Weekend Possibilities | Tacos & Tequila Fest, Juneteenth Parade, U.S. Soccer at Children’s Mercy Park Get Out There

This weekend features live music left and right — from Chingy to HAIM with plenty of options in between. If the plan is to steer clear of crowds, a handful of smaller, spread out community celebrations also are on the docket.

Friday, June 3

3 – 9 p.m. Spend Friday evening on the lawn at the Meadowbrook Park Festival, 9101 Nall Ave. The free community gathering will feature vendor booths brought to you by Strawberry Swing, plus a range of participating food trucks. As for entertainment, lawn games and live music from A.M. Merker & Friends and Fritz Hutchison should do the trick. VIP Clubhouse Tickets are available for $125 per person and include a catered dinner and open bar experience, plus reserved space on the lawn to enjoy the music.

5 – 9 p.m. Rochester Brewing and Roasting Co., 2129 Washington St., is celebrating First Friday with a Block Party in the Crossroads. Along with Rochester coffee and beer, the block party is teaming up with KC AutoWorx to show off some classic cars in the parking lot, plus provide a bounce house for the little ones, live music and a free photo booth for First Friday-goers. Rochester’s Block Party is pet friendly. 

6 – 10 p.m. Old Shawnee Days returns to Shawnee Town 1929, 11501 W. 57th St., for four days of old-fashioned fun for the whole family. Friday evening at the festival will have all sorts of vendor booths, carnival rides and fair food, plus live entertainment from Cincinnati Circus, Noe Palma and The Rock Gods. Visiting the festival is free, but carnival ride tickets are $1 a piece. If you’re in it for the rides, consider buying a $30 all-you-can-ride wristband night on Thursday or all day Sunday.

Saturday, June 4

Noon – 3 p.m. The Juneteenth KC 2022 Cultural Parade is coming to 18th & Vine District Saturday afternoon. Kansas City’s official procession of African American pride and culture celebrates the holiday remembering the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the United States. Arrive early and grab a good spot to watch more than 100 entries, including floats, bands, dancers and community activists take to the streets in the spirit of freedom — all in the heart of one of KC’s most historic neighborhoods.

2 p.m. Tacos & Tequila Festival at Legends Field, 1800 Village West Pkwy., should be quite the party. In addition to craft tequila bars and tasty taco vendors, the festival will bring musical acts like T.I., Chingy, Ginuwine and the Ying Yang Twins to the stage, plus live Lucha Libre wrestling to the Kansas City, Kansas, ballpark. Don’t forget the chihuahua beauty pageant. Last-minute general admission tickets remain available for $99, plus tax and fees. You must be 21 or older to attend.

2 – 6 p.m. Local breweries will be well represented at Saturday’s Second Annual Beer Fest at Strang Hall, 7313 W. 80th St. The downtown Overland Park food hall will offer brews from a dozen local beer makers, including KC Brew Lab, Free State, Torn Label and more. The $60 ticket is good for four hours of tasting, appetizers and 20% off food. Designated driver tickets are also available. You must be 21 or older to attend. 

7 p.m. Sister trio and Los Angeles pop rock group HAIM is coming to Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight Road, Saturday evening. Touring on their third studio album “Women in Music Pt. III,” the band will be supported by SASAMI in Kansas City. Tickets to the show start at $42.50, plus tax and fees.

Sunday, June 5 

9 – 11 a.m. Lawrence Public Library and Haskell Indian Nations University are coming together for the Wakarusa Wetlands Celebration Sunday morning in Lawrence, Kansas, 155 Indian Ave. The morning celebration surrounding the critical ecosystem is designed to deepen community members’ connection to the natural world. The morning starts at the Medicine Wheel Earthwork with a special land recognition by a Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma and continues into the wetlands with more than a dozen local artists and authors on hand to chat about our connection to the delicate natural landscape and more. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and water. The event is free to attend. 

Noon – 6 p.m. The FIFA World Cup is just months away and the United States Men’s National Team will continue to tune up with a friendly match Sunday afternoon against Uruguay at Children’s Mercy Park, 1 Sporting Way. Tickets to watch the crop of talented, young American soccer players before they take the world stage in the fall are still available via secondary ticket markets.

Flatland contributor Clarence Dennis also is a social media manager for 90.9 The Bridge.