‘Darby O’Still,’ the focal point of North Kansas City's Restless Spirits distillery, is a 500-gallon, onion-shaped, copper pot still specifically designed to produce Irish whiskey. (Photo: Jonathan Bender | Flatland)
‘Darby O’Still,’ the focal point of North Kansas City's Restless Spirits distillery, is a 500-gallon, onion-shaped, copper pot still specifically designed to produce Irish whiskey. (Jonathan Bender | Flatland)

Kansas City’s Big Picnic & Other Weekend Possibilities

July 21, 2017  |  Jonathan Bender  |  2 min read

This is the time of year when you gather the whole city for a picnic. Kansas City’s Big Picnic is Sunday on the lawn of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (4525 Oak St.). The event will celebrate the Department of Parks and Recreation’s 125th anniversary and runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Enjoy live music, art projects, a puppy meet-and-greet, or dine out with food trucks. You’re welcome to bring your own food, blanket or lawn chairs. It’s free to attend.

Restless Spirits Distilling (109 E. 18th Ave.) is celebrating its third anniversary from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday. They’ll have live music and food from KC Pinoy, and will be holding a series of drawings for those in attendance, including a giveaway of their single malt whiskey, which is not yet on the market.

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Trying to find ways to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet? Try drinking them. Ruby Jean’s Juicery (1111 Main St., Suite 165), a locally-owned juice and smoothie shop, is holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday

Yes, it’s a marketing stunt, but stay with me. Dixie is ‘Raising the BBQ,’ on Saturday. Five tight-rope walkers will deliver plates of barbecue to a picnic table 40 feet above 18th and Vine on Saturday. Adam Richman (of Man vs. Food fame) will be hosting a Facebook live if you can’t be there at noon. The doors open at 11 a.m., and there will be free barbecue from Q39 while supplies last.

Downtown Overland Park hosts its Local Life celebration, a series of dining and shopping specials, on the third Friday of every month. Tonight from 5 to 9 p.m., check out the newly opened Brew Lab, a microbrewery and “brew your own” spot. There will also be a free wine tasting from Aubrey Vineyards and whiskey-marinated pork kabobs at the Culinary Center of Kansas City.

Enjoy the visual candy of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.” Theatre for Young America has kid-friendly performances of the musical through Saturday at Union Station. Tickets are $11.

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Eat your weight in fried dough at the Platte County Fair, which runs through Saturday. The Overflow Saloon has craft beer, there is a petting zoo, a carnival, and a tractor pull (7 p.m. on Saturday).

— Follow @FlatlandKC on Twitter and Facebook for all your food news.

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