Category Archives: Things To Do

Things To Do In Kansas City, Kansas City Events, Kansas City Entertainment

Rodeo Clowns, Sara Evans and A Rodeo Monkey On A Dog’s Back

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The American Royal kicked off back in September with the American Royal Parade but the festivities really get under way this week. Kick off the weekend’s events this Thursday at PBR Big Sky in the Power and Light District. They’ll have a mechanical bull riding competition and a drawing for free tickets to the American Royal Pro Rodeo and the after-rodeo concert events. If you haven’t attended the American Royal in the past, the event draws upwards of 80,000 visitors annually and it’s certainly a big-time annual fall event here in the Kansas City area.

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The American Royal Pro Rodeo event is at Kemper Arena this Saturday and Sunday and features the top cowboys and cowgirls in the midwest competing for $150,000 in prizes. If you’re wondering whether there will be rodeo clowns, barbeque, barrel racing and a rodeo monkey riding on a dog’s back, the answers are yes, yes, yes and hopefully.  Then after the rodeo Friday night, Pat Green plays a live concert. On Saturday after the rodeo it’s Kansas’ own Sara Evans  turn to wrap up the evening at the rodeo.  After the shows Friday and Saturday night, the party continues at PBR Big Sky where there’s free entry for those who attended the Rodeo and bring their ticket stub. Or if you’re looking for a bigger dance floor, you could head to Denim and Diamonds or Whiskey Tango for some two-stepping.

Posted by Jason A. Brown
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Lesson Learned: Order A Foo Foo Drink With Dinner, Don’t Be Surprised If It Comes Out Pink

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My wife and I hadn’t been out to the Legends in Kansas City Kansas for a couple of months so, with the boys staying the night with friends the other night, we headed out that way for dinner. The Legends is about 15 minutes north of our home in Lenexa and it’s in the same area as the Kansas Speedway, for those just learning their way around the area. I finishing my high school years in Shawnee Mission but I grew up in Bonner Springs (in Wyandotte County and near The Legends area) and every time I visit, I’m amazed by how much the area has changed. Wyandotte County was a struggling area when I moved away in the 1980’s and, while it still faces many challenges, The Legends is something the area really hangs its hat on — and justifiably so.


With tons of entertainment and shopping options, the area has really turned into a destination spot. The area also has numerous dining options, so when we got to The Legends the other night we drove around discussing which restaurant we’d try. We narrowed our choices to either the Jazz Louisiana Kitchen or Stix Asian Cuisine neither on which we’d heard anything good or bad.  We ultimately decided this wasn’t the day in our lives to try sushi, so Jazz Louisiana Kitchen was the choice. Besides, Bill Grigsby had annoyed me with those commercials for so long, I thought I’d better try Jazz soon before  I swore off  ever giving the restaurant a  chance.

The atmosphere at the Jazz was great and the service was excellent. I’m not a big drinker, especially when it comes to mixing drinks with food, but I decided I’d go for a light, pre-dinner, foo-foo drink. Big mistake as the drink came out pink! Really helping matters were that it came out in a glass that looked like those tall ice cream shop glasses. Thank God it’s breast cancer awareness month and I could chalk it up to that because the tables around us sure got a kick out of it. As far as the Cajun food goes, it was spicy as expected and met our expectations. The portions were definitely worthy, which is important to me when deciding whether I’ll revisit a restaurant. So we’d recommend the Jazz restaurant to our friends and the live music certainly adds to the enjoyment. On our next visit to The Legends, we’ll try Stix Asian Cuisine.

Here’s a directory of all of the Legend’s Restaurants. We’ve tried many of the restaurants you’ll see on the list and I would definitely recommend…

Cheeseburger In Paradise
Granite City
Los Cabos
Outback Steakhouse
T-Rex Cafe
Ted’s Montana Grill
Yard House
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Price Chopper 400 Makes It Nascar Time In Kansas City This Weekend

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It’s my nephews fault that I have any interest in Nascar. I’m a huge sports fan but have always had trouble generating much interest in the “sport”. I knew during the 90’s that Jeff Gordon was good — and obnoxious. I lost interest somewhere in the late 9o’s but I watched closely as my city-boy nephew slowly gained interest. I thought it was a fad at first but, oh no, the boy is a full-fledged Nascar fan now. And I can understand why. I began paying more attention when I realized there’s excitement generated in rooting for a piece of machinery as much as you’re rooting for the guy who’s maneuvering it.  And the crashes at 200 MPH aren’t bad either.

