Kansas City Center for Inclusion’s Equality Prom 2019. // Photo by Simms Photos The Kansas City Center for Inclusion has been a “triple E battery” energizing the metro area with engagement, education, and empowerment around queer issues and community since 2017. This June, they officially grew up and moved out to their new digs on Broadway in the space above…
Day of the Dead 2021. // Photo by Jim Nimmo For almost 20 years in Kansas City’s West Side neighborhood, the Mattie Rhodes Center hosts a parade–and opens up its gallery–for the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). Tiny decorative sugar skulls are handed out to children all night, and a collective of food trucks awaits everyone at the…
The millionth bottle of Da’Bomb. // Photo by Zach Bauman You may have seen Da’Bomb Beyond Insanity hot sauce on the incredibly popular YouTube series Hot Ones. The intentionally punishing hot sauce is manufactured in Kansas City, Kansas by Spicin Foods. While it’s only the third spiciest sauce in the Hot Ones lineup, it’s known for its overbearing heat. “Da’Bomb…
Both parties, and factions inside of them, would likely make wiser strategic decisions and/or improve their public standing if they accepted the hard truths. // Photo by Pixabay Denial, said Missouri’s greatest export to the world, Mark Twain, ain’t just a river in Egypt. It’s also a problem plaguing major factions of both of our political parties. A lie that…
RILEY THE MUSICIAN in Daisy Lee Vintage. // Photo by Travis Young This past year, The Pitch has given a lot of ink to hyperpop ingénue Ana Kennedy Domville, known by her stage name RILEY THE MUSICIAN. In June, we got her thoughts on corporate Pride—“ doing whatever I want and not caring about what other people say”—and more recently,…
Julien Baker. // Photo by Alysse Gafkjen Julien Baker is a singer-songwriter from the suburbs of Memphis with a true gift for penning and performing some of the most cathartic indie rock of the last decade. After receiving critical acclaim for her debut LP Sprained Ankle in 2015, she was quickly signed to iconic indie mainstay Matador. Baker also formed…
A photo from the G.I.F.T Gala. // Photo by Stacy Artis When G.I.F.T. was featured in our 2020 Best of KC issue, they had recently given their first grant of $10,000 to Ruby Jean’s Juicery to save it from closing. On Oct. 15, they hosted their first annual gala to pop the bubbly in honor of their many successes. G.I.F.T….
A sign at the entrance to the restaurant. // Photo by Savannah Hawley Lazia, a dinner-only Italian restaurant in the Crossroads Hotel, reopens to the public for full-service today. The beloved Crossroads restaurant closed its doors in March 2020 and began partial reopening in June 2020. The restaurant is named for Johnny Lazia, a 1920s mafia don in Kansas City…
This week on the Streetwise podcast we discuss true crime/false crime, enjoy a reading of Allison Harris’ feature “Big Sky Country,” vibe to The Shebangs’s track “Tightrope,” and chat with Richard A. Serrano about his book Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks: The Legacy of America’s Epic Structural Failure. Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, Editor-in-Chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify….
Photo by Maxwell Ridgeway In May, the Kansas City Council voted to remove its prohibition against jaywalking, as well as two nuisance bicycle offenses—a decision that was well overdue. Jaywalking got its name in Kansas City when The Star coined the term in 1905 to ridicule pedestrians who didn’t stay to the right and yield to others on the sidewalks….
