History:

Pioneer Days, held in 1936 and 1948, paid tribute to Buffalo Bill Cody as a native son.
The first "Buffalo Bill Days" festival was held in 1968, and was organized primarily to raise funds to build Buffalo Bill Cody Park and celebrate one of Leavenworth's most famous figures. The festival continued for 26years.

The festival returned in 2011 and was hosted by our local Main Street Program in 2011 & 2012. In 2013 the festival was turned over to a group of local volunteer citizens.

What at first seemed like an enormous undertaking soon turned into a labor of love. The Leavenworth Convention & Visitors Bureau provided the volunteer committee with several boxes containing information dating to the original festival in 1968.  Included in the information were; news paper articles, festival budgets, committee members and events schedules dating back to the original festival in 1968.  The main part of the original event was always at Haymarket Square and so it was decided early on to keep the event there. Deciding to stick with the original committees plan from 1968 was easy. It had worked for 26years. The new committee's attitude was "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

The festival returned with a new purpose. What was the new purpose? Honor the original festival, follow the original festival's plan and traditions, and allow non-profits to retain 100% of the money they raise.