KCKidsFun

For many, many Kansas City-area families, this weekend is summer’s last hurrah.  What will you be doing this weekend – other than scrambling to get ready for school on Monday?!

Here’s our list of great weekend family-friendly fun in Kansas City -

Friday, August 14, 2009

• Festival of Butterflies, Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO – this weekend
• Friday Night Films at Reading Reptile, Brookside, KCMO – 7pm – FREE – this week: The Little Prince
• Free Friday Night Flicks – Crown Center (KCMO) – bring your blankets and chairs – movie at dusk – this week: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – FREE!
• Summer Movie Nights at Briarcliff Village (Kansas City North) – outdoors, 7pm, bring blankets and chairs! – this week: Ghostbusters II – FREE!
• Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO – thru August 23 – carnival, entertainment, circus, exhibits – FREE admission for kids under 12
• Benefit Concert for Autism Speaks with Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove – Shawnee Civic Center – events begin at 5:30pm
• Leavenworth County Fair, Tonganoxie, KS – August 11 thru August 15
• Family Night Out at Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary (Liberty, MO) – camping and breakfast the next morning with hiking, owl prowling and astronomy in between
• G.I. Joe Convention 2009 – Hyatt Regency Crown Center – August 13 thru August 16
• 8th Annual BBQ & Fly-In on the River – Municipal Airport, Excelsior Springs, MO – August 14 & 15 – BBQ, live music, fireworks, kids’ games and more!
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid Ice Cream Truck Tour – Kansas City Public Library, Waldo Branch – 11am to 1pm – FREE!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

• Barbie, LaMar’s Donuts with the Lemurs and Cheetah Run at the Kansas City Zoo – visit the zoo website for times and details!
• Funky Mama LIVE! at the Johnson County Museum’s Pop N Play (Shawnee, KS) – 1pm – $2 per child, no pre-registration req’d
• Carving a Canoe – Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center (KCMO) – 10am to 3pm - FREE!
• Festival of Butterflies, Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO – this weekend
• Sprint Family Fun Days in the Power & Light District, KCMO – 12pm to 4pm – games, crafts, activities and Radio Disney! August’s theme is “Imagination Station.” Come sing along with Mr. Stinky Feet as he takes the stage and leads your kids on an imagination exploration. - FREE!
• Live at the Legends (KCK) – live music for mom & dad; Wonderscope Kids’ Zone for the little ones! – 5pm to 8pm – FREE!
• Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO – thru August 23 – carnival, entertainment, circus, exhibits – FREE admission for kids under 12
• Free Movie in the Park – Colman Park, Raytown, MO – movie begins at dusk – Bolt – FREE!
• Saturday Dive-In Movies at the Westin Crown Center (KCMO) – movie begins at sundown; food/drink available for poolside service - this week’s flick: Journey to the Center of the Earth (open to registered hotel guests only)
  
• Leavenworth County Fair, Tonganoxie, KS – August 11 thru August 15
• Jim Cosgrove & the Hiccups live at LifeBridge Church’s Saturday in the Park at Knights of Columbus Park, Shawnee Mission Parkway & Midland Dr., Shawnee, KS – 6pm to 8:30pm (Mr. Stinky Feet performs at 7pm) – games, activities, food, entertainment – FREE!
• 8th Annual BBQ & Fly-In on the River – Municipal Airport, Excelsior Springs, MO – August 14 & 15 – BBQ, live music, fireworks, kids’ games and more!
• G.I. Joe Convention 2009 – Hyatt Regency Crown Center – August 13 thru August 16

Sunday, August 16, 2009

• Festival of Butterflies, Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO – this weekend
• Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO – thru August 23 – carnival, entertainment, circus, exhibits – FREE admission for kids under 12
• Batman at the Kansas City Zoo – visit the zoo website for details!
• G.I. Joe Convention 2009 – Hyatt Regency Crown Center – August 13 thru August 16

If you know of something else going on this weekend in the Kansas City metro area that would be great for kids and families, please let us know in the Comments below!! Thanks and have a great, relaxing weekend – see you at school on Monday!!