So this weekend brings us to the event that I’m sure my nephew will be attending — the Price Chopper 400 Nascar race at the Kansas Speedway. This year marks the ninth Nascar race held in Kansas City, Kansas since 2001 and my money is on Gregg Biffle this year. Biffle has the most race points at Kansas Speedway over the past five races and that’s all I need to know. I could have went with Jimmie Johnson – who won the race here last year – but that would be like picking the Yankees to win.

I hope I can find someone this weekend who will explain to me how Mark Martin finished 28th in the standings last year, but this year is a hair ahead of Johnson going into this race.  If you have tickets, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy the fun this weekend. Even if you don’t, you can still get some enjoyment watching the 267-lap race on TV. The race starts at 2 PM Sunday. If you’re out and about on Sunday be sure to listen to some of the race on the radio — listening to the four guys calling the race is great fun because three of them describe their corners of the track with great excitement and then they cut to the fourth guy (who sounds older) and he calls the race very old-school — cracks me up every time!

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There Are Some Excellent Mid-Sized Parks With Playgrounds In The Kansas City Area

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The larger acreage parks in the Kansas City area get the majority of the attention, but often times it’s a smaller sized park that’s desired to take the kids for an hour or so of playground time or tossing the ball around. If you’re looking for a park with a minimum of a playground area but don’t need a larger park such as Shawnee Mission Park or Longview Lake, here are some other mid-size options in the Kansas City and Johnson County Kansas areas that I’ve checked out in the past. Some of these may even be right there in your “back yard”…

Ad Astra Park in Lenexa KS
Antioch Park in Merriams KS
Blackbob Park in Olathe KS
Black Hoof Park in Lenexa
Electric Park in Lenexa KS

Flat Rock Creek Park in Lenexa
Frontier Park in Olathe KS
Hodge Park in North Kansas City MO
I-Lan Park in Leawood KS
Ironwoods Park in Leawood KS
Lake Olathe in Olathe KS
Loose Park in Kansas City MO
Matt Taylor Park in Lenexa KS
Prairie Center Park in Olathe KS
Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Olathe KS
Stoll Park in Overland Park KS
Tomahawk Park in Leawood KS
Two Trails Park in Olathe KS
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Overland Park Arboretum Offers 300 Acres Of Ecosystem Education and Recreation

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The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Overland Park Kansas offers visitors 300 acres of environmental education and recreational. The arboretum has eight different ecosystems and was designed by the City of Overland Park to keep ecological and environmental issues at the forefront in our area. Take a walk down the trails and you’ll see dogwoods, redbuds, wild natural grasses, 200 species of birds and 75 species of trees.

Well over 3/4 of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden is dedicated to preserving the areas natural ecosystems. The rest of the garden is the botanical gardens, a visitors center and a huge conservatory. The area has 5 miles of hiking trails that wind all through the Arboretum & Garden and take you past waterfalls, limestone bluffs, a water garden, a children’s garden and a learning garden, among many others. There’s even two 75-foot bridges spanning Wolf Creek! The trails have varying degrees of difficulty, so be sure to check the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden Map before heading out.

Posted by Jason A. Brown
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This Weekend Kansas City Will Hold Its Inaugural SportsFest Event

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Kansas City SportsFest 2009 will be SportsFest’s inaugural event and given the wide range of local sports teams they’re supporting, I have to assume there’s a good chance this will become an annual event.  Giving local sports fan  another reason to get together for a cold one with several hundred of their closest friends seems like a can’t miss idea. SportsFest takes place in the Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City and this year’s schedule boasts two full days of sports watch parties…

Saturday (9/12/09)

7:30AM AIDS Bicycle Challenge
9 AM Sport Radio 810 College Game Day Begins – Corner of McFadden’s
10 AM SportsFest Booths and Interactive Exhibits Open
11 AM AIDS Bicycle Challenge Post-Ride Party Begins
11 AM Sport Radio 810 College Game Day Ends
2 PM AIDS Bicycle Challenge Post-Ride Party Ends
3 PM KSU Football Pep Rally
3:30 PM KU Football Pep Rally
5 PM KSU Football Watch Party at McFadden’s
5 PM KU Football Watch Party at Johnny’s Tavern

Sunday (9/13/09)

11 AM Chiefs Ambassadors autograph signing session: Larry Marshall, Ed Budde, Bill Moss and Deron Cherry
12 PM SportsFest Booths and Interactive Exhibits Open
12 PM Chiefs Watch Party Begins – P&L Big Screen
2 PM Tour of Missouri begins and will go by the P&L District 7 times featuring the top riders in the world.

