KCKidsFun

Believe it or not, it’s almost time for Kansas City’s 2011 Spring Consignment Sales! There are lots of them popping up all over the city.  Your kids are growing like weeds and the economy is sputtering…a consignment sale might be just what you’ve been looking for– as a buyer, seller or both.

Here’s how they work: you can generally participate by becoming either a consignor, volunteer or shopper.  (Therefore, you can both make and spend money!)  You’ll need to price and tag your items and be prepared to pay an entry fee in the neighborhood of $10.  Then, get ready to take home up to 70% of your sales!  Some sales are limited in scope to only clothing, while others accept and sell anything from clothing to furniture to sporting goods.  We’ve compiled a listing of upcoming sales and maintain the listing of Consignment Sales year-round–you can click here to see it.

If you run or represent a consignment sale–and would like to purchase featured, prominent placement via a Sponsored Listing – (like Here We Grow Again, Kids’ Closet Connection and Rhea Lana’s) – all you need to do is contact me.  Just email me at kiran@kckidsfun.com or leave a comment below. I am also happy to update sale dates for you. Happy Selling!  Happy Shopping!  *Note:  Quite a few of these don’t have the 2011 sale dates yet. Please send them to me so I can update!!*

Sponsored Listings:

Here We Grow Again (multiple locations around the Kansas City metro). We are looking for consignors, shoppers and volunteers! We accept and sell quality gently-used and new kids clothing, toys, bedding, furniture, sporting and play equipment–anything having to do with kids!! Shop the great bargains. Admission is free! Contact Trish or Beth info@herewegrowagain.com 913-940-7963. Next sales: (multiple locations across the Kansas City metro) March 23-26 Blue Springs, MO/Independence, MO @ Sports City, 425 NE Mock Ave. March 23-26Topeka, KS @ 3343 S. Topeka Blvd. March 29-April 2 Olathe, KS @588 E. Santa Fe, Olathe (just west of I-35 in former Dillons location). April 7-10Merriam/Shawnee, KS @ Merriam Village (I-35 & Johnson Drive in former Circuit City Bldg). April 16-19Grandview, MO @ 15201 US 71 (Crystal Ballroom/Rodeway Inn).

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Kids’ Closet Connection (multiple locations across the Kansas City metro) Next Sales:

Gardner, KS –Aug 24-29 2010 (open to public Aug 26-29), Jo. Co Fairgrounds 4H Building 136 East Washington Street; Lawrence, KS – Mar 4-7 , 2011, Holiday Inn Convention Center -200 McDonald Dr;  Leavenworth, KS Sept. 22 – 26, 2010, Leavenworth Shopping Plaza 3400 S 4th Street;  Overland Park, KS — August 31-September 3, Overland Park Convention Ctr 6000 College Blvd.;  Topeka, KS — September 07-11 , 720 NW 50th Street;  Blue Springs, MO April 28th-30th, 2011 , Sports City 425 NE Mock Ave.;  Harrisonville, MO — September 17-19 , 2402 N STATE ROUTE 291 Cass County Elks Lodge;   Lee’s Summit, MO April 7th – 9th, 2011 , Lakeland Community Church 913 NE Colbern Road;   North Kansas City, MO May 25- 27, 2011, Shoal Creek Community Church 6816 South Church Road;  Saint Joseph, MO — September 29-October 01 , American Legion Hall 4826 Frederick Avenue

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Rhea Lana’s of Lee’s Summit, MO

Rhea Lana’s is an upscale children’s consignment event where you can earn up to 80% of your sales!  We love CLOTHING AND CONNECTING FAMILIES and are always looking for consignors, volunteers and shoppers.
Next Sale Dates:

April 26 – May 1, 2011.  Event to be held at The Sports Lodge off 40 Highway.  erin@rhealana.com,816-522-5511.

Rhea Lana’s of Overland Park, May 4-7, 2011 at The Prairie Village Shopping Center. Contact Katelyn at 816-308-6672 or Mel at 816-590-9839.

