Young Blood

WED 3/24

It’s interesting how two little words — First Fridays — bring joy to some and fear to others.

For those of you who have sworn off the double-f phrase, here’s one art opening that isn’t on a Friday and won’t provoke an anxiety attack. The Mattie Rhodes Art Center (1740 Jefferson Street, 816-417-2536) opens its Children’s Art Exhibit and Sale with a preview reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, when kids from the neighborhood get a chance to show off what they’ve been working on at the center.

With pieces ranging in price from $2 to $200 and the proceeds being divided between the center and the young artists, this should be the easiest art purchase you’ll ever make. Along with work by approximately 120 kindergarten through fifth-grade children, there will be food, games and prizes. The exhibit has a second opening on April 2 (this one on you-know-what day) and runs through April 24. The receptions and exhibit are free; donations to the center are welcome.— Sarah Steele

Street Life

FRI 3/19

Don’t plan on driving down 39th Street between State Line Road and Mercier this Friday night. Get out and walk. Even if you don’t want to see the performers and artists, such as Shari Elf, the 39th Street Art Walk will have the streets clogged with other people who do, so the people-watching should be entertaining. For details, call 816-531-9673.— Michael Vennard

Chaos K.C.

FRI 3/19

Performed in a style that’s scripted yet randomly arranged, Monkeys With Hand Grenades 2 is the sequel to last month’s show by a ComedyCity offshoot called Chaos Theatre’s Pandemonium Players. The troupe performs thirty plays in sixty minutes at 10 p.m. Friday at ComedyCity (300 Charlotte), reprising twenty of the more popular scripts from their February 20 show and adding ten fresh ones. ComedyCity’s Clancy Hathaway reminds patrons that the show is for mature audiences. “There is some sex-oriented stuff,” he says. Among the returning miniplays: “Bubble Wrap,” “Let’s See Them” and “Magic,” about a snake that is, in this case, just a snake. For information, call 816-842-2744. — Steve Walker

Turn Loft

3/18-3/21

Unless they have some sort of fascination with Martha Stewart or Bob Vila, the Greater Kansas City Home Show probably doesn’t have much to offer the homeowners and apartment renters of Kansas City who are younger than thirty. That is, unless they want to learn more about loft spaces in the downtown area. Inside Bartle Hall (301 West 13th Street), among the gardening and home-improvement displays, is a full-scale, furnished replica of an urban loft. Maybe it’s time to move downtown. For details, call 816-942-8800.— Vennard