Arts & Entertainment
Community Christian’s Iconic ‘Steeple of Light’ Returns Saturday Night
By Kevin Collison Community Christian Church near the Plaza will rekindle its iconic “Steeple of Light” this Saturday night, celebrating a successful repair fundraising effort and the return to live services the following day, Mother’s Day. “We had originally hoped to turn it on Easter, but there were some supply chain issues and we pushed…
Downtown Gets New Park Where Dogs Run Free
By Kevin Collison Downtown’s growing canine population–and their owners–will have another place to romp free next month when the Downtown Council opens a one-half acre dog park at the southwest corner of Seventh and Walnut. The new, off-leash dog park will be the second operated by the Council’s Community Improvement District, the other is in…
Lemonade Park Squeezes Great Music and Food in West Bottoms
By Kevin Collison Voltaire owner Wes Gartner and some friends were sharing another lemon of a day during the depth of the Covid-19 quarantine last summer when inspiration hit. “I was sitting with friends enjoying the outdoor weather and said, ‘we ought to enjoy this on a grander scale,’” Gartner recalled. So he reached out…
Bar and Year-Round Recreation Venue Planned for Riverfront Next Spring
By Kevin Collison Plans for a $2 million bar and outdoor recreation center in Berkley Park that would cater to volleyball players and anyone enjoying the riverfront were outlined Monday to a Port KC committee. The proposed 6,500 square-foot amenity would resemble the popular Bar K dog park and bar nearby, using former shipping containers…
West Bottoms Flats Hosts Neighborhood Party
West Bottoms Flats, the first big foray by a developer into renovating the district’s massive, old warehouses into housing, is holding a party this evening to get more people acquainted with the neighborhood. “We are hoping that this event will help bring more people over to the north side of the bottoms and get them…
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…
New Kirk Family YMCA ‘Flagship’ for Metro Association
By Kevin Collison Downtown’s new “flagship” YMCA is ready for action, but unless you’re a kid, you won’t be swimming, working out, playing basketball or participating in a myriad of other healthy activities until later this year. That’s because the Y leadership is doing a gradual roll out of their new $35 million Kirk Family…
Crossroads Community Association Celebrates 20 Years Creating a Neighborhood
By Kevin Collison When the Crossroads Community Association began 20 years ago, its sprawling 90-block turf of old, brick commercial buildings sandwiched between downtown and Crown Center was facing an identity crisis. The area was finishing its pioneering phase that began in 1985 when artist Jim Leedy found real estate cheap enough in the deserted…
KC Live! Cautiously Welcomes Big 12 Basketball Fans
KC Live! is welcoming fans to the Big 12 Basketball Tournament starting today, but like the event itself, it’s following pandemic health guidelines and won’t host the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of previous years. The open-air, canopied courtyard that normally can accommodate 5,000 people will require everyone entering to be seated at tables socially-distanced on the main…
KC Symphony Moving to Webster House, New Movement for Old School
By Kevin Collison The historic Webster House at 17th and Wyandotte will be the new headquarters of the Kansas City Symphony, returning music and life to the building closed by philanthropist Shirley Helzberg last summer because of the Covid pandemic. “We are delighted that our Symphony will have a new home and will be able…