Weekend Possibilities | Ethnic Enrichment Fest, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks Go Your Own Way
Published August 17th, 2023 at 11:00 AM
Above image credit: The 44th Annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival returns to Swope Park this weekend. (Courtesy | Ethnic Enrichment Commission)School might be back in session, but that just makes late-summer fun even more precious. Take your pick from Parkville Days, the area’s biggest ethnic festival or a night with rock and roll icons Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks in the world’s loudest stadium.
Whatever you do, stay hydrated out there.
Friday, Aug. 18
2 – 10 p.m. Servaes Brewing Co., 10921 Johnson Drive, is celebrating a summer Friday afternoon and evening with a Tiki Party. The Mission, Kansas, brewery has plans to release four new refreshing tiki-inspired brews, including a sour witbier and lemon weisse. As for food, Irvzilla’s Hawaiian Grill will join the party 3-9 p.m. Desserts by Mooyeuibaker will be available for purchase 5-9 p.m. The tiki party is free to attend.
5 – 9 p.m. The third Friday of the month calls for another Downtown KCK Art Walk. Starting at Epic Clay Studio, 609 N. 6th St., the walk spans about a mile along Strawberry Hill, ending at Minnesota Avenue. Local artists, brick-and-mortar shops, musicians, makers and community members come together for the occasion in the name of creativity. The event is free, and you can expect food trucks for snacks along the route.
6 – 10 p.m. Tickets are going fast for Feastival, the “incredibly tasty” pop-up Friday and Saturday at Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road. Including a five-course Friday evening dinner and Saturday morning bottomless brunch options, Feastival brings Kansas City’s top chefs under one roof for some seriously good eats to help Harvesters Community Food Network. Brunch spots are completely sold out, but you can still give back with a Bag Pack Saturday morning event, when volunteers will fill sacks with fresh produce to feed the hungry from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner tickets are $350.
7 – 10 p.m. Larger-than-life puppets will take over the National WWI Museum and Memorial, 2 Memorial Drive, south lawn and light up the sky Friday night. Puppets-A-Glow by the StoneLion Puppet Theatre is a completely free display that allows for both walking and drive-thru experiences up close to the illuminated giants.
Saturday, Aug. 19
10 & 11 a.m. The final Lost Trail Day Tours of the summer are scheduled for Saturday morning at Louisburg Cider Mill, 14730 K68 Highway. Guests will get a behind-the-scenes tour of how the craft sodas are made, plus a history lesson on the Lost Trail brand. The tour ends with a flight of nine Lost Trail sodas. There is no admission fee.
Noon – 10 p.m. More than 60 cultural organizations and communities will be set up throughout Swope Park, E. Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway, this weekend for the 44th Annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival. Join Kansas City’s largest multicultural gathering for a three-day celebration of art, food, dance, tradition and crafts from around the globe. Be sure to check out the entertainment schedule and menus online ahead of time. Tickets are $5 for adults. Children under 12 get in for free.
7 p.m. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce aren’t the only pair of legends to play in Arrowhead Stadium, 1 Arrowhead Drive, this season. Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks will co-headline Saturday night’s show at the home of the Chiefs – and resale tickets are still floating around. Parking gates open at 4:30 p.m. for any tailgaters out there looking to start the party early. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Ticket prices vary.
7 p.m. The popular comedy news quiz from NPR “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” sent its talent on the road this summer for the Wait Wait Comedy Tour and Kansas City’s got next. Saturday night’s show at Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway, will feature a full night of stand-up comedy sets from “Wait Wait” regulars Negin Farsad, Mo Rocca, Cristela Alonzo and Hari Kondabolu. Tickets are available starting at $39.50, plus tax and fees.
Sunday, Aug. 20
Noon – 5 p.m. Parkville Days packs up Sunday evening, but not before another full afternoon of food, live music, face painting, carnival rides and fun and games along the banks of the Missouri River. The free festival is set up on and around Main Street in Downtown Parkville all weekend. Carnival ride wristbands are $25, cash only. Helicopter rides above the festival grounds with views of the Kansas City skyline are $50.
3 – 5 p.m. Through a partnership between the I’m So Glad Project and the Lawrence Branch NAACP, the Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St., in Lawrence, Kansas, will offer a free screening of “I’m So Glad: Kansas City and the Roots of Black Gospel Music.” A part of the museum’s 28th annual Civil War on the Border Series, the afternoon celebrating gospel will also bring LaToya Fleming-Garrett and Ashlé Fleming of St. Luke AME Church together for a pre-screening duet performance.
Clarence Dennis is audience and digital content strategist with Flatland.