KCKidsFun

Spring break has snuck up on us. How do I know?! Because Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities begin this weekend!

Back in the day, St. Patrick’s Day meant that we headed out to Kelly’s and other Westport bars (are we showing our age?!) but these days, St. Patrick’s Day in KC is a family-friendly holiday! And the fun starts…NOW!

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2011

• Snake Saturday Parade, North Kansas City, MO, 11am-1pm.  Parade features over 100 entries and 6 marching bands, with the epicenter being at Armour Road near Howell.  There is a Family FunFest with Mr. Stinky Feet after the parade until 3pm.
• Lee’s Summit Emerald Isle Parade, Lee’s Summit, MO, 1pm.  Parade starts at Lee’s Summit High School and ends with a pub crawl through downtown Lee’s Summit.
• St. Patrick’s Day “Warm-Up” Parade, Brookside/KCMO, 2pm. Parade begins at 65th and Wornall, goes to 63rd St., then east on 63rd to Main, south to Meyer Blvd., then west on Meyer to Brookside.  This one is tons of fun!
• Tonganoxie St. Patrick’s Parade, Tonganoxie, KS – 10am

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2011

• Shawnee Parade, Shawnee, KS, 1pm.  Parade begins at Monrovia and Johnson Drive and goes east on Johnson Drive to Nieman.
• Martin City Parade, Martin City, MO, 2pm.  Parade route goes east on 135th Street from Washington to Holmes.  Parade festivities begin at 11am (Irishpalooza events featuring ponies from Faulkners Ranch and a Young Princess and Prince of the Parade contest at 12:30pm).

THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011 (THE BIG DAY!!)

• The granddaddy of them all, the KCMO St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 11:00am.  The parade will go south on Broadway to 41st Street, beginning at 33rd Street–a straight shot! The “family-friendly” end of the parade will be closer to 33rd St and Redemptorist Church; the closer you get to Westport, the more raucous we’ll expect it to be!
• Main Street Belton St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Belton, MO – 5pm
• Lawrence St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Lawrence, KS – 1pm at South Park
• Leavenworth Parade, downtown Leavenworth, KS, noon.  Runs through the city’s downtown, with a noon start at 4th and Cherokee.
• If you’re going to the Kansas City parade, you will want to spend some time at Browne’s Irish Market, 3300 Pennsylvania, KCMO.  Irish food will be served up round-the-clock, beginning with breakfast (7am) followed by lunch (11:30am to 4pm).  There will be a family fun area with bounce houses and more.

**photo courtesy of jpmpinmontreal via flickr

UPDATE AUG 14, 2010:  TICKET WINNER!!!!

***Congratulations to Lori Smith– our lucky winner!  (Lori will be contacted via private email with all of the details!)***

Lori will receive a 4-pack of tickets to Schlitterbahn Vacation Village Waterpark in Kansas City, KS– thanks to our friends at KC Pumpkin Patch. With fall right around the corner, it’s a great time to check out and “like” their Facebook page so you can be in-the-know on anything and everything pumpkin!!!

Many thanks to all who entered.  Enjoy these last precious days of summer with your families and friends!  ~K&K

The Reading Reptile is celebrating the Grand Opening of a bakery!  And it sounds amazing!  Head over to Le Petit Rouge (“Little Red” for you non-Francophiles!) at Reading Reptile on Saturday, August 14, 2010 from 11am-4pm and join in the fun.  If you place an order for a birthday cake or dozen cupcakes, you’ll receive a coupon for 20% OFF your next book purchase at the Reading Reptile!  I absolutely LOVE the names of the treats to be had at the Fairytale Bakery; I can’t wait to try the “Robin Hood”– insanely intriguing and I’m sure equally delicious.  If you’re not familiar with Reading Reptile, it’s a fabulous, locally-owned bookseller located in Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood at 328 W. 63rd St.  Enjoy!

My big kids didn’t have school on Tuesday (because, well, I have no earthly clue why…). They had a doctor’s appointment at 11. So, we dropped the little ones off at Mother’s Day Out and I took my first- and second-graders to brunch at First Watch in Prairie Village. It was a special treat to go out with my big kids without the chatty presence of their three-year-old brothers.

We popped in and out of the pediatrician’s office after a pile of chocolate chip pancakes. And we headed to Brookside.

We live in south Johnson County so Brookside is a fun outing – for me and for the kids. I didn’t live in Brookside as a kid but I did spend a lot of time there, “back in the day”. My cousins were Brookside kids – we roamed the neighborhood on foot and on bikes for hours at a time. Bruce Smith Drugs on the corner, the Dime Store, Brookside Toy & Science and more.

Fast forward thirty years and we rode down 63rd Street not on Schwinns but in a Suburban. First stop, Brookside Toy & Science. We explored from front to back – spending a lot of time looking at insects, skeletons, microscopes, Legos, board games, Madame Alexander dolls and more. My son carefully selected a small Star Wars Lego set and purchased with his birthday money.

We then ventured down a few doors to the Reading Reptile, truly the most welcoming and wonderful children’s bookstore I’ve ever encountered. Each visit is just as fun as the last. My kids enjoy visiting with the store cats, wandering from shelf to shelf and then picking a chair to settle in and read for a while. If you’ve never been, you really should take an hour and explore Reading Reptile – the books are carefully selected by store owners who love children and children’s literature.

And, finally, the New Dime Store. A treasure. The original wooden floors and an always fun and wide variety of merchandise. Party plates and napkins, candles, toys, ribbon, crafting supplies, holiday decor, kitchen gadgets, stationery, cleaning supplies, office goods – all the stuff you didn’t know you needed until you saw it on the shelf at the New Dime Store. My kids love it as much as I did. My daughter chose a Barbie from the toy aisle and borrowed $8 from me to pay for it.

Then, we headed south to pick up the little guys and our day out was done. But our little 20 minute drive was just what we needed to reconnect and enjoy each other. I had to promise both of them that we’d do it again soon!

Next time, we’ll add lunch at Sharp’s followed by Baskin-Robbins or Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard to the mix for the quintessential Brookside afternoon…