And have I missed something here? Why aren’t the Missouri Tigers listed? Anyhow, if the activities listed above don’t excite you, there’s also the option of a day at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs.

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Are You Ready For Another Long Season Of Kansas City Chiefs Football?

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This is the time of year for optimism about our Kansas City Chiefs. But frankly, after this preseason, I don’t have any. This team is being torn down and completely rebuilt. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing – long term it probably is – but short term I think we’re in for another long season. I’ll go to at least one Chiefs game to show some local support but this team might win less than 6 games. I’d guess I’ll be willing to give this team just a handful of games before I hit the panic button. That means I potentially have just one home game to get out to see the Chiefs before I conclude another season is over. That’s the Raiders game on September 20th. Note to self: buy tickets on Craigslist today.

It’s not out of the question that the Chiefs could open the season 0-5. But if they can go 2-3 I’ll consider it a great start. The schedule certainly gets easier during the latter part of the season. Now, if the Chiefs do tank again, hopefully our local Big 12 schools are competitive throughout the season. There’s a lot of potential with the Jayhawks, Tigers and Wildcats.  This is the first time in several years I didn’t buy season tickets for Jayhawks football but that was simply a decision made because of work and involvement in my boy’s sports teams. You can bet I’ll be getting out to one or two games in what is shaping up as an incredible offensive Jayhawk football team – we shall see how things turn out.

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Kansas City Power & Light District Really Has Changed The Downtown Area

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My wife and I spent Saturday night at the Kansas City Chiefs game before heading downtown to the Power & Light District. Let’s just say the nightlife was much better than the Chiefs game. After watching the Chiefs go the entire game without an offensive touchdown, I almost wanted to call it a night. But I’m glad I didn’t because we ended up having a great time afterwards at PBR Big Sky. The last time we went down to the Power & Light District we ate at Ted’s Montana Grill and it was excellent. This trip down we’d already eaten so it was simply a decision of where we’d go to enjoy the nightlife. We’re country music lovers so we usually try a new place each time before heading to PBR Big Sky to hang out.

Kansas City Power & Light District

Kansas City Power & Light District

On this trip we didn’t have as much time as usual, so we headed straight into PBR. Now if you haven’t been there, the atmosphere is loud and not the best place to try and carry a conversation. But if you like a semi-rowdy crowd, the live music is great and the mechanical bull is a centerpiece of the bar. I’ve never been a big fan of live music when it’s not a well-known artist, but the live music at PBR is excellent every time we go. This trip was a little different than usual because I actually got on the bull. It had been a long time since I’d done it and decided what’s the worse that could happen? Fortunately I didn’t find out and, although I don’t think I lasted even 10 seconds, at least the fall off went gracefully! There was a guy taking photos and claiming they’d be on the web site but we haven’t seen any uploaded yet. If I do, I’ll load the photo here – unless it makes me look bad, in which case I’ll claim the photos never got uploaded.

If PBR isn’t your thing, there are tons of other entertainment options in the Power & Light District. Here’s a few, with links to their web sites…

801 CHOPHOUSE
AMC MAINSTREET THEATRE
ANGELS ROCK BAR
BICE BISTRO
BRISTOL SEAFOOD GRILL
CHEFBURGER
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL
FAMOUS DAVE’S BARBECUE
FLYING SAUCER DRAUGHT EMPORIUM
FRAN’S RESTAURANT
GENGHIS GRILL
GORDON BIERSCH BREWERY
HOWL AT THE MOON
JOHNNY’S TAVERN
LUCKY STRIKE LANES
MAKER’S MARK BOURBON HOUSE
MCFADDEN’S SPORTS SALOON
MOSAIC LOUNGE
RAGLAN ROAD
SAVVY COFFEE & WINEBAR
SHARK BAR
TED’S MONTANA GRILL
TENGO SED CANTINA
THE MARQUEE BAR & GRILL
THE MIDLAND by AMC
THE MIXX
THE PEACHTREE RESTAURANT
VININO WINE BAR & BISTRO
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Johnson County Kansas Libraries Continue To Play An Important Role

