KCKidsFun

Things are heating up in KC with the heat indices hovering near 110 degrees.  Why not head to the beach?  A day of fun at the beach in landlocked KC can be had for a few bucks at most…and a vivid imagination would be helpful, too!

Blue Springs Lake at Fleming Park (which is in Lee’s Summit, not in Blue Springs - go figure…) has a one-acre beach and a marina. This lake is Lake Jacomo’s little sister (also in Fleming Park) but Jacomo doesn’t have a beach. You can rent a variety of styles of boats at each marina.

Longview Lake is in Kansas City, between Raytown and Lee’s Summit and just a stone’s throw from Grandview. Longview has a one-acre swimming beach and a full-service marina. Boat rental is available at the marina.

These two Jackson County MO beaches have lifeguards on duty and shower/restroom facilities. They are open from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm on weekdays; 11:00 am to 7:00 pm on weekends and holidays. Admission is $3/child or senior; $5/adult. Season passes are available.

Shawnee Mission Park Beach is in western Johnson County at 79th and Renner Road. The beach is open most days from 12 pm to 6 pm. Open Water Swim from 6pm until 7:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Daily rates are: $3/day for kids 12 and under and seniors; $5/day for the over 12 set, with  $.50 surcharge for non-residents.  Shawnee Mission Park also has a marina where you can rent canoes, fishing boats, two person sailboats and pedal boats!

Kill Creek Park Beach is located in Olathe, KS in the newest park in the Johnson County Parks & Rec system. The swimming beach and marine are open Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm. Prices are the same as at Shawnee Mission Park Beach and the marina offers similar boat rentals.

Smithville Lake, just north of the metro area, offers boating, swimming beaches, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, hiking trails and more. Pack a cooler and go! The Army Corps of Engineers is in charge and they require a $1/swimmer fee. You can’t really beat that price!

Also up north is the Watkins Woolen Mill State Park with a swimming beach at Williams Creek Lake. The Park is outside of Lawson, Missouri – just north of Excelsior Springs and east of Kearney. Camping, biking and fishing are also available here.

Head the opposite direction (south for those of you not paying attention…) and you’ll find Hillsdale Lake in Miami County, Kansas. That’s the county just south of Johnson County.  Two beaches with bathroom facilities are open from sunrise to sunset. The lake is surrounded by a beautiful Kansas State Park. Fishing, camping and boating are some of the other popular activities at Hillsdale.

Clinton Lake just outside of Lawrence, Kansas also has a popular swimming beach. Consider making this trip a whole weekend – camping, fishing (even a small children’s fishing pond), boating, trails, archery, disc golf courses, four playgrounds and sand volleyball courts!

Summer in the Kansas City metro means fairs and festivals! And they’ve already started! The Brookside Art Annual was held last month and the next few weeks brings the first wave of true summer events. The best news? Each and every fair has a TON of awesome activities to share with your kids!

So, get ready for Tilt-A-Whirls, funnel cakes, ferris wheels, corn dogs, cotton candy, livestock and live music. Fair and festival season is starting…and there are so many that you have ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE to not catch at least one!

The 2009 Kansas City fair and festival schedule looks like this:

Prairie Village Art Fair, Prairie Village, KS – May 29 thru May 31

Serb Fest – St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, College & Greenwood (west of Pflumm), Lenexa KS – May 29 and May 30

Old Shawnee Days – Shawnee, KS – June 4 thru June 7

Lee’s Summit Downtown Days – June 5 thru June 7

Festa Italiana – Zona Rosa, Kansas City North – June 5 thru June 7

Mardi Gras Days – downtown Overland Park, KS – June 5 and June 6

Vaile Strawberry Festival, Vaile Mansion, Independence, MO – June 6

Irish Street Fair – Kansas City, MO – June 6

Sugar Creek Slavic Fest – Sugar Creek, MO – June 12 and June 13

Greek Festival – St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church, Overland Park – June 12 thru June 14

Scottish Highland Games & Celtic Festival, E.H. Young Park, Riverside, MO – June 12 thru June 14

Dragon Boat Festival – Country Club Plaza, KCMO – June 13

Fiesta Filipina – Filipino Cultural Center, 79th St. between Antioch & Frontage in Overland Park – June 13 thru June 14