Basic Listings:

All About Kids (Independence, MO) at the KC Sports Lodge, March 25-27, 2011.

Double Joy Mothers of Multiples Club (Lee’s Summit, MO) – next sale: no fall sale this year.

Greater Kansas City Mothers of Twins Club (metro-wide, meetings in south KCMO) – next sale: March 26, 2011 at First Church of the Nazarene, KCMO.

Johnson County Mothers of Multiples Club (Johnson County, KS) – next sale: April 29-30, 2011 at Indian Creek Community Church, Olathe, KS

Just Between Friends (Northland) – next sale:  February 26-27, 2011, KCI Expo Center, KCMO

Just Between Friends (Lee’s Summit, MO) – next sale: Feb 20-23, 2011

Just Between Friends (Overland Park, KS) – next sale: March 3-6, 2011 at Overland Park International Trade Center.

Just Between Friends (Shawnee, KS & Kansas City, KS) – March 25-27, 2011 at Kansas Speedway.

Kansas City Northland Mothers of Multiples Club – next sale: April 9, 2011 at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Kansas City North

KC Kids Sale –   June 2011, Lawrence, KS @ Knights of Columbus, and March 24-26, 2011, Tonganoxie, KS @ Leavenworth County Fairgrounds.

MDC Booster Club – Oct. 23, 2010, 9am-3pm @ 186 NW Oldham Parkway, Lee’s Summit, MO 64081. DANCEWEAR SALE…The sale will include gently used or new leotards, skirts, dance shorts or pants, dance shoes, and costumes.  ALL proceeds benefit Mindy’s Dance Center (MDC). If you are interested in selling your child’s dancewear items, please email the MDC Booster club at MDCBoosterclub@gmail.com.

Mothers of Multiples (GKC) – next sale is March 26, 2011.

The Kansas City air is getting hot and sticky. The mosquitos are biting and the kids are already complaining of boredom. Must be June in Kansas City!

And June in Kansas City means the start of a long schedule of fairs and festivals! We’ve already seen the Brookside Art Annual, the Prairie Village Art Show, Old Shawnee Days and Lee’s Summit Downtown Days.

But there are plenty left!  And each and every fair has a TON of awesome activities to share with your kids! KC’s fair and festival season is starting…and there are so many that you have ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE to not catch at least one!

The 2010 Kansas City fair and festival schedule looks like this:

Sugar Creek Slavic Festival - Sugar Creek, MO – June 11 and June 12

Scottish Highland Games & Celtic Festival, E.H. Young Park, Riverside, MO – June 11 thru June 13

Greek Festival – St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church, Overland Park – June 11 thru June 13

Dragon Boat Festival, Brush Creek near the Country Club Plaza, KCMO – June 12

Fiesta Filipina – Filipino Cultural Center, 79th St. between Antioch & Frontage in Overland Park – June 12 and June 13

Festival on the Trails, Gardner, KS – June 12

Belton (MO) Community Days, Mackey Park – June 16 thru June 19

Browne’s Irish Street Faire – Kansas City, MO – June 19

Chalk & Walk Festival, Crown Center Square, Kansas City, MO – June 19 & June 20

28th Annual Waterfest, Excelsior Springs, MO – June 26 and June 27

KC Riverfest – Berkley Riverfront Park, KCMO – July 3 and July 4

Cass County Fair, Pleasant Hill, MO – July 13 thru July 18

Amelia Earhart Festival – Atchison, KS - July 16 and July 17

Miami County Fair, Paola, KS – July 24 thru July 31

KC Fringe Festival – various KCMO locations – July 23 thru August 1

Platte County Fair, Platte City, MO – July 21 thru July 24

Douglas County Fair, Lawrence, KS – August 3 thru August 7

Wyandotte County Fair, Kansas City, KS – July 27 thru July 30 (4H fair only this year; to be held in Leavenworth County due to unavailability of new fairgrounds)

Johnson County Fair, Gardner, KS – August 2 thru August 7 – don’t miss the rodeo, Family Fun Night or the parade!

Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO – August 12 thru August 22 – 12 & under FREE every day; lot of free kids’ entertainment

Festival of Butterflies, Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO – August 6 thru August 8 and August 13 thru August 15 – no carnival but still super cool!

Leavenworth County Fair, Tonganoxie, KS – August 10 thru August 14

5th Annual Midwest Kids Fest, Overland Park, KS – August 21 and 22, Overland Park Trade Center

Ethnic Enrichment Festival, Kansas City, MO – August 20 thru August 22

Trails West!, St. Joseph, MO – August 20 thru August 22

Parkville Days Riverfest, Parkville, MO – August 20 thru August 22

Lewis & Clark Trail Days, Buckner, MO – August 27 and August 28

Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!

Kansas City Irish Fest, Kansas City, MO – September 3 thru 5 – awesome children’s area at this Crown Center event

Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bonner Springs, KS – September 4 thru October 17

The 48th Annual Annunciation Greek Food Festival, Kansas City, MO – September 10 thru September 12

Old Settlers Days, Olathe, KS – September 9 thru September 11

Valley Fair Days, Grain Valley, MO – September 10 and September 11

Kansas State Fair, Hutchinson, KS – September 10 thru September 19 – Selena Gomez closes the Fair on the 19th!

Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival, Blue Springs, MO – September 17 thru September 19

Zona Rosa Art Festival, Kansas City north, MO – September 17 thru September 19

Jesse James Festival, Kearney, MO – September 10 thru September 19

Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO – September 24 thru September 26 – spend some time at the Kids’ Art Workshop!

(Photos via jonathan_moreau)

I love county fairs. I’m a suburban girl who always wanted to be a small town girl. The idea of hanging out on a sticky summer evening at the fair, seeing friends from school and their families, eating cotton candy and funnel cakes, spending all the money you could possibly squeeze out of your parents is pure Americana.

I’m not sure that my nostalgic memories of county fairs are completely accurate – but, at least in my recent experience, it’s pretty darn close. There’s not much left in the way of family fun that can be considered a throw-back to our childhoods and those of our parents. But county fairs were enjoyed by our parents and their parents before them.

And we here in the Kansas City area are heading into the thick of the county fair schedule.

On the south side of town, Paola, KS hosts the Miami County Fair, starting Wednesday, July 22 and running through Saturday, July 25. Highlights include a carnival, a rodeo and a demolition derby.

If north of the river is more your speed, check out the Platte County Fair in Platte City, MO. This one also runs July 22 through July 25 and features lots of live music, demolition derbies, 4-H exhibits, petting zoos, kids’ games, carnival rides and much, much more. With a traditional fair queen contest and little Missy/Master contests, this fair still has a real small/rural community feel. Love it.

The Wyandotte County Fair was canceled this year due to changes at The Woodlands and an inability to secure an alternate location. 4H events are still being held at another location but no entertainment or carnival this year!

But the fair goes on in Gardner, KS beginning on Monday, August 3, 2009. The Johnson County Fair runs from August 3rd through August 8th. Highlights include flat track racing, barrel racing, the rodeo, Family Fun Night, 4H exhibits, livestock auction, a carnival and a great parade! My kids adore this fair!

Lawrence, KS hosts the Douglas County Fair from August 5 through August 9. Petting zoo, pony rides, turtle races, pedal tractor pulls, livestock shows and a carnival are all sure to be hits with your kids.

If you really want to go big, head to Sedalia, MO for the Missouri State Fair, from August 13 through August 23. I can’t even begin to list the highlights of the state fair – but I’ll start with this: kids 12 & under get FREE admission every day!

And, to close out the county fair season, the Leavenworth County Fair hits Tonganoxie, KS from August 11 through August 15. A parade kicks off the week and is followed by fun times such as draft horse pulls, pedal tractor pulls, 4H exhibits and judging, carnival, turtle races, a mud run and a rodeo!

The Kansas City-area fairs and festivals don’t end once school begins either. Check out our full listing of 2009’s local fairs and festivals for lots more to do and see in August and September!