KCKidsFun

Got this newsletter from the city of Overland Park (OP) in yesterday’s mail…and it had a neat listing of “Outdoor Special Events” between now and the end of 2010.  Here are the highlights:

• Overland Park Fall Festival & Arts and Crafts Fair- annual event featuring vendors from throughout the Midwest. Saturday, Sept 25, 2010, 9am-5pm.  Parade through downtown OP at 10am.  Located from the Farmer’s Market all the way to Santa Fe Commons Park.  Arts & Crafts info, call 913-344-8656, for parade info, call 913-64-2222.

• Pooch Plunge- entire family is welcome to watch your pooch plunge into the pool!  Open to the public; residents and non-residents of OP. Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, 3-5pm at Tomahawk Ridge Community Center (TRCC-119th and Lowell).  Fee is $5 per dog. Dogs must be current on vaccinations with proof to enter facility. These include rabies, kennel cough, fecal and distemper.  Call 913-895-6390 with questions.

• Fishing Rodeo- Get expert advice while fishing for fun and prizes.  Free bait!  Free hot dogs and drinks provided by VFW and Ladies’ Auxiliary of Post 846.  For 3-12 year olds, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010.  9-11 am at South Lake Park, 86th and Valley View. FREE, bring your own fishing pole.  Info- call 913-895-6390.

• NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick Competition- For boys and girls, divided into 4 age/gender divisions: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-15. Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, 9am-1pm at the new Overland Park Soccer Complex, 135th and Switzer.  *Each participant needs to bring a copy of their birth certificate.  No spikes allowed.  For info, call 913-895-6390.

• Adult’s Punt, Pass and Kick- Men’s and Women’s divisions for those 18 and over.  Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, from 91m-1pm.  OP Soccer Complex, free of charge.  For info, call 913-895-6390.

• Trick or Treat Trail- 3rd annual safe night of trick-or-treating featuring pumpkin patch and “apple orchard” for the kids.  Free for all!  Candy, crafts, games, toys, face painting, and more. Real firefighters and police officers will be on hand to greet the kiddos!  Bring your treat sack– and wear your costume, of course!  Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010, 3-6pm at Matt Ross Community Center, 8101 Marty.  For info, call 913-895-6390.

• Halloween Family Concert Fest- Featuring the OP Orchestra in costume!  And the Legacy School of Dance in a performance of ghouls and goblins.  Cookies and punch reception.  Everyone welcome. DATE, TIME and PLACE T.B.A.  Check here to find details as they are made available.  Kids– wear your costumes for the costume parade across the stage!  Call 913-344-8656 for info.

• Children’s Entertainment & Concerts- FREE, Wednesdays at 10am. Featuring kid-friendly stories and music.  Live entertainment!

1. Sept. 1, storytelling featuring Priscilla Howe, TRCC.  (119th and Lowell)
2. Sept. 1, Funky Mama at MRCC. (81st and Marty)
3. Oct. 6, Funky Mama at TRCC.
4. Oct. 27, Stone Lion Puppet Theatre Show at TRCC.
5. Nov. 3, Funky Mama at MRCC.
6. Dec. 1, storytelling at MRCC.
7. Dec. 1, Funky Mama at TRCC.
8. Dec. 15, Stone Lion Puppet Theatre Show at TRCC.

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)

Readers–here it is–a listing of major KC-metro area pools, open to the public, and their locations! Pools will generally open for the season next Saturday, May 29, 2010–the start of Memorial Weekend. (That’s no guarantee that the water is warm!!!) They are listed by city to make it as easy as possible to navigate. Many of the pools offer swimming lessons, as well. I’ve included the link to each city’s aquatics website…simply click on the city and you’ll see the corresponding aquatics page. These city-specific pages offer detailed information on lessons, pool hours and daily/season fees, if applicable. PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL IF I’VE FORGOTTEN YOUR FAVORITE POOL! I can easily add it to the list. Happy Swimming! And above all, be safe!!

