KCKidsFun

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)

Basehor

Little Friends Preschool 1410 N. 155th St. (Basehor, KS)

Bonner Springs

Bonner Springs-Edwardsville USD 204 Preschool Program Delaware Ridge Elementary (Bonner Springs)

Language Lane Preschool (Bonner Springs, KS) – 15360 Kansas Ave., 913-721-2183

Miss Stephanie’s Academy (Bonner Springs, KS) – 600 N. 118th St., 913-721-3770

Kansas City, KS

Christ the King Catholic School 3027 N. 54th St. (KCK)

Frances Willard Early Childhood Center 2220 N. 59th St. (KCK)

Hillview Christian 701 N. 78th St. (KCK)

Holy Name School 1007 Southwest Blvd. (KCK)

Kansas City KS Public Schools Education Center 4601 State Ave. (KCK)

Kansas City KS Public Schools Lowell Preschool 1030 Orville (KCK)

Kansas City KS Public Schools Morse Preschool 912 S. Baltimore (KCK)

Mama Boot’s Preschool 3112 S. 51st St. (KCK) 913-262-8460

Muncie Christian School 67th & Leavenworth Rd. (KCK)

Our Lady’s Montessori 3020 S. 7th St. (KCK)

Our Saviour Lutheran Preschool 4153 Rainbow (KCK)

Resurrection Catholic School 422 N. 14th St. (KCK)

St. Benedict’s Special Children’s Center 220 S. 9th St. (KCK)

Tots & Tales Montessori 9000 State Ave. (KCK) 913-334-4570

Uncle Sam’s Academy – at the U.S. Courthouse/G.S.A. -500 State Ave. (KCK) 913-551-6690

Lansing

A Deere Place 1104 Industrial St. (Lansing)

Kindercare 100 E. Mary (Lansing)

Leavenworth

Children’s Montessori 3812 Clayton Dr. (Leavenworth) 913-651-6168

Fort Leavenworth Child Development Center (Ft. Leavenworth)

Guidance Preschool 2715 S. 15th (Leavenworth) 913-651-2672

Jack & Jill Preschool 130 N. Sixth (Leavenworth)

Leavenworth USD 453 Pre-Kindergarten Program (various locations in Leavenworth)

St. Paul Lutheran 320 N. 7th St. (Leavenworth)

Trinity Lutheran Preschool 2101 10th Ave. (Leavenworth)

Wallula Christian Preschool 23785 139th St. (Leavenworth)

Women’s Community Y 520 S. Broadway (Leavenworth) 913-682-6404

Xavier Catholic Elementary Preschool (Leavenworth)

Tonganoxie

Genesis Christian School Preschool 204 Washington (Tonganoxie)

Tonganoxie United Methodist PDO 328 E. 4th St. (Tonganoxie)

***Please let us know if there is a great preschool in Wyandotte or Leavenworth Counties that we need to add to our listing! Submit it via our CONTACT FORM and we’ll get right on it! Thanks! ***

Did you catch a glimpse of the oh-so-elusive sun that came out of hiding yesterday?! How nice was that? If you’ve been feeling like a prisoner in your water-logged home the past week or two, now’s your time to get back outside. We are supposed to have a fantastic week, with September-appropriate temperatures nearing 80 degrees each day. Warm sunny days followed by cool nights…what could be better?

With gas prices so expensive and the weather so nice, how about hitting the trails with your kids? Grab your bikes and helmets, and get pedaling! Biking and walking trails have been a hot topic lately in the local news. According to Jennifer Blattman of the Mid-America Regional Council, the Kansas City region boasts nationally recognized trails and parks systems, including MetroGreen, a partially completed 1144-mile interconnected system of public and private open spaces, greenways and trails designed to link seven counties in the metro. The plan covers Leavenworth County, Johnson County and Wyandotte County as well as Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri. There is also a new initiative in place for Kansas City, Mo–Trails! KC aims to add an additional 200 miles of connected trails to the system.

For some great ideas on where to bike, check out this site. Or if hiking is more your speed, take a look at the book Hiking Kansas City for some cool ideas. Get outside with your kids, get pedaling or hiking, and soak up that sun!