Kick Off Summer in Kansas City with great ideas for Family Fun! Kansas City hosts many terrific family celebrations on Memorial Day Weekend and we have the full scoop!
The American Flag Denotes Patriotic events.
Zona Rosa Summer Concert May 28 & 29 6:00 PM, Zona Rosa. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and get ready for some of the hottest music in town every Friday and Saturday evening this summer. Zona Rosa welcomes the best local, regional and national artists to the Town Square stage for our free summer concert series. Every Friday and Saturday Night through Sept. 25!
www.zonarosa.com/eventscalendar.cfm
Music in the Park May 28 6:30 PM, Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street. Enjoy free Friday night concerts from Memorial Day to Labor Day in Howard Station Park in Downtown Lee’s Summit. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. FREE. 816/246.6598
Dinosaurs Unearthed ALL SUMMER, Union Station. Meet T Rex, Triceratops and other dinos up close and personal as the BIGGEST Dinosaur exhibit in North America spends the summer in Kansas City! Read the KCParent.com Review of Dinosaurs Unearthed. 816.716.8137 dino.unionstation.org
OPENING DAY Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog at Crown Center Crown Center Shops, Level 1 Atrium . Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog™ :Saturday, May 29 - Monday, September 6/ On loan from the Minnesota Children's Museum, in partnetship with Scholastic Entertainment, this exhibit transports visitors to the homes of Clifford, Emily Elizabeth, and all the residents of Birdwell Island. The large scale elements are based on the PBS Kids Clifford The Big Red Dog television series and include the Birdwell Ferry, Samuel's Fish & Chips Shack, T-Bone's Beach Fun and of course, Clifford and his Doghouse. 816.274.8444 www.crowncenter.com
OPENING DAY Big Bugs at Powell Gardens. Our favorite oversized garden friends arrive at Powell Gardens on May 29: it's family fun that's TOO BIG to miss! You'll find 11 unnaturally large insect sculptures made from natural materials, from a trio of 700-pound ants to a new 10-foot-tall Daddy Long Legs at Powell Gardens. The creator, Dave Rogers, will conduct tours on Saturday and Sunday, and visitors can use nets to catch and release real bugs. On following Saturdays we'll feature a different bug with children's activities each time. 816.697.2700 www.powellgardens.org
OPENING DAY Adventure Oasis Water Park May 29, 10:00 AM, Adventure Oasis Water Park. Kick off your summer fun with a day of play at Adventure Oasis Water Park!
816.325.6238 www.ci.independence.mo.us/parksandrec/AdvenOasis.aspx
Jackson County Swim Beaches OPEN! May 29, 11:00 AM, Jackson County's Swim Beaches open Memorial Day Weekend! 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m all weekend! Longview Lake Beach: Take I-470 to Raytown Road and turn south, go approximately two miles, turn left. Blue Springs Lake Beach: Take 291 Highway to Bowlin Road (Lakewood Drive), go east one mile, turn left. Read about ALL of Kansas City's Swim Beaches! $3.00 Children (15 and under), $3.00 Seniors, $5.00 Adults (16 and older). 816.503.4876 www.jacksongov.org/content/3279/3763/default.aspx
Johnson County Swim Beaches OPEN! May 30, 12:00 PM, Shawnee Mission Park Beach. The Shawnee Mission Park (7900 Renner Rd) & Kill Creek Park Swim Beaches (11670 Homestead Rd) open from the end of May through mid-August. Weather permitting, the hours of operation are 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday - Saturday, and Open Water Swim on Tuesday & Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Daily rates for children 12 and under adults over 50 are $3 for Johnson County residents and $3.50 for nonresidents. Admission for adults is $5 for Johnson County residents and $5.50 for nonresidents. Season passes or combined season passes are also available. Read about ALL of Kansas City's Swim Beaches 913.312.8847 jcprd.com/parks_facilities/permits_Admission_Rentals.cfm
Tribute to the Armed Forces at Worlds of Fun May 30 & 31, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun are pleased to announce FREE admission to active and retired United States military personnel on Sunday and Monday of the Memorial Day weekend and Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the July 4th weekend as a part of its new Tribute to the Armed Forces program. Along with FREE admission, active and retired members of the military are also able to purchase discount admission tickets for members of their immediate family. www.WorldsOfFun.com
Celebration at the Station May 30, 7:30 PM, Union Station. Free outdoor patriotic concert performed by the Kansas City Symphony, followed by a spectacular fireworks display over Liberty Memorial. Bring chairs and a picnic for the family. 816.460.2020 www.unionstation.org
CANCELED!!! Smithville Lake Swim Beach OPEN! May 31, 9:00 AM, Smithville Lake Swim Beach. This event has been Canceled, read the story here. Check out more of Kansas City's Swim Beaches! 816.407.3400