(The photo is of my youngest two at the old schoolhouse at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park.)

Who knew that Kansas City was chock-full of Irishmen–not to mention those who are Irish for a day!!  Tomorrow marks the official start of the week’s festivities.  Everyone knows that Kansas City is a great place to throw back a beer (anyone ever been to Kelly’s in Westport on St. Patrick’s Day?!?) but it’s also a great family-friendly place to spend the day, as well.  The fun starts tomorrow in North Kansas City…here we go!

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

• 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 and carnival 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.  Now that’s what I call a fun afternoon!!
• St. Patrick’s Day “Warm-Up” Parade, Brookside/KCMO, 2pm.  (This is the one pictured above with my son and two friends.)  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!

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

• Shawnee Parade, Shawnee, KS, 1-3pm.  This family-friendly parade is followed by the ever-popular Annual Shawnee Great (plastic) Duck Race; 4:30pm at the creek at Nieman Rd. and 61st Street.  There is a $5/duck donation requested to benefit the Shawnee Sister Cities Program.  Parade is on Monrovia 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 a Young Princess and Prince of the Parade contest at 12:30pm).

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 (THE BIG DAY!!)

• The granddaddy of them all, the KCMO St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 11:00am.  The biggest news here is that the parade itself has been moved from downtown’s Grand Avenue to the Westport area.  The parade will go south on Broadway to 41st Street, beginning at 33rd Street–a straight shot!
• Leavenworth Parade, Leavenworth, KS, noon.  Runs through the city’s downtown, with a noon start at 4th and Cherokee.  Stay after for a corned beef dinner at the VFW Post.
• If you’ll be in the Westport area, 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 featuring a performance by Kansas City’s own “Mr. Stinky Feet”–Jim Cosgrove at 2pm.  (I’ve linked back to an article we did on Jim Cosgrove last July…for more KC kid music, check our Archives!!)  Moonwalks, face painting, Irish food…what more could a family want?

Who knew that Kansas City was chock-full of Irishmen–not to mention those who are Irish for a day!!  Tomorrow marks the official start of the week’s festivities.  Everyone knows that Kansas City is a great place to throw back a beer (anyone ever been to Kelly’s in Westport on St. Patrick’s Day?!?) but it’s also a great family-friendly place to spend the day, as well.  The fun starts tomorrow in North Kansas City…here we go!

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

• 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 and carnival 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.  Now that’s what I call a fun afternoon!!
• St. Patrick’s Day “Warm-Up” Parade, Brookside/KCMO, 2pm.  (This is the one pictured above with my son and two friends.)  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!

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

• Shawnee Parade, Shawnee, KS, 1-3pm.  This family-friendly parade is followed by the ever-popular Annual Shawnee Great (plastic) Duck Race; 4:30pm at the creek at Nieman Rd. and 61st Street.  There is a $5/duck donation requested to benefit the Shawnee Sister Cities Program.  Parade is on Monrovia 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 a Young Princess and Prince of the Parade contest at 12:30pm).

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 (THE BIG DAY!!)

• The granddaddy of them all, the KCMO St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 11:00am.  The biggest news here is that the parade itself has been moved from downtown’s Grand Avenue to the Westport area.  The parade will go south on Broadway to 41st Street, beginning at 33rd Street–a straight shot!
• Leavenworth Parade, Leavenworth, KS, noon.  Runs through the city’s downtown, with a noon start at 4th and Cherokee.  Stay after for a corned beef dinner at the VFW Post.
• If you’ll be in the Westport area, 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 featuring a performance by Kansas City’s own “Mr. Stinky Feet”–Jim Cosgrove at 2pm.  (I’ve linked back to an article we did on Jim Cosgrove last July…for more KC kid music, check our Archives!!)  Moonwalks, face painting, Irish food…what more could a family want?