Arts & Entertainment
Mayor Invites Kevin Strickland to Light Tree at Crown Center
Today’s lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center will have a special guest, recently-freed prisoner Kevin Strickland. “We are honored to have Kevin Strickland turn on the lights for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Crown Center,” Mayor Quinton Lucas Tweeted on Thanksgiving Day. “God bless him. Please join us…
Folly Receives Key $2M Gift from Sunderland Foundation
The historic Folly Theater is receiving a $2 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation to boost a capital campaign that includes new seating, the second major donation by the Foundation to a downtown cultural institution this month. “We’re extremely thrilled and thankful to the Sunderland Foundation,” said Kelly Dougherty, Folly marketing manager. “They’ve been involved…
Mayor ‘Bullish’ About Federal Grant for South Loop Link Proposal
By Kevin Collison A recent trip to Washington has left Mayor Quinton Lucas “bullish” that federal funding to help start building a long-sought deck and park covering the South Loop freeway may be announced before the end of the year. The mayor said Tuesday his confidence is based on conversations he had with senior officials…
Holiday Pop-Ups Returning to Downtown
The holiday spirits are returning to downtown with the opening of two, festive pop-up bars, one in the Power & Light District, the other at the Boulevard Beer Hall. Power & Light will be the new location this year for “Miracle” beginning Nov. 26 through the holiday season. The pop-up concept, which originated in New…
Kaw Makeover Including New Park, Bike Trails, Opening Next October
By Kevin Collison After decades of being a scraggly backwater, the Kaw River in the West Bottoms will be transformed with a new park and bicycle trail a year from now following action by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. The UG commissioners approved an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this…
Riverfront Soccer Stadium Planned, Includes ‘Massive’ Bar Overlooking Water
By Kevin Collison A $70 million, privately-funded women’s professional soccer stadium planned for the riverfront should spur more intensive residential development and quicken the pace of streetcar expansion. “I view this more as a gem you build the verticality around,” said Jon Stephens, Port KC president and CEO. “We’re still committed to millions of square feet…
Historic Boone Theater Renovation Progresses in 18th & Vine District
By Kevin Collison The renovation of the historic Boone Theater as an entertainment and media center in the heart of the 18th and Vine District took a big step forward recently with the approval a development agreement by the City Council. The Council approved an agreement that gives the Vine St. Collaborative 60 days to…
Cornucopia Brings Carnival, Fall Festivities This Weekend to Downtown
Grand Boulevard by the T-Mobile Center will become a carnival midway this weekend with a Ferris wheel and other rides as part of the Cornucopia festival being put on by the Power & Light District from today through Sunday. What the P&L District is describing as its signature fall festival was held for the first…
‘Auschwitz,’ Union Station’s Most Ambitious Exhibition, Runs Through March
(Editor’s note: CityScene is taking some time off for a vacation, this article originally appeared on June 10.) By Kevin Collison “Auschwitz, Not Long Ago, Not Far Away” is Union Station’s most ambitious exhibition to date and you find its title is no empty phrase before you begin the story of perhaps the cruelest episode…
Ultra-Luxury Hotel Proposal by Kauffman Center Before Council
(UPDATED: Oct. 12. The full City Council rejected the Hotel Bravo! development proposal at its meeting Oct. 7 by an 11-1 vote. Councilwoman Katheryn Shields cast the lone vote to support the project, Councilwoman Heather Hall was absent.) (UPDATED: Sept. 29. The Council Neighborhood and Planning Committee sent the Hotel Bravo! proposal to the full…