Memorial Day Observance Ceremony Liberty Memorial May 31, 9:30 AM, National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. The outdoor ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. with a color guard parade and includes performances by the American Legion Band, dedication of newly installed Walk of Honor bricks. The Museum will open immediately following the ceremony (approximately 11 a.m.). Normal admission charges apply throughout the Memorial Day weekend. 816.784.1918 www.theworldwar.org
Memorial Day at Liberty Memorial May 31, 10:00 AM, WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial. OPEN for Memorial Day: The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial provides an extraordinary experience. The state-of-the-art Museum gives you the chance to explore and discover the nation’s most extensive assembly of artifacts, photography, art and narratives of the Great War ever presented in a single collection. The Museum introduces the war in unprecedented ways – through visual and audio sensory stimulation to mold an unforgettable experience in the minds of all visitors – young and old. $12/adults, $6/youth (6-17), $10/students (18+) and seniors (65+). 816.784.1918 www.theworldwar.org
Wonderscope is OPEN May 31, 10:00 AM, Wonderscope Children's Museum. Memorial Day: Wonderscope WILL be open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 913.268.4176 www.wonderscope.org
USS Arizona Dedication May 31, NOON, Riverfront Park in Atchison, KS. Veterans to be Honored in Atchison, KS
Atchison U.S.S. Arizona Memorial will be Dedicated May 31. A new veteran’s memorial in Atchison, Kansas will be dedicated on May 31, 2010. The new monument, an Eagle Scout Project, features a ‘sacred relic’ from the U.S.S Arizona. The ship was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. In the surprise attack, 1177 U.S. sailors and marines were killed on board the ship. Over 10% of the casualties on the USS Arizona were from the four states of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The artifact was brought to Kansas to honor those lost and to offer Midwest families a place to see & touch a piece of the U.S.S. Arizona closer to home than Hawaii. The tribute will honor the veterans of Pearl Harbor, as well as all U.S. veterans and active duty service men and women. All veterans are urged to attend. Lawton Huffman, 16, worked with the U.S. Navy to acquire the steel relic from the U.S.S. Arizona, then coordinated with the Military Officers Association of America, Pershing Chapter to take possession of the relic. Huffman then worked closely with a large number of businesses, City Council members and the Atchison Riverfront Development Foundation to make the dream a reality. “My goal for an Eagle Scout project was to find something that would bring honor to our Veterans”, said Huffman, who lives in Weston, MO. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the dedication to honor our veterans this Memorial Day. Riverfront Park is located the intersection of River Road and Commercial Street in Atchison, KS.
"Buck Day" Memorial Day at The K! May 31, 1:10 PM, Kauffman Stadium. in Honor of Memorial Day, the Royals are hosting, "Buck Day!" Fans can purchase hot dogs, small Pepsi products, peanuts and Twinkies for just $1 each. The Royals host the Los Angeles Angels in a 1:10 p.m. game on May 31.
Tickets range from $9-23/ea. 816.504.4040 www.kansascityroyals.com
Farm Fest May 31, 5:00 PM, Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. For one evening, the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead becomes a wonderland of exclusive kid-friendly entertainment. And you're our guests. The Farmstead will close early for this annual event that benefits the Farmstead, the Jewish Community Center and Operation Breakthrough. From 5 to 8 p.m., you can take in the live sights and sounds of Radio Disney and the Operation Breakthrough Drumming & Dance Troupe; bounce on the Moonwalk; make crafts; dig for dinosaurs; and savor a buffet of kid-friendly fare. And of course, there are all of your Farmstead favorites: bottle feeding baby goats; fishing at the pond; mining for precious gems and partying on the playground. Tickets can be purchased at the Farmstead, 138th and Switzer; the Jewish Community Center, 5801 W. 115th St., or online through Operation Breakthrough. Proceeds benefit these three organizations. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more Tickets sold as fundraiser. 913.897.2360 www.opkansas.org/Things-to-See-And-Do/Deanna-Rose-Childrens-Farmstead
FREE Summer Concert: Saucy Jack at The Legends May 31, 7:00 PM, The Legends at Village West. Free Summer Concert Series begins Memorial Day. Providence Medical Center and The Legends at Village West turn up the volume on summer fun with FREE concerts every Saturday night plus Memorial Day and Labor Day. Enjoy Kansas City's finest local and regional musicians, and brew patio, all surrounding The Legends fountain in the center courtyard. Bring the family or grab your friends and enjoy music and dancing, along with shopping and dining at over 100 stores and restaurants. The series kicks off on Memorial Day and continues every Saturday in June, July and August with the final concert Labor Day. www.legendsshopping.com