Ghost & True Crime Walking Tour
It’s that time of year when Kansas City seems to get a little more interesting.
Fall festivals are everywhere, and there are so many ways to enjoy the season. From kids’ activities, playing with goats, and picking pumpkins to wineries, hayrides, and haunted houses for the adults—there really is something for everyone.
But have you ever stopped to wonder how long Kansas City has been celebrating fall?
You might be surprised to learn that our love of fall festivals goes all the way back to the late 19th century, with the founding of the Priests of Pallas festival in 1887.
Created in part to rival New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and promote Kansas City as the “Athens of the West,” the Priests of Pallas was anything but a small community festival. It was a spectacular autumn celebration featuring elaborate nighttime parades, costumed balls, music, performances, and visiting dignitaries.
And this wasn’t a weekend event.
The festival lasted an entire week and was held annually from 1887 until 1912. It was later revived for a few years from 1922 to 1924.
The festival centered around Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and much of the imagery and pageantry drew inspiration from Greek mythology.
And then there was the Coates House Hotel...
You know the Coates House, right?
Located at 1005 Broadway in downtown Kansas City, this historic hotel has had quite a life. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice, with the most devastating fire occurring in 1978. At the time, the building was primarily being used as single-room occupancy housing, and the fire became the deadliest in Kansas City’s history.
The building was eventually restored and is now an apartment building.
And, of course, it is also said to be haunted—which makes it particularly appropriate that it keeps popping up in my Kansas City history stories.
The Coates House also played a starring role in the very first Priests of Pallas celebration.
President Grover Cleveland and his young bride attended the festivities and watched the parade from a second-floor suite at the fashionable hotel. Below them, elaborate floats made their way through the streets, accompanied by costumed members of the Flambeau Club carrying torches.
The theme for the first two years was “Grecian Myths.” After that, the theme changed from year to year.
There were elaborate parades, concerts, performances, exhibitions, nightly parties, and, of course, a grand masked ball. Guests even received an official souvenir from each year’s celebration.
And this is where my imagination gets the best of me.
When I think about people living in the early 1900s, I tend to picture things as much simpler than they really were.
Smaller wagons. Plain clothes. Maybe a few horses and some homemade decorations. Nope. Apparently, Kansas City knew how to put on a show. Just look at some of these old parade images.
Is that a giant crawdad? And an eagle?
The floats were incredibly elaborate, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to see them rolling through the streets at night, surrounded by crowds, music, costumes, and torch-bearing marchers.
Honestly, I would have loved to see it.
Want to experience a little Kansas City fall history for yourself?
There are plenty of fall festivals happening around Kansas City in October, and I know where I’ll be spending some of my time. Missouri Town is one of my favorites because I love watching history come to life through reenactments, crafts, and demonstrations.
Here are a few other fall events you might want to put on your calendar:
Missouri Town Living History Museum Festival of Arts, Crafts and Music – Oct. 3
Enjoy wagon rides, reenactments, crafts, music, and more at Missouri Town Living History Museum, where you can step back into what life was like in the 1850s.
Shawnee Indian Mission Fall Festival – Oct. 10
Head to Shawnee Indian Mission for live music, First American dancing, wagon rides, historical presentations, and other activities celebrating the site's history and culture.
Weston Applefest – Oct. 3
Take a trip to historic Weston, Missouri, where Main Street fills with arts and crafts vendors—and plenty of apple treats. Think pies, dumplings, cookies, and other goodies made by local church groups.
And if your idea of a fall outing leans a little more toward ghost stories and the darker side of Kansas City history, I have an idea for that, too.
Join me for a Ghost & True Crime Walking Tour with Just One Day Travel Tours.
We'll explore some of Kansas City's darker stories, strange happenings, and true crimes while walking through the historic heart of the city.
Tour details:
◷ Approximately 2–2.5 hours
🚶 About 2–2.3 miles
🎟 $38 adults
🎟 $30 veterans & teens
Learn more and reserve your spot →https://justonedaytraveltours.com/kansas-city-ghost-walking-tour/
Because around here, fall isn't just about pumpkins and changing leaves.
Sometimes, the best stories are the ones that happened a long time ago—and Kansas City has plenty of them.
