This has been the second time I have gotten to go to this event. The first time, it was still held…read moreat the riverfront park. Performers on multiple stages playing my favourite music. Organised places to get signatures and meet your favourites. All while stopping by the multiple tents to pick up another Guinness! I expected a few more vendors selling their crafts; however, I understand that to do so has become harder and harder. There is an issue with some crafters using a lot of Cheap AI Art or the overabundance of 3d printed tchotchkes. But, a few more selling good items would have been welcome. I don't think there were more food options to choose from. I, of course, chose items that could be considered standard Irish fare. Too much on while watching the shows. It was a good turnout. Only bad experiences were with other goers who just didn't bother to consider that there were people around them. But, that isn't the norm and were few and far between on the 12 hours that we were there! Note: Love the HIGH KINGS!!!

I can't tell you how many years I have attended this event, It is always a great event. So many…read moregreat bands and performers. With everything from a silent disco, Bingo, cultural movies and talks, along with a whole area for the kids to play and run. Plus a row of food venders and beer tents. There is also a large area of art dealers and tents. It is easy to get there in the morning and make a day of the event.

KC River Fest was a great event this year to celebrate the 4th in a family friendly environment…read morewhile at the same time educating about the park and conservation. The good: Food trucks and beer tents Interactive conservation tents for children to learn about the park Plenty of blow-up bounce houses for children 2 concert stages Wonderful firework display Great location right off the water and good advertisment of Berkley Park Only $5 to attend Plenty of parking, had shuttle buses, and walking distance for some. The bad: Need more options for food because lines were an hour wait Some beer tents ran out of cups to serve the beer They need more that 1 ATM if everything is cash only (it broke down half way into the night) Overall I think the good out weights the bad. I had a blast listening to the music while standing in line and watching fireworks. Make sure to bring a blanket or a chair because the firework display was great!

A wonderful experience! The environment is a family, friendly environment with lots of activities…read morefor both parents and children. You have a wide range of vendors who are selling their merchandise that are all from Kansas City. Every item that you're able to purchase at the art Garden Kansas City is locally made or locally grown. Some of the products are, honey, jewelry, oil, paintings, photography, soap, T-shirts, hats, and many many more. I highly recommend this for the entire family. Get outside and enjoy the weather and eat some good food and do some amazing shopping.

It's past time to update my 14 month old review; especially since they moved their main location…read morefrom Pendleton heights to the City Market Park. I'll be honest; this move that occurred 3 months ago really irritated me. How dare you move this neighborhood based organic arts commune that was attracting people like me into a cool little area for a leisurely Sunday afternoon. The City Market is already jammed with people on the weekend and doesn't need more parking problems. After pouting for two weeks, I visited the new location and was prepared to hate everything about it and consider it just another artistic sell-out... I soon realized that my thinking was very short sided. This move has allowed the 60+ vendors to have an entirely new and much much larger customer base. To my relief this has not turned into another Plaza Art Fair and has retained it cutting edge / experimental / alternative... dare I say "hippy" vibe. Art ranges from small $2 trinkets to large oil paintings for $100's, clothing, jewelry 3d printed objects, massage therapy... lot's of cool stuff being sold by cool people that love having conversations about their craft. The season is almost over, but they are now prepared to pop-up at other events also such as Troostapolooza last week. Parking is a breeze, use the streetcar and park in the free lots next to North Loop stop. Two years running as being my favorite free Sunday activity in Kansas City.

This is a beautiful place with a lot of things to do and see! I love it during the summer, but…read morethere's always something to do in kc.

First Fridays is this organic event that is ever evolving into something better. Art installations,…read moremusic, hands on community involvement, food and drinks. Fire dancers, graffiti artists, pop up bands, drinks on the patio, it can be whatever experience appeals to you the most. The art galleries are always there even in the winter with their doors open. Block after block with something new. Vendors, sometimes free samples or live bands or watching an artist create something. Of course their is always the people watching which is a sport unto it self. It definitely started with the focus being on the art but it's grown into so much more. Feels more all inclusive but I do believe this is in large part to a creativity that really resonates and keeps people coming back but also participating. Perfectly acceptable to go solo, date, group, family friends, kids, all are accounted for. You don't have to start the night out with a meal, but that's usually the route I go and than walk it off. Coffee, beer, wine, popsicles, ice cream, chocolate shops it's all available. Parking! Yikes! That can be rough but persistence will pay off and if you don't mind walking a spot will eventually materialize. Their are some parking garages available and with the street car available that might help, just allow for the extra time.