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

KC Riverfest – Berkley Riverfront Park, KCMO – July 2 thru July 4

Cass County Fair, Pleasant Hill, MO – July 14 thru July 19

Amelia Earhart Festival – Atchison, KS - July 17 thru July 18

Miami County Fair, Paola, KS – July 18 thru July 26

KC Fringe Festival – various KCMO locations – July 19  thru July 26

Platte County Fair, Platte City, MO – July 22 thru July 25

Douglas County Fair, Lawrence, KS – August 5 thru August 9

Wyandotte County Fair, Kansas City, KS – July 28 thru August 1 (CANCELED THIS YEAR DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF SPACE AT THE WOODLANDS)

Johnson County Fair, Gardner, KS – August 3 thru August 8 – don’t miss the rodeo, Family Fun Night or the parade!

Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO – August 13 thru August 23 – 12 & under FREE every day; lot of free kids’ entertainment

Festival of Butterflies, Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO – August 7 thru August 9 and August 14 thru August 16 – no carnival but still super cool!

Leavenworth County Fair, Tonganoxie, KS – August 11 thru August 15

Ethnic Enrichment Festival, Kansas City, MO – August 21 thru August 23

Trails West!, St. Joseph, MO – August 21 thru August 23

Parkville Days Riverfest, Parkville, MO – August 21 thru August 23

Lewis & Clark Trail Days, Buckner, MO – August 21 and August 22

Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 4 thru September 7 – 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 4 thru 6- awesome children’s area at this Crown Center event

Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bonner Springs, KS – August 30 thru October 13

The 48th Annual Annunciation Greek Food Festival, Kansas City, MO – September 11 thru September 13

Old Settlers Days, Olathe, KS – September 4 thru September 6

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

Kansas State Fair, Hutchinson, KS – September 11 thru September 20 – Nat & Alex Wolff, the Naked Brothers Band closes the Fair on the 20th!

Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival, Blue Springs, MO – September 18 thru September 20

Zona Rosa Art Festival, Kansas City north, MO – September 18 thru September 20

Jesse James Festival, Kearney, MO – September 11 thru September 20

Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO – September 25 thru September 27 – spend some time at the Kids’ Art Workshop!

(Photos via jonathan_moreau)

Spring Break has come and gone…and we enjoyed our “vacation” in Lawrence, KS!!  My husband and I took our son (7) and his friend to Lawrence and checked into an inexpensive hotel for the night.  I’ve written before how much fun a hotel can be…the electronic key card alone is cause for celebration.

We changed into swimming suits and headed straight for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Indoor Aquatic Center.  I had called ahead to check on Spring Break Week times and prices; the price was right at $3/kid.  The pool was great!  Part of the amazing Free State High School complex, the pool has spray features, a water slide, zero-depth entry, a swinging rope obstacle course and those anchored-down-toys that the kids climb on!  On the other side of the building is an enormous lap pool and diving boards.

Although the Aquatic Center itself is not any better than what you’d find at Overland Park’s own Matt Ross Community Center, it’s all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION–we were on vacation!  After several hours of swimming, we changed and headed over to the famed “Mass Street” for some window shopping and dinner.  If you haven’t been, Lawrence is a great family-friendly town, perfect for a day trip or even an overnight.  We wrote a series of articles “Weekend Getaways from KC” last year and even profiled Lawrence (#3:  Eastern Kansas).  Check those out for some good ideas!

Speaking of Matt Ross Community Center, my son attended a birthday party there last week and had a blast.  They had a great room available for the cake, presents, etc., and the kids enjoyed the pool on a Friday night.  The pool was still open to the community, but nobody seemed to mind a bit!  Summer is coming…but you still will need to take advantage of the city’s indoor swim facilities to get your swim on until at least June 1 when it’s a bit warmer out.  Check out our great listing of indoor pools here.

The last thing that we did over vacation week was visit the indoor batting cages.  We went to Mac N Seitz’s, at 137th Street and Holmes in South Kansas City.  It’s a great place for the kids to hit some balls and knock the rust off as they get ready for spring/summer ball!  Mac N Seitz’s features several speeds of machines…so everyone can find something, from slower-pitching softballs to major-league fast baseballs!