See websites for show descriptions, showtimes and prices (where they apply). Starlight Theatre June 5–September 2 Swope Park 4600 Starlight Road 816-363-7827, kcstarlight.com This longtime theater under the moon and stars offers award-winning Broadway shows. In the HeightsJune 5–10 The Addams Family July 3–8 Memphis July 10–15 Peter Pan July 24–29 Aida August 3–12 La Cage aux Folles August 28–September…
If KC’s Fringe Festival has a face, it might be Tara Varney’s. For the past four years, the playwright, director and producer has been involved with at least one of the festival’s 10 most-attended shows. Among the big scores: 2008’s Jesus Christ, King of Comedy; 2009’s Lingerie Shop; 2010’s Khaaaaan! The Musical; and 2011’s Hexing Hitler. This year, she and…
Dancefestopia June 1–2, $59-$129 Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park 1298 East Riverfront Drive (between the Heart of America and Paseo bridges) dancefestopia.com Dance the weekend away to Wiz Khalifa, Flo Rida, Matisyahu, Yelawolf and dozens more, then safely (though probably not quietly) camp in the glow of Kansas City’s downtown skyline. The Flatlanders June 12, $28.50 Knuckleheads Saloon 2715 Rochester…
America’s appetite for music festivals has proved remarkably strong over the past decade, and there’s been no shortage of promoters and organizers cashing in on the demand. But festivals don’t always work out: Attendance at Kanrocksas, a two-day party at the Kansas Speedway last year, was shy of expectations, and it is not returning in 2012. This year, another goofily…
There is no one else in the world quite like Wayne Coyne. As frontman and songwriter for the Flaming Lips, Coyne has been a prolific, entertaining and reliably odd force in music for nearly three decades. Over and over, he and the band have managed to turn ideas that might sound bad to anyone else into beloved trademarks. The Flaming…
Blitzen Trapper Blitzen Trapper is not touring on a new album, and that’s probably a good thing. The Portland act has released four albums in six years, and its most recent, last September’s American Goldwing, was a little light on new ideas. But there’s still a huge audience for the band’s wayward Americana, which borrows liberally from guys like Dylan,…
We’ve pared down the summer-release slate to 20 movies that we think may be worth your two hours and ticket price. If you don’t see a major summer blockbuster listed here, don’t worry — the big-studio marketing hacks will compensate by carpet-bombing you with trailers, TV spots and Taco Bell promotions. Hell, we probably could have fed Africa or financed…
MISSOURI Katy Trail Stretches across the state between Kansas City and St. Louis The Katy Trail offers 237 miles for hiking, bicycling and running through Missouri wildlands, farmlands and wine country. (Portions of the trail allow horseback riding.) Pick up the converted rail line about 80 miles outside Kansas City. Plan your route at bikekatytrail.com. Hotel Frederick 501 East High…
Two years ago, Bill Haw Jr. quit a job with Amazon in Tokyo to run Hotel Frederick, a boutique lodge that his cattleman father had bought in Boonville, Missouri. The hotel offers environmentally conscious accommodations and old-fashioned hospitality with an oyster bar and Cajun restaurant and 25 rooms decked out with antique furniture and contemporary art. As owner and frequent…
The Seventh Annual Pitch Summer Guide Golf Tournament June 7 Painted Hills Golf Course 7101 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas $100 per person secure.pitch.com The day on the course begins with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. and includes sponsor giveaways, and lunch and dinner. Sugar Creek Slavic Festival June 8–9 Mike Onka Memorial Building 11520 East Putnam, Sugar Creek…
The glow of 50 hot-air balloons once again dazzles Olathe’s evening sky August 10-12. The Great Midwest Balloon Fest’s airships make way — weather permitting — for a sunrise fly-in balloon competition and spectacular visual displays (balloon inflation, mass ascension and glow). Entertainment isn’t all hot air; look for country music’s Clay Walker, food vendors, children’s activities and a rock-climbing…
Something happened while we were all waiting for snow this year: Summer arrived. Like, back in March. Quite sensibly, however, the rituals that go with the season of tank tops and charcoal briquettes and mosquito bites have held off until … now. Today’s later dusk, the way a little pooling in your shirt’s underarm feels somehow right this afternoon, the…
BadSeed Farmers Market 4–9 p.m. Fridays, through November 16 1909 McGee 816-472-0027, badseedkc.com The Urbavore Farm Saturday Farmstand 2–6 p.m. Saturdays, June 2, through October 5500 Bennington badseedkc.com Dan Heryer and Brooke Salvaggio’s funky summer market at BadSeed is in full swing, and the duo’s Saturday Farmstand, which offers fresh produce and self-guided farm tours, is revving up. Food stamps…
What skills does it take to run a top-notch farmers market? A market manager needs to love local fruits and vegetables, of course, and have the ability to tolerate all those early — way early — mornings. Customer-service expertise is a must. But the X factor might be a background in cafeteria management. “I know it seems a little strange,…
One of the featured tapa choices at TapasFest will be the JB Ceviche from Paleo Grill @ House Opera Maria A. Perez-Andujar was missing tapas. The native of Spain was pleased that more and more local restaurants were adding small plates to their menus (including chef Martin Hueser’s new German restaurant, Affare, which is all small plates), but often as…
Everybody’s got a dark-horse band they firmly believe should be way more popular, and one of mine is the Donkeys, a San Diego act making some of the most likable folk rock I’m aware of currently. The band draws on American Beauty-era Grateful Dead and goes heavy on the Laurel Canyon beach-bum vibes – it’s all very mellow and beautiful…
Hayley Bartels Best Coast opened its Sunday-night set at the Granada with its current single, “The Only Place,” the title track of its new album. With that homage to its native California, the band set the night’s tone: summer vibes for a lazy holiday weekend. Categories: Music Tags: best coast
This is what folks in Blue Springs are seeing. They’re here, and this time they’ve come for Blue Springs. Missourians are seeing spaceships not just at the movie theaters but also floating over the suburbs apparently. KMOV has the report of unidentified “multi-colored orbs hovering in the sky,” discovered by a man who was “confronted by a neighbor who thought…
Pepperell Farmers Market Sadly, bagels are not something that can be harvested in KC. Cities have been outlawing salt and trans fats, and requiring full disclosure on menus for years. But it’s time that Kansas City took the next step. I think we need to ban several foods originating in other cities, the dishes that are intrinsic to those municipalities…
Posh Stuff Online Le Burger Extravagant at Serendipity 3. The burger is the rare diner staple that has managed to plant its flag squarely on fine-dining menus. The ingredients just get fancier. The beef cows are fed grass. The cheese is from cows that go to private schools. And the toppings are a study in supply side economics. I enjoy…
JCCC Video Chef Debbie Gold is taking a second shot at reality television. A Kansas City chef will once again step onto the small screen to cook for charity. Debbie Gold, the executive chef at the American, has been announced as a contestant on the fourth season of Top Chef Masters (see a preview video here). Gold will be cooking…
Helmet Prepare for a ’90s flashback in this week’s edition of incoming: Helmet and Toadies will play a show on Sunday, August 12, at the Beaumont. Support from not-so-’90s band Ume, 7 p.m., all ages. Also, get a solid dose of mainstream ska at Reel Big Fish on Saturday, July 14. Support from Big D and the Kids’ Table, Suburban…
