Sambos Pancake shop

The Story Behind Naming a Restaurant “Sambo’s”

The curiousKC team explores the history behind the naming of the Sambo’s restaurant chain, which once had more than 1,100 locations across the country.

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Downtown Marriott Upgrades Rooms, Adds Tech Features

By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Marriott Downtown has completed a $44 million upgrade of its 970 guest rooms, preparing for the new competition and opportunity checking in next year when the Loews convention hotel opens. Cynthia Savage, vice president of the Raphael Hotel Group, operator of the Marriott Downtown, believes downtown is well poised…

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Troostapalooza Street Fair Celebrates Unity and Creativity on Troost

By Kevin Collison The second annual Troostapalooza, a street festival celebrating “makers” of all kinds and encouraging community spirit along Kansas City’s historic racial divide, is happening tomorrow (Saturday) at 30th and Troost from noon until 7 p.m. The event is a benefit for the Troost Market Collective, an organization aimed at promoting artists, crafts…

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A woman serves the ball in a pickleball match.

Prime Time for Pickleball in Kansas City

Dubbed “the fastest growing sport in America” by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), Pickleball has come a long way since it was invented on a Saturday afternoon in Washington state back in 1965. It’s booming in Kansas City.

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The block logo

Vietnam Cafe Adds International Flavor To West 39th Street

Authentic coffee from the home country is one specialty at Vietnam Cafe. Be careful. One visit might just turn you into a regular.

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Photo of Jerry Harrington

Tivoli Cinemas Coming Back at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Tivoli Cinemas is returning in October as a new curated film program at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City

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Divided City Council Delays Vote on $133M Strata Office Plan

By Kevin Collison Updated Sept. 19: The City Council voted 6-5 Thursday to give the developers of the proposed 25-story Strata office tower another week to return with a plan that substantially reduces or eliminates the city’s credit risk.  While several Council members, including Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Kathryn Shields, wanted to kill the…

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Thousands of festival goers fill the Plaza's streets

Weekend Possibilities | Plaza Art Fair, Troostapalooza And Chiefs Watch Parties

Kansas City’s penultimate weekend in September has a lot to offer, from the Plaza Art Fair to Chiefs watch parties and beyond.

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‘Lest We Forget’ Holocaust Exhibit Opens Friday at World War I Museum

“Lest We Forget,” a traveling Holocaust exhibition that opened in Germany in 2015, is arriving at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City this week.

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‘Lest We Forget’ Holocaust Exhibit Now at World War I Museum

By Kevin Collison “Lest We Forget,” a traveling Holocaust exhibition that opened in Germany in 2015,has arrived at the National World War I Museum and Memorial at a time anti-Semitism is increasing in the U.S. and white nationalists are fanning intolerance. The outdoor exhibition features 70 large portraits of Holocaust survivors, including seven living in…

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Photo of fire truck.

“American Graduate: Getting to Work” Talks to Communities Seeking Firefighters

The “American Graduate: Getting to Work” series explores the growing need for firefighters, either as a volunteer or as a full-time career.

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Sarah Hemme on her bike

In Full Bloom

CuriousKC questioner Sarah Hemme wanted to know which organizations were doing the best job of conserving and preserving green space in the Kansas City area. Once we started out, the trail was anything but cold. There’s a lot work occurring in places like KCMO and Johnson County, Kan.

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Picture of Mural

The Story Behind Thomas Hart Benton’s “The Sources of Country Music”

Ken Burns’ new “Country Music” documentary, now airing on KCPT, prominently features famed Kansas City artist Thomas Hart Benton’s “The Sources of Country Music.” Here’s the story behind the creation of the work, which is at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

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Angel Otero in front of "Diario"

Artist Angel Otero Shares His ‘Diario’ at Kemper Museum

Puerto Rican artist Angel Otero’s latest work, now on display at the Kemper Museum in Kansas City, is largely inspired by his grandmother and antiques.

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The historic Board of Education building at 1211 McGee was demolished in 2020.

Historic Board of Ed Building Sold to Copaken Brooks, Demolition Likely

By Kevin Collison The former Board of Education building at 1211 McGee has been sold by the school district to downtown real estate powerhouse Copaken Brooks in a transaction that closed last week. Jon Copaken, principal of the firm, said that while there are no immediate development plans for the 2.5-acre site next door to…

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