2009 Kansas City Area Fairs & Festivals

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)