New “first-class performance venue” by the river in KCK

Forget that rinky-dink Kauffman. A little gravel here, a few picturesque and functional rocks there, and Kaw Point Park is where it’s at.

I kid — the language of the press release is such that I couldn’t resist (“Organization Uses Discarded Materials to Form First Class Performance Venue”!) — but this is actually pretty cool. I mean, when was the last time you had a reason to go down and enjoy that river that lurks somewhere north of those buildings and blackened warehouses downtown (not counting the time you had to dump that excess sealant)? Seriously, though, as we have noted in the past, there ain’t shit to do by the Mighty Mo. Rivers are cool things to have running through town, and ours is pretty much wasted.

The Friends of Kaw Point Park are working to change that with the opening of this venue, built from recycled rocks and gravel underlay, hauled in and put together by volunteers. The press release says the project would’ve cost the Friends $250,000 but instead was practically free. There’s a bit more work to be done, though, so if you feel like getting some fresh air and sweat going, drop by the park this Saturday (10-3) or Sunday (12-5). Volunteers are instructed to bring “a flat nose shovel, hard rake and/or push broom.” You could be laying groundwork us to all go down and take in some live music under the stars, with the river creeping by and the downtown skyline just over the rise. Ahh.