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I was reading an old 2001 article on a site called Warrior Librarians that said “…yes, the Internet can be a valuable extension to the school’s library collection. But remember, it is mammoth in scale, unordered, and mainly unchecked. If you can imaging the world’s biggest (print) encyclopedia, with every page ripped out, and each page ripped up, then the whole lot scattered like confetti… then try to find the meaning of a single term from a heap of unordered scraps of paper, you get some idea of the problems involved in using the Internet as an information source…”  Wow! That’s not the internet I know today, as 87% of home buyers find their homes online and are able to make order out of the “confetti”!


I’d guess in an average week there’s hundreds of instances where I search the internet for something and 99% of the time I find what I sought. In fact, it’s so rare that I go searching for something and come away empty handed that it’s actually quite surprising – and irritating – when I can’t find the answer. Yet despite the value the internet provides, I believe libraries still play a very important role as an organized information source.  Going to the library is also about more than just the books, there’s an atmosphere at the library that the internet  just can’t duplicate. Most importantly to me, I REALLY enjoy watching my boys read a book. For some reason I don’t get the same enjoyment out of watching them learn online and maybe it’s because I know the tempation of the games is just a mouse click away.

Johnson County Kansas Libraries

Olathe Kansas Libraries

Kansas City Missouri Libraries

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Jury’s Out On The Water Park Portion Of Kansas City’s $750 Million Schlitterbahn Vacation Village

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The Schlitterbahn Vacation Village opened this summer in Kansas City Kansas – or at least the water park portion of the village is now open. If you’re like me, you’re very tempted to go check out the water park.  I was discussing the park with a stranger a couple of weeks ago and he recommended waiting until next year because the park really wasn’t ready to open this year. Since that time I’ve been wondering if at least all the water park rides are now open. I recall the guy telling me that there wasn’t even grass around the lazy river – or something like to that affect.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark In Kansas City

Schlitterbahn Water Park In Kansas City

If anyone has visited the park please let us know how things went. Otherwise, I’ll be making a call to the water park before firming up plans to visit. No doubt, getting out to see the water park portion of a Vacation Village that is eventually going to cost $750 million is very tempting.  The park has been promoting itself as having the world’s largest tidal wave river, an uphill water coaster and a lazy river that doubles as a transportation system around the water park – and eventually around the entire Vacation Village once that’s completed down the road.

Eventually the 360-acre Schlitterbahn Vacation Village will include lodging facilities as well as shopping, dining and entertainment areas. Being able to eventually travel down several miles of rivers to get from the water park  to the hotel room will be great. For now, I’d settle for just knowing the rides are all open. The waterpark has free parking, unlimited intertube use, free lifejackets and you’re encouraged to bring your own food and (some) beverages inside the park. All of that sounds very appealing. The cost to get in is more expensive than Oceans of Fun, but saving $10 on parking certainly helps. And being able to bring in lunch and drinks surely appeals to families considering making a visit.

From what I’ve read, the water park will maintain five tubing slides, two tubing rivers, 13 mini slides for children, three beaches and an adult hot tub area. The Bahnzai Pipeline is a 40-foot open-air, twisting tube ride. The Black Knight is a pitch black, fully-enclosed tube ride. The Wolfpack is a wide, oversized tube slide. The Storm Blaster is  an actual water roller coaster propelled by jets of water. The Kinderhaven Kid’s Area is a shallow water playground for the little ones, complete with mini-slides and plenty of shaded lounging areas. The Torrent Beach is a wave area for cooling off in the sun, the Torrent Cove is an island for relaxing and the Torrent River is the world’s longest tidal wave river with ocean-like waves. I’m looking for some feedback so I can decide if we’ll get out there this summer or just make a trip to Oceans of Fun instead.

Posted by Jason A. Brown
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