Garment District Grooves Kicks Off Season April 21

Garment District Grooves, a monthly outdoor concert series that started last year, is scheduled to resume April 21 at “Thimble Park” at Eighth and Broadway.

The first show will feature FamenKC, a flamenco trio, who’s performance was rained out last year. The Taste of Brazil food truck will provide food.

Jared Campbell, the Downtown Council’s liaison with residents, said the first year of the event was successful despite being handicapped by the Covid pandemic. He estimated 25- to 30 people attended on average.

“We had a few rainouts, but we never stopped because of Covid,” he said. “We were very happy with it.”

The pandemic restrictions did force organizers to cancel plans to have students from the downtown Crossroads Preparatory Academy sing as part of the events. The students will hopefully participate this year, Campbell said.

Garment District Grooves is organized by the Downtown Council and Downtown Community Improvement District, the Downtown Neighborhood Association, KC Parks and Crossroad Preparatory Academy.

The event is intended to remember the late Harvey Fried, a longtime civic leader and downtown advocate who passed away in 2018. Fried was co-founder of the Historic Garment District Museum and president of the Historic Garment District Association.

During much of the 20th Century, Kansas City was one of the nation’s largest centers for clothing design and garment manufacturing.

The Historic Garment District is defined as the area between Sixth and 11th streets from Washington to Wyandotte streets.

The concert series will be held the third Wednesday of each month through October. It runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Each event features a musical performance and a food truck. You can purchase from the food truck or bring your own lunch.

A food truck serves lunch at each Garment District Groove performance. (Photo courtesy Heidi Markle)