Reunion Itinerary

Thursday, June 12th

4:00pm | Welcome to the 2025 family reunion

Come find us in the onsite meeting room at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites starting at 4:00pm. You can pick up your reunion booklet, drop off raffle donations, sign up for breakout activities for Friday afternoon, and pay registration if you haven't already.
Join us for as we visit with family, play card games, watch family photo slideshows, and relax at the pool. Light refreshments will be available.
If you have any family photos that you would like to have digitally scanned, please bring them along and we will scan them. Bring along a flash drive if you’d like; otherwise, we can share these photos digitally.

Friday, June 13th

Morning | Independent breakfast and visiting

Breakfast independently (if you are staying at the Holiday Inn, complimentary continental breakfast is available).
The hospitality suite will be available for more visiting time, card games, and family photo slideshows/scanning.
For swimmers and soakers: the indoor heated pool at the Holiday Inn opens at 9:00am.

9:00am | Breakout activities: choose one of the options to join, or explore/relax independently

Select a breakout activity to explore the nature and history of Southeast Kansas. All options are appropriate for both adults and children. We will meet on the front lawn of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites to break into our groups. Check your family reunion booklet for scavenger hunts and trivia to complete along the way (prizes for winners will be announced at the Saturday evening group dinner).

Option 1: Riverside Park and Ralph Mitchell Zoo (35 minutes away by car)
- This is a free park with animal habitats, a castle, water features and ponds, playgrounds, a sensory garden, and walking trails. The park also offers train rides, a carousel, and miniature golf. Snacks are available for sale.
Option 2: Big Brutus Mining Park and Museum (25 minutes away by car)
- At 11 million pounds and 16 stories tall, Big Brutus is the largest coal shovel in the world, and it is the centerpiece of this museum showcasing the history of American mining industry. This museum has pieces of important mining equipment with large, grassy areas and walking paths. Admission is $10/adult ($9 for seniors/veterans, $5 for children under 12, free for children 5 and under).
Option 3: Parsons Historical Museum & Iron Horse Museum (5 minutes away by car)
- Come see the way it was, Cary and Susie style, with historical artifacts detailing the history of Parsons and Southeast Kansas. We'll continue on to the Iron Horse Museum for the railroad memorabilia and intricate model trains. These museums are free to enter (donations welcome).

The hospitality suite is open for anyone wanting a space to visit and chat (light drinks/treats will be available). Lunch independently.

12:00pm-3:00pm | All are welcome to attend Robert Pruitt's Memorial Service

The burial and memorial of Robert Pruitt will be held from 12:00pm to 3:00pm in South Mound, KS. We will share the address with you in the family reunion booklet. Refreshments will follow in the community center.

4:00pm | Afternoon games and shade at the Forest Park Pavilion

Join us under the shady trees of Forest Park to play some outdoor games, cool off at the splash pad, and relax and chat in the pavilion. Light refreshments will be available. Find another piece for the scavenger hunt and fill out some trivia answers before turning your activities in at our Saturday night dinner.

6:00pm-8:00pm | Group dinner, dessert, and line dancing at the Arvon Phillips Community Center

If you haven't yet purchased raffle tickets, donated raffle items, paid registration fees, or donated an item for the family reunion time capsule, you can do so here.
Share a barbecue dinner catered by Shredder's BBQ. Lemonade, iced tea, and water will be available.
After dinner, it's time for pie, visiting those you haven't said hello to yet, and maybe some line dancing, if you can be convinced.

Morning | Independent breakfast and visiting

Breakfast independently (if you are staying at the Holiday Inn, complimentary continental breakfast is available)
The hospitality suite will be available for more visiting time, card games, and family photo slideshows/scanning.
For swimmers and soakers: the indoor heated pool at the Holiday Inn opens at 9:00am.

10:30am | Back to school at the Historic Oak Grove Schoolhouse (1877)

We'll assemble on the lawn for the pledge of allegiance before gathering in this one-room schoolhouse for morning announcements. After history and math lessons on the story and future funding of Oak Grove, we'll head back outside class photos.
It's time for lunch and recess. Lemonade, iced tea, water, and boxed sandwich lunches will be available. We'll have kickball, three-legged races, and wheelbarrow races going.
We'll finish our school day with the dedication of our Pruitt Family Reunion time capsule, to be opened in 2034, three reunions from now.

4:00pm | Family business meeting and independent visiting

The hospitality suite will be available for more visiting time, card games, and family photo slideshows/scanning.
A heated indoor pool is available at the Holiday Inn.
Wrap up your scavenger hunts and jot down your final trivia answers before turning in your activities at dinner.
Meanwhile, the family reunion business meeting will be held in Room #TBD. We ask that each branch of the family identify two representatives to attend the meeting. We strongly (and/or desperately) encourage that one of these representatives be an individual who is willing and able to host the next family reunion in 2028.

5:30pm | Group dinner and dessert at the Carnegie Arts Center

If you haven't yet purchased raffle tickets, donated raffle items, or paid registration fees, you can do so here.
The raffle items will be displayed for you to enter your tickets into the drawings and purchase last-minute raffle tickets. All proceeds from raffle ticket sales go to funding the next family reunion.
This is the last chance to finish activities from the family reunion booklet before winners are announced after dinner.
Group meal catered with pastas, salad, sides, and beverages.
Winners of the raffle drawings and family reunion booklet activities will be announced as we finish up dinner. After dinner, there will be time to visit with family, have dessert, and see photos taken at this year's family reunion.

8:30am | Father's Day celebration with coffee and pastries at the Parsons Arboretum

Join us for coffees, pastries, and a Father's Day surprise before we say our goodbyes until next family reunion.