Rendering of KC2026 Fan Fest // Courtesy of KC2026 Local World Cup planning org KC2026 has announced preliminary dates for its FIFA Fan Fest, and a series of themes to boot. The Fan Fest will be open for 18 days at the WWI Museum and Memorial, but only for matches taking place in Kansas City or those involving the US…
Veil Cafe / Photo by Samantha Russell Tucked among the brick buildings of Kansas City’s Garment District is newcomer Veil Cafe. The coffee shop opened last month with a soft launch during the snowstorm to a surprisingly high turnout. Lines crammed in the door with people enticed by photos of the shop’s design and especially eager to try the “purple…
Art by Teddy Rosen THEY HAVE TRIED TO ERASE US WITH MAPS In early September 2025, Missouri Republicans advanced a redistricting plan that would split Kansas City into three separate congressional districts. The plan threatens to divide Black, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities, voters who currently stand together in Missouri’s 5th District. The Missouri NAACP called the proposal unconstitutional and filed…
If you ask Larry Lewis, Jr., executive director of Growing Futures Early Education Center, what sets the organization apart, he won’t start with curriculum or classrooms. He starts with families. “Many people think early education is babysitting or daycare,” Lewis says. “What sets us apart is that we focus on the science and art of child development, meeting children where…
Courtesy of Atlas9 As Kansas City seeks to make its mark in cinema, the Cinemorphia Animated Film Festival aims to fuse homegrown talent with local creative innovation. The minds behind the acclaimed interactive narrative attraction, Atlas9, are welcoming local students eager to redefine animation. Bona Bones, assistant professor of animation at KU, is the event chair for Cinemorphia. Bones worked…
One of the Good Ones poster // Courtesy of KC Repertory Theatre There’s no drama quite like family dinner table drama. Especially with the pressure of throwing a new significant other—who everyone may or may not like and perhaps reveals the best and/or worst of all involved—into the mix. One of the Good Ones is a comedy play that follows…
The KC Teaching Clinic on Saturday, January 17. If you are a college student, a typical Saturday in January may look like sleeping in to avoid the onslaught of cold weather and homework; however, for the college volunteers of the Kansas City Teaching Clinic, instead of oversleeping, they are spending their Saturday mornings in -5 degree temperatures to give free…
Braxton Keith.. // photo by Daniel Fuchs Braxton Keith with Hannah Juanita Uptown Theater Thursday, February 12 On Thursday, February 12, Texas up-and-coming honky-tonk revivalist Braxton Keith, took to the stage at Uptown Theater. Fellow rising star and roots-inspired musician Hannah Juanita opened and our photographer Daniel Fuchs was there to capture it all. Braxton Keith Hannah Juanita Categories: Music…
Lil String. // photo by Eli Ralls Lil String with Burst and Last Generation Westport Bowery Thursday, February 12 Performing a sold-out show at Westport Bowery, rapper Lil String delivered a mix of gritty storytelling and hooks that showcased both confidence and growth as a live performer last Thursday. Also known as Missouri Adamn Killa, Lil String has quickly gained…
Sierra Hull & the Mill Carton Kids. // photo by Allison Scavo Sierra Hull with the Milk Carton Kids The Folly Theater Tuesday, February 10 Americana musician Sierra Hull kicked off her co-headlining tour with fellow roots artists the Milk Carton Kids on Tuesday, February 10, with the artists all sharing the stage at various points in the evening. Our…
Photo by Tarik Sykes The Kansas City Comets and San Diego Sockers engaged in a fiery battle on Saturday evening, but the Sockers came away with the extra point after taking a 7-6 win in a shootout at Cable Dahmer Arena. The Comets nearly left empty-handed, but a goal from Dom Francis with two seconds left rescued a point. In the end, the Comets…
FBI agents load boxes of election documents onto trucks at an elections warehouse in Fulton County, GA. State and local election officials are bracing for the prospect of federal action after President Donald Trump’s call to nationalize elections (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) This story was originally published by ProPublica. The Missouri prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Fulton…
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios The rights to turn Don Winslow’s thrilling novella Crime 101 into a motion picture were won by Amazon MGM Studio – they made sure to throw all the bells and whistles at the movie. The studio’s A-list actor random name generator (which I like to assume is a real thing) spit out Thor, Cat Woman,…
England, the Netherlands and Argentina will use Kansas City as their base camp for this summer’s World Cup. (Illustration by Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector) On Wednesday, the English soccer federation confirmed one of the most exciting recent surprises in Kansas City sports news: The England national team will join Argentina in making the city its base camp for the…
Photo by Cory Weaver Music Theater Heritage is staging The Fantasticks right now. The basic plot is this: there’s a girl, there’s a boy. Girl, Luisa, is full of all silliness not yet marred by life: “I like to touch my eyelids because they’re different every day.” Boy, Matt, is similar in youthful naivete and devotes poetical word to his…
KC Sipps logo by Theodore Rosen Life in KC is pretty delicious. In fact, there is often so much going on that it can be hard to decide where to go and what to try. That’s where I come in. I’ve curated this weekly list of timely events, openings, deals, and celebrations to keep you in-the-know. Cheers! Something New News…
Photo by Don Ipock In October of 1991, Princess Diana visited the pioneering HIV/AIDS hospice Casey House in Toronto and shook the hand of a man living with HIV. After the media left, she reportedly spent time with all twelve or so Casey House residents and its staff, and her lack of fear in touching an HIV/AIDS patient without gloves was enormously…
Courtesy Briarcliff Entertainment Perhaps in direct defiance of the technology they’re satirizing, recent movies and shows about artificial intelligence have also been wonderfully bonkers. The 2023 limited series Mrs. Davis took a story about a world-dominating AI software and turned it into a gonzo odyssey featuring nuns, assassins, ancient religious relics, rodeo riders and chicken wing restaurants. Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus…
Photo by Brock Wilbur On Feb. 11 at City Hall, Mayor Quinton Lucas’ 2026 State of the City Address began with a sharp prayer. “We confess we fly the red, black, and green in February atop City Hall, while white household wealth is 10 times that of Black households in the city,” said Reverend Dr. Vernon Howard, among other observations…
Tyler’s House KC offers many activities for teens to do after school. // Photo by Beth Lipoff It’s important to have a safe space to be yourself, and sometimes those areas are in short supply for teenagers. Tyler’s House KC has stepped in to try and fill the gap. Located in Mission, Tyler’s House is a place for high school…
The rules of curling are simple. Deliver the stone to the center of the house by mastering the hog-to-hog speed just in time to win the bonspiel. If this sounds like a drunken Scottish stupor, don’t worry, the KC Curling Club will teach you the terminology. Just in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, this volunteer-run curling institution…
King Return. // facebook.com/KingsReturnMusic If you’re a music fan who’s ever been scrolling online, you’ve likely come across a video or two of four men singing acapella in a stairwell and had your mind blown by their brilliant harmonies and arrangements. This is Kings Return, the “dynamic and soothing” Dallas-based vocal quartet of tenor Vaughn Faison, bass Gabe Kunda, tenor…
Half Price Books in Westport // Photo by Samantha Russell Two years ago, workers at Half Price Books in Westport won their vote to unionize. Only now have contract negotiations with the corporation been reached. William Theberge has been at the Westport location four years this month. He likes it here. “We get to see our neighbors, weekly, monthly, for…
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway at an event in St. Louis on Nov. 24 (photo courtesy of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office) Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a lawsuit seeking to require the Census Bureau to “redo” the $14 billion 2020 Census to exclude the persons she doesn’t consider persons. The U.S. Constitution requires that every 10 years…
