Archives: October 2020

KC Voices: 79 symbols of hope at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 

Those wonderful trees. // Photo by Ginny Varraveto We’ve been asking members of the KC community to submit stories about life under quarantine, protests, politics, and other subjects that require discussion. If you’ve got a story you’d like to share, please send it to brock@thepitchkc.com for consideration. Today, Kansas City resident and member of the Nelson-Atkins Museum’s, Young Friends of…

Bird offers free rides for voters to reach polls on Election day

exercise your right to vote via electric scooter

Bird offers free rides on Election Day // Photo courtesy of Bird.co Lack of transportation was cited as the reason that more than 4.5 million Americans didn’t vote in the 2016 election. Bird has teamed up with the North American Bikeshare Association’s (NABSA) Roll to the Polls initiative to keep history from repeating itself. The electric scooter company will provide registered…

Our first date night out in months, courtesy of the reopened and reimagined XR Cafe

New menu QR code at XR Cafe. This last weekend, Crossroads Hotel’s XR Cafe reopened with a drink and dinner menu stacked with Napoletana style pizza and fall-forward fare thanks to new Executive Chef Ian Wortham. To say my interest peaked would be an understatement. A cocktail-ready Kelcie. In July, I visited Percheron—the hotel’s rooftop bar with breathtaking views—for my…

KC Public Library offers free notary service pop-ups for Missouri voters

Free notary pop ups provided KC Public Library // photo courtesy of KC Public Library official website With the election fast approaching, the Kansas City Public Library is offering Notary Services pop-ups today and tomorrow throughout the city. The service is free and offered at the following locations and times: Monday: 10 am–5 pm: Plaza Branch (4801 Main St.) 10…

Surviving a Halloween zone: 7 creative DIY home safety tips for trick-or-treating

A smoked-out pumpkin from Topeka. // Photo by Colton Sturgeon on Unsplash Is your home in a designated “trick-or-treat” zone? Are you worried about your annual neighborhood traditions becoming a super-spreader for COVID-19?  You’re not alone, and there’s good news; lots of creative Halloween enthusiasts have been working to solve this problem since we realized COVID would last this long,…

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm skewers America’s COVID-19 reaction while highlighting our better angels

Borat and daughter in a dress shop. // Courtesy Amazon Studios 14 years after the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, we’ve been gifted a sequel: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.  Since the release of the original film 14 years…

Locals produce all-ages animation series Food People

Food. The mere mention of food drives people into a frenzy. Everyone has an opinion about favorite meals, best cooks, homemade recipes, great restaurants, to name a few food-related things. There’s even an entire cable network channel dedicated to food, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People love food and it’s the vision of Brodie Rush and Cori…

Local director Dan Wayne discusses his Bigfoot taxidermy documentary

Photo courtesy of Dan Wayne When it comes to the art of taxidermy, the creator’s goal is generally to make a preserved animal seem as lifelike as it was when it was really alive. But what do you do when the creature you’re mounting hasn’t been conclusively proven to exist? Kansas City filmmaker Dan Wayne explores that question in his…

Sniper Bladeworks promises knives on a whole new level

Everyone appreciates a good knife. Whether it’s your typical butter knife, a fancy knife that cuts through a well-done steak for some reason, or something that looks like the knives thrown in Call of Duty: Black Ops, you normally can’t go wrong with a sharp object that gets the job done. That’s what Sniper Bladeworks is here to do. A…

The occupation of City Hall comes to an end after 21 days

For 21 days, protesters have been occupying the front lawn of City Hall in downtown Kansas City living in tents they refer to as “The People’s City.” Their original demands had not been met. Those demands called for the termination of Officer Blayne Newton who allegedly pushed the pregnant Deja Stallings to the ground. Also, a 50% reduction in police…

New documentary A Hard Road charts US political rifts

A Hard Road documentarian Hawker (left) with former Penn Center Executive Director Emory Campbell // Photo by Andy Brack. A just-released documentary about the divisive political mood of South Carolina and the rest of the country in 2018 shows emerging political fissures that exploded in this pandemic year with national protests over civil rights and race. The second episode of…

City enacts policy to better cooperate with utility companies

Mayor Lucas in conversation with KCMO public works. // Screengrab from Lucas’ Twitter. On October 22, Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilmembers Andrea Bough and Eric Bunch introduced a resolution that will direct the city manager to create recommendations to enhance communication between the city and private utility companies. The city manager will have 45 days to create these recommendations, which…

Streetwise podcast talks shop with gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway, rocks out to Megan Luttrell

Today on Streetwise from The Pitch we discuss over-spending, enjoy a reading of Abby Olcese’s Trauma-o-Rama, check out Megan Luttrell’s track “Just Out of Reach”, and chat with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway. Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, editor in chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. Subscribe to the Streetwise newsletter, a weekly meditation on Kansas City news and events. Jason Klamm read…

Exclusive: No Germ Candy’s ‘Straight Talk’ is a bop

We get to premiere a lot of music here at The Pitch, in the form of singles, videos, album streams, and more, but it’s rare that we get to premiere the first-ever release by a band. This makes “Straight Talk,” the first song from indie duo No Germ Candy, so very special. The pair, featuring Zso Nemeth and Harper Knecht,…

Why Sharice Davids should have a second term

Kansas’ Representative for the 3rd District recently appeared on our Streetwise podcast. This is a transcription of our interview, ahead of the November 3rd election. Representative Sharice Davids, welcome to the show! How are you today? Sharice Davids: I’m doing well, how are you doing? Holding up as best as anybody can. I’m very excited to be doing this interview today…

KC musicians admit what raises the hair on the back of their neck

Illustration by Katelyn Betz, Photo by Travis Young Even though we’re not likely to have any Halloween parties this year, there’s no excuse not to have a holiday playlist of spooky songs at the ready to set the tone. If nothing else, given the nightmare hellscape in which we currently find ourselves, songs of doom and creepy circumstances can offer…

American Foundation For Suicide Prevention receives over $30k donation from American Shaman

Courtesy Will Gregory PR American Shaman, a leading U.S. CBD manufacturer, presented a $30,000 check to The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for $30k. Hell yeah. Through the month of September, American Shaman observed National Suicide Prevention Month in partnership with AFSP, as well as National Self Care Month. The CBD manufacturer committed to donating a minimum of $30,000…

The premiere of Wham! Comics at The Pitch

Detail from today’s comics. We’ve been missing out lately on comic strips and comic-adjacent art. Rachel Yaros and Maria Gnoza are young local artists whose work we adore. As such, we’re giving them a regular column here at The Pitch for showcasing their excellent work. We think the tone and message of what they make aligns perfectly with what we…

Kauffman Stadium and KC Convention Center layoff nearly 600 workers

Empty stadium. // Photo by Joseph Hernandez With interruption that has come with COVID-19 pandemic, Aramark, the food service provider for Kauffman Stadium and the Kansas City Convention Center, announced it is laying off or reducing the hours of over 600 workers from the two sites. These workers include bartenders, cooks, supervisors, retail sales workers, cashiers and vendors, among others….

Blackstarkids’ Dirty Hit debut Whatever, Man is really something special

Blackstarkids // Photo by Ana Peralta-Chong For Whatever, Man, their third album in as many years, Kansas City’s Blackstarkids have taken their hazy pop jams and polished them into absolute gems. While Surf, released right at the end of February, heralded the fact that this trio was a force with which to be reckoned, full of laid-back bops like “Too…