Overland Park, KS and Leawood, KS

• Bluejacket, 101st and Bond, 913.327.5671
• Marty, 74th and Conser, 913.327.5672
• Roe, 104th and Roe, 913.327.5673
• Stonegate, 97th and Antioch, 913.327.5674
• TRAC, 119th and Lowell, 913.327.5675
• Young’s, 77th and Antioch, 913.327.5676
• Leawood Aquatic Center, 10601 Lee Blvd., 913.327.3977

Olathe, KS and Prairie Village, KS

• Black Bob Pool, 14570 W. 151st St., 913.764.9720
• Mill Creek Pool, 320 E. Poplar, 913.829.9811
• Frontier Pool, 15909 W. 127th St., 913.829.9730
• Oregon Trail Pool, 1800 W. Dennis, 913.829.9815
• City of Prairie Village Pool, 7711 Delmar, 913.642.6010

Lee’s Summit, MO

• Legacy Park Community Center, 901 NE Bluestem Drive, 816.969.1550
• Summit Waves, NE corner of Hwys 50 and 291 South, 816.969.1515

Kansas City, MO

• Brush Creek community center, 3801 Emmanuel Cleaver II Blvd., 816.784.4000
• Budd Park, Budd Park Espl. & Denver Ave., 816.784.2600
• Grove Park, 3031 E. Truman, 816.231.9568
• Swope Park, Swope Park- 67th and Lewis, 816.513.8915
• Southeast Community Center, 4201 E. 63rd, 816.513.7500
• Arbor Villa, 66th Terrace and Main St.  - opens June 8, 2010
• Ashland, 23rd and Elmwood streets  - opens June 8
• Gillham, 41st and Gillham streets – opens June 8
• West Terrace, 16th and Jarboe streets  - opens June 8
• KCMO “Spraygrounds” - Douglas Park, 2632 Jarboe St. - Harmony Park, 10th Street and Agnes - Longview Park, 7101 Longview Road (Closed Mondays) - Loose Park, 52nd Terrace and Summit - Parade Park, The Paseo and Truman Road - Sunnyside Park, 8255 Summit (Closed Mondays)
• Golden Oaks Park sprayground, East of Antioch at approx. 47th Street in the Northland
• Garrison Community Center, 4th and Forest at Columbus Park

For hours and additional information on classes and parties, call 816.513.7500.

Shawnee, KS

• Splash Cove at Jim Allen Aquatic Center, 5800 King, 913.631.7177
• Thomas A. Saetaert Aquatic Center, 13805 Johnson Drive, 913.631.0054

Lenexa, KS

• Ad Astra Pool, 83rd and Maurer, 913.492.SWIM
• Flat Rock Creek Pool, 103rd and Hauser, 913.888.3202
• Indian Trails Aquatic Center, 87th and Greenway Lane, 913.888.4659

Independence, MO and Blue Springs, MO

• Adventure Oasis Water Park, 23rd Street just west of 291 Hwy., 816.325.7843
• Water playgrounds to cool off: 24 Hwy/N. Delaware and 24th & Hardy streets
• Blue Springs Centennial Pool Plex, 2401 W. Ashton Drive, 816.228.0188

Liberty, MO

• Liberty Community Center, 1600 S. Withers Rd.
• Spraygrounds at: Ruth Moore Park, 401 N. Morse and City Park, 970 S. Highway 291

Gladstone, MO

• Municipal Pool, Central Park, 69th & North Holmes, 816.436.2200

KCI Area/Platte County, MO

• Park Hill Aquatic Center, 8152 N. Congress Ave., 816.741.7963
• Springs Aquatic Center at Tiffany Hills Park, 9700 N. Congress, 816.880.0733
• Riverside Municipal Pool, 4498 NW High Drive, 816.741.3993

KC, KS

• Parkwood Pool, 950 Quindaro Blvd, 913.551.0402
• Spray Parks to cool off: Eisenhower Park, 2901 N. 72nd St., and Pierson Park, 1800 S. 55th St.

Also, if you’re looking for a break from the sun, don’t forget about the newly-opened ($750 million) Schlitterbahn Vacation Village in KCK, located near Village West,   and CoCoKey Resort, located in the Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex!  The same holds true forGreat Wolf Lodge in KCK. When it’s just too hot outside, bring the waterpark IN!

*image courtesy of Pool & Spa Master