Larned — Staff and volunteers at Fort Larned National Historic Site will bring a frontier military post back to life for Memorial Day Weekend.
There is no better place to commemorate the service and sacrifice of our military than at the authentically restored military post, said Park Ranger Celeste Dixon. The Fort Larned National Historic Site is located 6 miles west of Larned on K-156 and admission is always free.
Feel the thrill as the cannon booms and the rifles fire, or watch as the blacksmith uses fire to transform ordinary metal into useful objects. There will be programs on the life the common soldier, the life of the company laundress, and how to grow a post garden.
The events will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, May 27-29. The schedule of demonstrations and special programs for all three days will be:
10 a.m. – In the Blacksmith Shop: Forge and Anvil. Watch and listen as the blacksmith uses fire and hammer to transform iron.
11 a.m. – Behind the North Officers Quarters: From Garden to Table. Experience the fragrance and flavors of the post garden. 1 p.m. – Behind the Commissary Building: Artillery and Rifle Firing Demonstrations. See how the soldiers used their weapons during the Indian Wars.
2 p.m. – Behind the Barracks: Soapsuds Row, The Army Laundress at Fort Larned. Learn all about washboards, lye soap and laundry at the Post.
3 p.m. – In the Barracks: Soldiers of the Post. Find out if you have what it takes to be a frontier soldier.
5 p.m. – On the Parade Ground: Flag Retreat. Experience this traditional Army flag lowering ceremony done the 19th century way.

Sunday, May 29:
9 a.m. – In the Post Chapel: Nineteenth Century Religious Service.