What Makes KC Cool?
When people ask what they should see or do when they visit Kansas City, what comes to mind? In our fun and family-friendly city, folks can find endless opportunities for good food and entertainment at reasonable prices. Here are a few of our family’s favorites!
Powell Gardens
Powell Gardens is a vast botanical garden that “offers visitors the chance to experience art, nature and culture all in one spot,” according to Kalie Hudson, manager of marketing and sales.
This year, Powell Gardens will provide a new, extended holiday offering for the entire family called Festival of Lights. Hudson tells KC Going Places, “From Dec. 1 to Jan. 6, the festival features a fantastic lighting display installed throughout the gardens, a bedazzled Magnolia Walk and terrace flower beds, cascading lights in the pools of the Island Garden, laser lighting projections at the Meadow and Pavilion and a magical view of the lake with floating trees and sculptures.”
The Kansas City Zoo
Another favorite is our local zoo. The KC Zoo tells KC Going Places, “The first three October weekends are called Hoots & Howls, and we have all types of activities, like pedal tractors, a hay maze, slitherin’ snake shed, crafts, our carousel turns into the scare-o-cel, and a hayride.”
Winter zoo events include Santa Dives, where a dressed-up Santa actually jumps into the water in the penguin exhibit and swims with the penguins (Nov. 24-26, Dec. 2-3, 9-10 & 16-17) and Winter Wonderland, where the zoo turns the Polar Bear Passage into the North Pole and the Helzberg Penguin Plaza into the South Pole. Plus, the lions receive fully decorated Christmas trees complete with wrapped presents underneath.
Nelson-Atkins Museum
A KC favorite with FREE ADMISSION is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Hannah McLain, coordinator of marketing and communications at the Nelson-Atkins, says, “We’re an encyclopedic museum, so in one day you can see works from the Impressionist masters in Europe, to ancient China, to contemporary America, to American Indian and everything in between. And visitors can always go outside to enjoy our 22-acre Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, featuring the works of Henry Moore, Roxy Paine and Robert Morris, to name a few.”
Beginning on Dec. 16, you can see “Dreams of the Kings: A Jade Suit for Eternity, Treasure of the Han Dynasty from Xuzhou.” McLain tells KC Going Places, “This includes the finest jade burial suit in existence. In adjacent galleries will be displayed a selection of 90 pieces from our celebrated collection of early Chinese art from the Shang (16th century—ca. 1046 B.C.E.) to the Han (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) dynasties. The display includes the world-famous jade bi ritual disc and many other exceptional pieces.”
The Coterie
The Coterie, Kansas City’s well-known children’s theater, has two productions coming up in the 2017-18 season. Check out We Shall Not Be Moved, a civil rights history play about the student sit-ins of 1960. This production is for families with ages 11 and older. The production features a forum at the end of the play where audiences will interact with the actors in character—asking questions or discussing the themes of the play. Also, don’t miss A Charlie Brown Christmas, running Nov. 7-Dec. 31.
When asked what makes the Coterie so unique, David Golston, director of marketing and public relations, says, “As a not-for-profit professional theater company, the Coterie seeks to educate, entertain and challenge audiences by opening lines of communication between races, sexes and generations [with its] live stage productions that spark the imagination and ignite creativity.”
Mesner Puppet Theater
Another KC treasure is the Mesner Puppet Theater. Brenda Gray, communications manager, tells KC Going Places, “Our shows are unique because of the quality of our puppets, all made in-house, created by artistic director Mike Horner and founder Paul Mesner. We are great storytellers. As Mike says, ‘As a puppeteer, my job is to bring absurd ideas to life. I ask my audience to accept these absurd ideas and believe the unbelievable, which could be anything from a dog that can talk, dinosaurs who ride rocket ships or a little man made of stinky cheese. Ultimately, I am a storyteller, a storyteller with some incredible tools at my disposal.’”
Check out The Dinosaur Show (Oct. 3-22) and Rhymes, Rap, Miss Mary Mack (Feb. 13-March 4)!
Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
Hungry? Don’t miss our family’s favorite barbecue joint: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que!
Doug Worgul, director of marketing for Joe’s, says, “I think the reason that we’ve been successful is our unwavering commitment to quality and consistency, both in our food and in our customer service. All Kansas City barbecue joints are great. There’s no bad barbecue in Kansas City. Our city is the Barbecue Capital of the World! But I do think that the quality of our food and customer service, and the fact that our original location is in a gas station, have helped us stand out in a very crowded and competitive field.” If you visit, try the Z-Man! It’s the most popular menu item (and my all-time favorite!) Also, Joe’s french fries, hands-down, are the best in the entire world.
Sylas and Maddy’s
Now for dessert! Sylas and Maddy’s is one of KC’s most famous ice cream shops. When asked what makes Sylas and Maddy's unique, owner Jennifer Shubin says, “We are a family owned and operated business. We make all of our ice cream and homemade waffle cones in house. We have created over 150 flavors with our own unique recipes. We have some very original flavors but we also have the traditional flavors like blackberry and butter brickle that many remember from their childhood.” Shubin also suggests visitors try the Peanut Butter Freak, a peanut butter ice cream with Reese's peanut butter cups and a chocolate swirl, Da Bomb, which is made of Oreos, chocolate chips and cookie dough, and the watermelon sherbet, which includes an entire cut-up watermelon!
Olathe mom Karen Johnson writes at The21stCenturySAHM.com.