31
Funny name, serious sport! Try your hand at Pickleball at the Shawnee Civic Centre! This popular sport combines elements of tennis and badminton. 

Date: July 31, 2024
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
Cost: FREE
Location: The Shawnee Civic Centre