Belfast. // Courtesy Rob Youngson / Focus Features In an interview last year on Brett Goldstein’s Films to be Buried With podcast, Edgar Wright made a statement that’s stuck with me. “It’s so easy to make fun of bad movies,” he said, “but when you set out to make movies, you realize that nobody, not even Ed Wood, sets out…
Courtesy Powell Gardens Powell Gardens kicked off its fifth annual season of Festival of Lights, with the display operating Wednesday through Sunday from 4-10 p.m., until Dec. 30. “During the holidays, this is the perfect place to take a much-needed breath from a busy year,” CEO Tabitha Schmidt says. “Enjoy your loved ones. Make memories, reinvigorate traditions, and take in…
KC Current will keep the same team colors they used as KC NWSL. // Photo by Chris Ortiz KC may be clamoring for the World Cup, but regardless of where those cards fall, we have scored a major goal this year: we tempted our women’s soccer team into returning to the city. The death of FCKC, Kansas City’s former professional…
Steve Tilley was sworn in as Missouri House Speaker in 2011. He resigned in 2012 to become a lobbyist and political consultant. // Courtesy Missouri House Communications A pair of political action committees connected to a Missouri lobbyist under FBI scrutiny have begun taking steps to account for nearly $170,000 in cash that went unreported on disclosures to the state…
The inaugural performance of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s new season is not only the opener to a full season of shows. It also marks the return of the Lyric Opera to the Kauffman Center for the first time since March of 2020, when the season ended prematurely with a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. For the Lyric’s return…
Folk Alliance International, the global nonprofit for folk music, announced over 120 official showcases today ahead of its 34th annual conference, which takes place February 23-27 at the Westin Crown Center Hotel. Per the press release from FAI, the official showcase will be “presented and filmed on full production stage in the host hotel ballrooms and posted later for online…
Courtesy of the Peacock Check it out: The Peacock opens in Westport Nov. 20 Though it’s been years since Ragazza made the corner of Central Street and Westport Road Kansas City’s coziest spot for a bite, this location will soon serve as home to a new type of neighborhood restaurant when The Peacock opens Friday, Nov. 19 at 301 Westport…
Illustration by Katelyn Betz On August 10, 1821, Missouri entered into the U.S. as the 24th state—now, 200 years later, we’ve been taking a hard look at the mountains and valleys that pockmark its history. Missouri’s tendency towards right-wing extremism has been a long-lasting, dangerous malady. Just as the bicentennial year was kicking into gear, white supremacist Josh Hawley launched…
POAC hosted its first annual charity golf tournament, Oct. 8. The event raised $17,000. // Courtesy POAC Local nonprofit People of All Colors Succeed (POAC) has received $250,000 worth of big donor grants, and raised an additional $17,000 from their first annual charity golf tournament, held Oct. 8. The grants come from a triumvirate of donors over the summer: Blue…
Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey and Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater in the National Tour of Tootsie. // Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade Broadway’s musical version of Tootsie makes its debut over Thanksgiving at the Kansas City Music Hall. The show—a laugh-out-loud ode to the 1982 Oscar-nominated film—features a Tony-winning book by Robert Horn and a clever…
Gary Wilson Of Wilsons Pizza And Grill. // Photo Courtesy Of Visit KCK Gary Wilson is the proprietor of Wilson’s Pizza & Grill, which he opened on Quindaro Boulevard in 1993. His homemade pizza dough, freshly cut toppings, and wide variety have been a local staple ever since. Before Wilson opened up his restaurant, no big pizza chains would deliver…
The bar at Oak & Steel. // Photo by Kyle Howard Like everyone else in the city, we love the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. We long for any excuse to Sharpie over the scuffs in our dress shoes and trek over to Moshe Safdie’s gleaming adjustable barbell for a show. The only thing we don’t love is pushing…
Pembroke Hill junior Carter Rostran’s animation setup for Ruth & Nick: A Confectionary Tale. // Photo by Carter Rostran Pembroke Hill junior Carter Rostran’s stop motion film, Ruth and Nick: A Confectionary Tale has earned international festival praise ever since it dropped earlier this year. The title went on to win the award for “best film made by a high…
Jennifer Hildebrandt, left, and Karen Thornwall resume shopping after listening to the governor call for the elimination of the state sales tax on food. They watched a news conference held at the Topeka grocery store. // Photo by Jim McLean Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called Monday for the elimination of the state sales tax on groceries, something lawmakers from both…
