Dress Like Daisy

The setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is Long Island, New York, in the 1920s. So why does the Excelsior Springs Cultural Guild call its annual arts festival Gatsby Days? Cultural Guild member Cindy Sloan explains that the heyday for Excelsior Springs as a spa destination for the town’s healing springs was the era of the flappers, jazz babies and illegal hooch. That’s why visitors to the festivities — including a carnival, a speakeasy, a jazz joint, a crafts show and sale, plus Sunday afternoon tea — are encouraged to dress up in 1920s garb. “You’d be surprised how many people do,” Sloan says. “It’s a lot of fun.” Kansas City’s Bram Wijnands Swingtet performs at the Black Bottom Dance from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at the Elms Resort Hotel. For more information and a full schedule of the other Gatsby Days activities, see gatsbydays.com.

Fri., April 23; Sat., April 24; Sun., April 25, 2010