& Other Weekend Possibilities

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…

Sip beer from the KC Bier Co., munch on popcorn, and catch a flick on the rooftop terrace of the Central Library (14 W. 10th St.) tonight at 8 p.m. The Kansas City Public Library and The Pitch present the Off-the-Wall film series and tonight, “Wet Hot American Summer,” is on the big screen. The doors open…

Grab a chocolate bar and head over to Gladstone’s Theatre in the Park’s presentation of Willy Wonka. The free outdoor show is at the Gladstone Amphitheatre (NE 76th Street and N Troost, Gladstone, Missouri) this weekend and it runs through Sunday. The curtain goes up at 8:30 p.m. nightly. The only way to keep your…

Summer is here and it’s time to dine al fresco. Shawnee is hosting Parked, a food truck festival with fireworks and live music at Stump Park (4751 Woodland Drive, Shawnee, Kansas) tonight from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Werner’s, Drasko’s BBQ, Pita for Good, and the Taste of Brazil market will be among the food trucks…

Get away from the city this week and discover life on the farm with Gather & Grow this Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. The third annual benefit for Boys Grow features food from chefs Howard Hanna, John Smith, and Ted Habiger, alongside beers from Brewery Emperial (the new downtown brewery that counts Habiger among its…

The Blip Summer Open House (1101 Mulberry St.) is a little bit coffee and a little bit craft show. Pick up a cup of joe or some jewelry, and watch the pretty motorcycles — part of Blip’s culture — roll into the West Bottoms tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. While you’re there, you can pop…

It’s a Food Truck Frenzy. The city of Lenexa is hosting a food truck extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at Lenexa City Center (southeast corner of 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard). It’s a dozen trucks offering up everything from meatballs to waffles to Asian fare. The Colorado imports keep coming. Larkburger (13611…

The 13th annual Troost Festival is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The free festival, put on by the Troost Village Community Association at 31st and Troost, has vendors, kid’s activities, and plenty to eat (JC Popcorn, Jerusalem Cafe, among them). The stage lineup includes dance troupes and musical acts. Forget glass, Cinderella should have been…

Farmer/Veteran explores the idea of what happens you come home and try to make a life on the farm. The latest Indie Lens Pop-Up from KCPT features the documentary about Alex Sutton, a veteran in North Carolina trying to make it as a farmer. The screening, along with a discussion with the film’s director Jeremy Lange and representatives…