Weekend Possibilities | Chiefs Playoffs, KC Restaurant Week, Monster Jam Stay Warm Out There

Frigid temperatures, Chiefs playoff football and Kansas City Restaurant Week – it must be January in Kansas City.

If football isn’t your thing, there are always monster trucks, an early MLK Day celebration and an everything-must-go vinyl sale.

Friday, Jan. 12

8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. The Kitchen at Lenexa Public Market, 8750 Penrose Lane, is teaming up with the Ethnic Enrichment Commission of Kansas City for something tasty. Global Flavors is a weekend-long pop-up concept at the market offering breakfast, lunch and dinner options from around the world. Friday’s menu will feature a Kenyan breakfast and lunch and dinner from Laos. Full details are available online.

Speaking of good food, it’s KC Restaurant Week. Try something new or dial up the tried and true with more than 200 participating restaurants offering fixed menu prices for the occasion. You can search by menu type, service option, location, type of cuisine and specialty diets online. KC Restaurant Week runs through January 21.

6 – 8 p.m. Spend a frigid Friday night in the cozy KC Bier Co. Bierhalle, 310 W. 79^th St., watching “Jurassic Park.” Friday Night Films in the Bierhalle is open to all ages and families are welcome. KC Bier Co. has a dozen brews on tap, plus a handful of wine options and bar snacks. Space is limited.

Saturday, Jan. 13

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. It’s the last hurrah for Vinyl Renaissance & Audio, 9038 Metcalf Ave., this weekend with the shop’s owners heading for retirement. Get in on the “everything must go” Garage Sale where the remaining equipment, records, fixtures, displays and accessories will be marked down. It’s the last call for audio equipment from Yamaha, Magnepan, Dali, Blue Sound, NAD and Ortofan, among others, plus signed albums and artwork from national artists and much more.

1 & 7 p.m. Monster Jam returns to T-Mobile Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., this weekend. Grave Digger, Megalodon, El Toro Loco and the world’s best drivers are ready to tear it up in their 12,000-pound monster trucks across three competitions in Kansas City. Tickets are available starting at $30, plus tax and fees.

6:30 p.m. The Black Box, 1060 Union Ave., will welcome fans for a warm watch party involving Chiefs & Chili Saturday night. The West Bottoms venue will have the game on a big screen while chili cookoff competitors go at it with free drinks for a year on the line. Also free: shots with every Chiefs touchdown. There is no cover.

7 p.m. The Chiefs and Dolphins will square off at Arrowhead Stadium, 1 Arrowhead Drive, Saturday night in the AFC Wild Card round of the NFL postseason. Forecasts say that the game may be one of the coldest NFL games ever played, but that’s not the only storyline heading into the matchup. Fans willing to brave sub-zero wind chill will get to watch former Chief Tyreek Hill return to Kansas City for the first time in the rematch of a recent game in Germany. Coverage of the frigid conditions seems to be dropping typical playoff tickets prices. At midweek, get-in prices to watch the reigning Super Bowl champions hovered around $95.

Sunday, Jan. 14

10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Whether you are an avid hunter, new to the sport, a cook, chef or just plain curious, there’s a free Deer Processing & Butchering Clinic open to the public Sunday at the Clinton Lake State Wildlife Office, 206 N. 1600^th Road. Lee Meisel, owner of Leeway Butcher, will lead the clinic, starting with hide removal and deer quartering in the morning, followed by butchery cuts, meat grinding and proper meat wrapping in the afternoon. Attendees are welcome to come and go as they please.

6 – 8 p.m. Sunday evening’s MLK The Dream Continues at Westport Coffeehouse Theater, 4010 Pennsylvania Ave., will be a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. through readings and music. Special guest speakers Rev. Robert Johnson and Rev. Karen Nyhart will be joined by the Trinity Jazz Ensemble playing classic jazz and spirituals. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door.

7 p.m. Local filmmaker Sharon Liese will screen two of her short films Sunday night at The White Theatre at The J, 5801 W. 115^th St. Following Liese’s “Parker” and “The Flagmakers” at the KC Jewish Film Series, audience members are invited to take part in a discussion of the films and enjoy light desserts at a reception in the Galleria. Tickets are $18.

Clarence Dennis is audience and digital content strategist with Flatland.