The second-annual Taste of Troost festival: a KC Fourth of July street party for the ages

Everyone has a Troost story.

For me, it was getting put in my place by a feisty, middle-aged, black comedian at an open-mic night at G’s Jamaican Cuisine a few years back.

For those who answered an informal Facebook poll, stories included hookers, hobos, pigs’ feet, a good mechanic, misadventures in and around Mike’s Tavern, a police standoff, good times at the Telephonebooth Gallery, more hookers …

Jan Fichman, who owns the 34-year-old music and gifts emporium 7th Heaven, has a Troost story that’s practically his whole life — and then some.

He remembers youthful days at his dad’s used-car lot, Modern Motors, which opened at 5656 Troost and relocated twice, each time to a new address farther south on the storied avenue.

He lives in Leawood now, but Fichman says, “When I die, I’ll be buried on Troost at the cemetery right by New York Bakery. I will spend almost eternity on Troost.”

Though many locals think of the street as the city’s black-white dividing line, it’s home sweet home to Fichman and his 24-year-old son, Adam.

In late May, the younger Fichman called to tell me about his idea to hold a block party outside his dad’s store on July 4. It would feature food, live music, lots of local character and would be called Taste of Troost, after the much bigger Taste of Chicago festival up north.

July 4 was only seven weeks away when Adam called me to get recommendations for bands to book. That’s no time at all to plan a festival. But I had faith in Adam and his crew.

Last year, Adam and his partners at the successful media and design firm Lifted Logic (“Troost Tube,” January 29) put on a smaller version of TOT. At that fest, the Lifted guys grilled some meat and set up a PA system for some live rap. This year, they’ve rented a stage and a sound engineer (Zachary Aaron from Shots Fired), gotten commitments from vendors and sponsors (one of which is The Pitch), paid for radio ads, printed fliers, hired security and — best of all — booked a lineup of more than 20 acts. All in about seven weeks.

In keeping with tradition, most of the performances are from rappers, peaking with a set by the one and only Rich the Factor at 7:35. Also lined up are locals Ron Ron, Skiem Hiem, Cash Image, Block Life, Young Devi and Bay Area icon Killa Tay (who’s flying out just for the fest).

The non-rap acts include the Good Foot (soul), SeedLove and Jahration (reggae), Making Movies (Latin), Max Groove (jazz) and newcomers Kick Kick (pop rock).

For a free festival thrown together in less than two months, the entertainment bill is a dream — diverse, hungry, not overexposed, few weak spots. And it’s free.

“No one is giving us one penny,” Adam says. “Everything’s coming out of our pocket or has been donated.”

Between advertising and renting equipment, they’ll have spent upward of $10,000 on this free party.

“We wanna be nice,” Adam says. “We do well. I don’t think anybody’s worried about the business. … This is our version of community charity, I guess.”

“Say we do this two or three years, and some of the artists go on to get national exposure,” adds Rob Scott, one of Adam’s partners at Lifted. “It’d be nice if we could say we supported them from the beginning.”

Though the guys at Lifted have built a more eclectic lineup this year, their roots remain in local rap. (Jan tells me that 7th Heaven plans to add more local music of all genres to its shelves soon.)

“Kansas City has a lot of rap artists, and they’re the ones who go underappreciated,” Adam says of the festival. “Westport doesn’t want them, Power & Light doesn’t want them — we want them, and the rest of the city does, too.”

Even though the music’s free, bring cash to spend because you’ll want to eat. Papa Lew’s, Mad Jack’s, Waldo Pizza, Bonheur Raw Foods, Grit ‘N Gravy and G’s Jamaican will dish up grub. (There won’t be any alcohol for sale on the grounds, though, which is probably for the best.) If it gets hot, you can duck inside 7th Heaven, where the A/C will be on.

Of course, it’s not the threat of hot weather that has some people concerned when I start talking up TOT. On a few occasions within the past few weeks, when I’ve divulged my Fourth of July plans, people have made jokes about, well, getting shot. Because it’s Troost, right?

Whatever.

Jan Fichman is no stranger to such talk. “That’s just a little bit of ignorance,” he says. (Jan is white and Jewish, by the way.) “I would be willing to bet there’s a hell of a lot more crime at Oak Park, the Plaza, the P&L District than what goes on at 77th and Troost.”

Nobody, he says, has to worry about being on Troost.

In fact, this July 4, your main concern should be getting to the party.