Was a fun and great experience!! Learned a lot about the history of how coffee is maderead more

I had heard about The Caffeine Crawl for several years, but couldn't justify giving someone else my…read more$ for something that I could do on my own. Then I was given comp. tix last fall for a Saturday afternoon crawl in Johnson County. We went to four shops that I was unfamiliar with and was treated to 4 different presentations focusing on different aspects of the coffee industry; from store histories, pour-over presentations, new product roll-outs, and great question and answer periods with owners, managers and baristas. Tons of samples of beverages and sweets and even a goodie bag of related swag to take home. I was hooked! Yesterday I was able to buy a ticket for the Friday morning spring 2022 crawl kick-off and once again had a great time. Starting at Blip roasters for samples of 3 of the spring menu items and a tour of the entire facility - gift shop, roasting area, and the attached custom bike shop - Anchor Moto. Then on to Messenger Coffee's flagship location for a presentation in their lab to sample and compare Rwandan and Ethiopian pour overs, then a decadent sample of a black sesame and date concoction that blew me away. Final stop at the former Transit Coffee location for a presentation by PH Coffee and a progression of 5 samples ranging from a basic blended roast to their more sophisticated "Unicorn" offerings. Our guide was Jason that founded the Caffeine Crawl a decade ago and was the perfect person to have along as our escort. I can't say enough positive things about the crawl, and the shops that hosted the presentations. I can't wait to buy tickets for the fall event.

This review is late but better late than never, right? I am a nerd at heart so I've been waiting…read morefor this event for awhile and was very pleased. First off, I am a people person but even I was overwhelmed at the end of the day because there was so much to see and do! Coming to Bartle Hall wasn't so bad because we took the KC Streetcar which was a cinch to use. Finding the place was another story because once we got off, we were a bit turned around. No worries, we got to our destination in time. We had to go to Will Call to get our tickets and that was easy to find as well. Once in, oh my! There were so many displays and vendors. If you ever wanted to buy comics, this was the place to be. Also, so many people cosplayed! If I had time, I would have definitely gone as Jean Grey so maybe next year. There were swords to buy and so many original arts to purchase. Really, it's like a fancy fair for nerds. We did not stay for the panels where you can meet some famous people because we were so tired at the end. I believe the tickets for Saturday was around $50 which is a bit pricey but it was a lot of fun. It's too bad that Stan Lee passed because he was known to come to events like these. Overall, if you love comics and superheroes, I would highly recommend going to one of these someday.

This is a terrible venue to view tennis. The season ticket holding fans act extremely…read moreinappropriately, ruining the experience for anyone else attending. When we spoke to an event staff member, they tried to move our seats we had paid the highest ticket price for, instead of handling the obnoxious fans. As anyone who would attend a movie theater and have obnoxious movie goers behind them, one would expect the staff to alleviate the problem and calm them down. Jeff Launius and his terrible staff clearly do not care. Even worse than this low end tennis team, is the low class management and owner. When confronted with the fact that the experience was awful, and his staff made us feel unwelcome for complaining, Jeff Launius chose to keep $100 instead of doing the right thing and refunding the money. His staff member Cathy even stated to me on our initial phone call SHE WOULD refund the money, and would simply have to ask Jeff how to go about it. Not only did he act dishonestly by not honoring his staff's word, he even went as far as to blame US for not enjoying the experience, and said his regulars provided him all the money he needed. An owner and a manager should never treat the customer with such disrespect. This manner of handling the situation shows this organization has no consideration for anyone other than their friends who attend the matches. I would choose to never support their organization, and strongly encourage others to attend matches else where. Let's give our money to people who deserve it.

*Late Post* Had an amazing day at Power and Light,KC…read morewatching the FIFA World Cup final match which Spain won and the atmosphere was incredible! As soon as we entered just before the match, the crowd was huge but everything was so well managed. The food spots and bars were open despite the crowds and were easy to grab the (overpriced) drinks haha and food without leaving the main floor. The toilets were kept clean as well. The whole atmosphere (including the host, dj, screens and music) added to the excitement. However my only complaint was that the match was shown in Telemundo and not in English. I wish they had screens with multiple options for the non-Spanish speakers. Overall, such a fun experience and a fabulous place to match a big match.

