Kansas City will honor those who served with a celebration 100 years in the making. The National WWI Museum and Memorial hosts its 2026 Centennial Veterans Day Weekend on Friday through Monday, November 6-9, and Wednesday, November 11, 2026 — closed Tuesday, November 10 — with special activities and a free public ceremony on the grounds.
It is a generous weekend for visitors: veterans and active-duty military receive free admission, and the public receives half-price general admission throughout the weekend. From November 6-11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., WWI Research Stations outside the Auditorium Lobby invite guests to find their own connection to the Great War, searching Fold3.com, Ancestry.com, the Museum’s online collections, the American Battlefield Monuments Commission and the National Archives for family records and photographs — free to the public.
From November 6-8, families can climb aboard and inspect a Vietnam-era Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopter on the U-shaped Drive, provided by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #243, also free. The weekend culminates on Wednesday, November 11 at 10 a.m. with the Veterans Day Ceremony in the Auditorium and Lobby, with remarks from dignitaries, a keynote address and ASL interpretation, followed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by a Make Your Own Poppy Pin craft near the Glass Bridge.
Happy City News invites Kansas City families to show up, say thank you, and share this centennial moment of gratitude together.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
