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.)

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!

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)