As we made our way through KC, we ended up wandering into and through the Power & Light District on…read moremultiple occasions. Situated downtown, this district is the entertainment hub of KC and has a touristy and/or party vibe, as it holds Live!, several other bar/restaurants, and a few activity based spots. The district stretches over 9 blocks around downtown and features close to 50 eateries, bars, venues, shops and more. There is a stop nearby for the Streetcar, which makes access quite easy, whether you are local or visiting. In addition to all the places, there are a few cool murals and neon signs scattered about that make good photo ops. While this isn't my go-to area when in Kansas City, I definitely see the draw for folks, especially those who want something familiar with a bit of KC mixed in. The streets were well maintained, clean and easy to navigate, as were the walkways and walk through between places. Overall, classic entertainment district for a city. While the area is not fully my speed, I respect what it does for the city of KC and see why it's a popular spot for locals and visitors.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. I call it the…read moreKansas Opera House :). This massive performing arts center is like a State pride for Kansas City, Missouri. It reminded me of the famed Opera House in Australia, except that this one is at a crossroad, not near any sort of water body, and much closer to home in US !  Kansas , Missouri has been historically known for its jazz, classical music and theatre. It has this typical theatrical staging for an auditorium with all the seats facing the same way towards the stage, which is framed by an arch- this setting also has a fancy name - its called  Proscenium Arch ( pruh-see-ni-um - I had to ask google how to pronounce it ...lol)It is a non-profit theatre !!!!  Wow! Built to promote dance, opera, music , it is perfect for the city to live up to its reputation of being widely recognized destination for vibrant and colorful arts. It has two big halls interconnected with a foyer, its simply impressively massive and absolutely stunning architecture.  I read from the brochure that Acoustical considerations factored into every architectural decision of the building, right from the shape of the hall to the grain of the wood paneling. And also that it seats 1600 guests at a time. Located at the heart of downtown Kansas on 16th and Broadway, it is near the  city's Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District with plenty of parking within, but if you don't want to get stuck after a performance, it is better to take a cab here.

RedBull Dance Your Style Qualifier Midwest USA took over the Muriel Kauffman stage last night and…read morewhat a night! One on one street dance battle where the crowd decides who's the winner, red or blue, with wands that were handed out, narrowing the competition down to the final two. And the winner is Briana "Passion" Grey. The cost was only $16 dollars! Excuse my lack of video editing but for close up pictures and better videos check out the Kansas City Stars article.

This festival gets "universal acclaim", probably because of the name…read more Definitely one of the things that makes KC special and unique and exciting, and a real credit to the community and the region. Located right in the heart of the amazing Power And Light District. Not to be confused with the Power And Light Dickstrict, which is where every penis must be both tremendously powerful, but also streamlined, sleek, and "light" weight. And they are very strict about this. Dick-strict, no less. This is one of the most important areas in Kansas City, part of the downtown, but a little away from it, serving as the main downtown party neighbourhood, as it is the home of a lot of great tourist destinations and nightlife spots, and it definitely is the heartbeat of the nightlife for the entire Kansas City region (as well as the Westside), and to some degree the whole of Missouri and Kansas for that matter. This might be why it attracts quite a lot of people. Unlike European muggers, who attack quite a lot of people.

This is a wonderful film festival. Everything was very properly scheduled and on time! The films…read morewhere fantastic to watch. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fIlm festival!

oustanding performances well you know except for that one lol…read morewe goto 10 of them each time just wish if your sick coughing sneezing wiping your nose all over your hand stay the (&^&^%^%!! HOME!

Kansas City has a lot of annual arts events and festivals that are phenomenal; but Fringe Fest is…read morethe standout in my playbill. After a 2 year Covid break, the 2 week festival returned to Kansas City and runs until 7/31/22. Over 55 different productions are being presented across 15 venues over 2 weeks, which equates to almost 300 separate performances! There is also a visual arts display and film. The festival is in it's 18th year, but this is only my 3rd year to attend and as long as it returns so will I. You must purchase a $5 button and then with the button, you are allowed to purchase event tickets for $10 per show. The performances range from dance, stand-up, story telling, drama, music... from family entertainment to risque' adult themed cabaret. I have attended 3 events this past weekend and have seen an intense drama with adult language and violence, a one man comedy dealing with mental health issues and relationships and another one man presentation based on the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. I have never had a bad experience in the 3 years and 10+ shows I attended. I'm eager to finish out this weekend with at least 2 more shows. For only $10 I'm able to support local and traveling artists, attend an event at one of KC's top venues and walk away with a something to ponder. Open Your Mind and Support Local Art!