7 Things Kansans Do on Friday Nights That Nobody Else Would

Friday nights for many Americans can start to feel the same after a while.

But Kansans have some ways of spending them that you won’t find just anywhere, and a few are tied to fall events.

Here’s what they get up to.

1. Cottonwood Falls Jam Session

The Kansas Sampler Foundation says the first and third Friday nights of the month bring a 7:30 p.m. jam session to Prairie PastTimes in Cottonwood Falls.

The foundation, which works to preserve rural culture, lists the jam among its 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs.

If you play, anyone can come and play because there’s no test of musicianship.

If you’d rather listen, admission is free.

Its write-up says the jam began in October 1999 and, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, was then Kansas’ first public weekly jam session.

Travel Kansas says the jam meets inside or outside, weather permitting.

There’s also a Gospel Music Night at Prairie PastTimes on Friday, Oct. 30.

2. Cruising the Squircle

KCUR reported in 2015 that Blue Rapids teens spent Friday and Saturday nights driving around the town square.

The Kansas Sampler Foundation says that square is the only round square in Kansas.

The square is known as the squircle.

If you join them, the move is to back your car into the curb and watch who is in town.

There’s also a challenge from the 1940s or 1950s, if not earlier.

Drivers would turn off the engine at the top of the hill south of town and coast to the square.

The goal was to see how many times you could circle it before stopping.

3. Barto’s Idle Hour

Ray Barto opened Barto’s Idle Hour in Frontenac in the early 1950s to provide entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights, according to Explore Crawford County.

A fried chicken restaurant followed next door in 1965.

The Kansas Sampler Foundation says Barto’s offered food from Frontenac’s Italian, German and Slavic descendants, plus polka music.

Your Friday at Barto’s can come with live bands, which Travel Kansas says play most Friday and Saturday nights.

Couples dance around the floor on weekends as polka music plays.

As a group, Crawford County’s chicken restaurants are one of the foundation’s 8 Wonders of Kansas Cuisine.

If you’re after the chicken, Explore Crawford County lists Barto’s as one of the county’s six chicken restaurants.

4. Neewollah in Independence

Two Fridays fall inside Neewollah, the Independence festival named for Halloween spelled backwards.

Travel Kansas lists the 2026 run as Oct. 23 to 31 for a festival that began in 1919 as an effort to provide positive activities.

Your first Friday is Oct. 23, when Frozen the Musical is at Memorial Hall at 7 p.m.

Downtown has 30-plus food vendors, a carnival and a bandstand for nightly entertainment.

On Oct. 30, you can catch the carnival from 3 to 10 p.m. and a Kiddie Parade at 4 p.m.

Bandstand acts that evening start at 5 p.m. and end with a set at 8:45 p.m.

5. Dinner Theatre in Topeka

Topeka Civic Theatre's Frankenstein run includes three Fridays by the calendar: Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 6.

The theatre lists doors at 6 p.m. and dinner from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on its ticket page.

Curtain for Friday shows is 7:30 p.m.

You can add dinner to your show ticket for Friday and Saturday performances.

The theatre's history page says it is the oldest continuously running community dinner theatre in the country.

If you go, you'll be at a theatre that has been in the former Gage Elementary School since July 1999.

6. Arkalalah Coronation

Arkalalah, the fall festival in Arkansas City, has a Friday night coronation on its 2026 schedule.

It's set for 7:30 p.m. at the Brown Theatre on Oct. 30.

Your seat is $8 in advance.

You can get there early for the Children's Parade at 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.

There's also a beer garden at Ben Givens Park from noon to 10 p.m. that day for guests 21 and older.

The festival's history page says Arkalalah began in 1928 as a fall festival meant to lift the town's morale.

An all-class reunion and a marching band competition are among its annual events.

The festival's name came from a naming contest, and Ark stands for the town.

7. Wichita's Ring of Fire

Visit Wichita lists the Ring of Fire around the Keeper of the Plains statue as a nightly ceremony, so you can catch it on a Friday.

Each lighting lasts 15 minutes, at 9 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time and 7 p.m. during Standard Time.

The fire pots are turned on by hand for added public safety.

They won't be turned on in high winds, rain or other inclement weather, so check the forecast before your Friday stop.