This Weekend in Free Fun

As usual, it's 2nd Saturday up in Weston, MO - Shopping and tastings 'til 8pm, dining and entertainment 'til midnight. And it's a nice late-afternoon or evening drive up to Weston. A lovely little town, it is.

It's 2nd Saturday in KCK, too. They have an Artwalk.

More free fun in KCK - the Strawberry Hill Festival. Click the picture of their poster below for details:
The 30th annual Art Westport is this weekend, as well. Not that exciting to me. But it is all local Kansas City area artists. And it's free - unless you stop for cocktails. Which probably makes it a

LOT more fun, but a lot less free. (This is the problem with a lot of free fun, I am finding. Free stuff is more fun if it involves alcohol, but the alcohol portion of the fun is generally not free.)

Also, there is the usual wine tasting at CVS at 75th & Wornall, in Waldo. Gomer's South has their usual tasting @ 3pm on Saturday, as well as a witbier tasting on Monday evening. Gomer's Lee's Summit has a Friday night wine tasting.

By the way, the Case Man and I drove past the Gomer's in Parkville on our little road trip north. It's really really nice looking. We didn't go in, but it looked pretty cool- like a giant wine barrel and they had grapevines growing outside the building and a nice looking patio, too, I think. They have a beer tasting at the Parkville location this evening from 4-7, and a wine tasting tomorrow afternoon from 12-4.

Road Trip!

So last Saturday, after a nice morning at the City Market, the Case Man and I went on a free fun road trip. It was a beautiful day to just drive around and site see, so we journeyed north of Kansas City through Parkville on our way to Weston. We tried to take as many country roads and stay as parallel to the Missouri River as possible for the most scenic drive possible. Weston is so charming - lovely old (several antebellum) homes and charming little shops and cafes - couldn't really go inside any because we had the dog with us (Libby loves a good road trip) but we enjoyed walking around town and through the historic neighborhood.

Then we continued north up to Atchison, KS, where we saw a really cool Victorian house with gargoyles!

There is also a road called Riverview in Atchison that runs above the Missouri River. All these neat houses are along it and they have a beautiful view of the river and the fields and stuff on the other side, which is actually in Missouri.

And we saw a couple of foxes! I had never seen a fox before. I didn't get a photo but they were really pretty.

Our way back into the city took us through Leavenworth, past the Penitentiary, and back down through Parkville. It was a really nice way to spend about five hours, and the only money we spent was on lunch - and we could have packed a picnic lunch (we will next time) and saved ten bucks. So it was really pretty much free fun!

Alrighty...and now, for some Free Fun!

I'm back! Went on vacation, work as been crazy, blah blah blah.

So here's what's goin' on this weekend, kiddo's!

We've got lots of Free Music Fun:

Friday Night Live in the Power & Light - the Zero's are performing. Free admission, but the alcohol will cost if you aren't the DD. And being the DD is not only Free Fun, but DUI's are definitely NOT Free Fun. Far from it, in fact.

Eddie Money is playing at Crown Center for the Free Friday Night Concert Series. I bet he plays this song. And hey - you can even take the Metro to Crown Center. It's especially convenient if you live in my neck of the woods - there's a Park & Ride right near 75th & Wornall. The Metro isn't free, but it is very cheap! And you don't have to drive. And.....Eddie Money plays the saxaphone. Coo-ol!

Parkville Riverfest is back! And it's Free! Bring a lawnchair or blanket, it's gonna be a fabulous weekend for an outdoor event like this. No outside beverages are allowed, but they will have beer & wine vendors in the park.

If you will be at the Overland Park Farmers Market on Saturday morning, a band called The Brew will be playing there at 10:30. I have never heard of them / cannot vouch for their quality, but you can watch this video and judge for yourself. Hmmm. Should be pretty kid-friendly, I think.

The CaseMan and I, however, will be at the Farmers Market in the River Market Downtown. I doubt it will be Free Fun, because I know we will buy stuff, but it's stuff I won't have to purchase at the grocery store. And maybe I'll happen past the Shatto Milk booth!

Also, it's Ford Free Fridays at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. I can't find anything on their website, and I haven't ever attended, so I don't know what this is, exactly, since the museum is always free. So if anyone knows anything about this, feel free to leave a comment.

One more - Gomers Lee's Summit has a wine tasting this evening. There is also the usual Friday night wine tasting at CVS, 75th & Wornall.

Fireworks!

It's nearly that time of year! The 4th of July is never complete without fireworks - whether you are watching a huge, professional display, or just shooting them off in the street in front of your house (which very well may be illegal, depending on where you live.) In the spirit of free fun, the Case Man and I don't usually go out and spend a bunch of money on fireworks (and we certainly will not be doing so this year) as there are plenty of free displays (or at least cheaper and safer than buying some fireworks to put on your own show) to check out around town. In fact, I had no idea there were so many to choose from around Kansas City until I started researching for this post. So, I have compiled a (hopefully comprehensive) list of the ones I could find, but let me know if I have missed any that should be included.

• KC Riverfest at Berkley Park on the Riverfront. Admission to the festival is $5 for adults (purchased in advance online) and kids 5 and under are free. Events are ongoing the afternoons of the 3rd and 4th, and it looks like they have fireworks starting at 10:05 both nights, too.
• Parkville has their 4th of July celebration at English Landing Park, with fireworks over the Missouri River starting at about 9:30pm. A shuttle will run from 6pm-midnight to and from Park Hill South High School and Park University, which might not be a bad idea, since parking in Parkville is tough to begin with.
• Corporate Woods Star Spangled Spectacular has lots of country music, a live remote with Q104, a "show band" (I don't know what that means) and the Kansas National Guard Band. As far as I can tell, this is free fun unless you want to make a donation to the OP Rotary. Fireworks start at 9:30pm, and as big as Corporate Woods is, I would imagine this would involve a lot of walking, especially if you're going late for just the fireworks.
• Worlds of Fun still has their fireworks display, I think. I remember parking along I-435 (along with a bunch of other people) to watch it once or twice when I was a little kid, which isn't very safe, but it was free. I didn't find anything on their website specifically about the 4th, but they have lots of other stuff going on in July - none of it's free, though.
• The City of Independence has a fireworks display at the Mormon Visitors Center (the big spiral.) Also, there will be a kids 4th of July parade in old Downtown Independence, and the kids can decorate their bikes and scooters and stuff. Now that sounds like free fun!
• Powell Gardens Booms and Blooms festival is actually on the 3rd of July, but sounds lovely with live orchestral music, homemade ice cream, and of course fireworks. Festival admission ranges from $5-$10.
• The Smithville Marina will have a display shot off of the Smithville dam, but the calendar on the Clay County website wasn't working, so I can't verify this.
• Weston has the Jaycees fireworks show at the West Platte High School athletic field.
• The City of Olathe will have their 4th annual fireworks display begining at about 9:30pm at the Great Mall of the Great Plains
• The Royals will be playing the Chicago White Sox at The K on Thursday, Friday and Saturday over 4th of July weekend. Fireworks on Friday, as usual, and Saturday for the 4th, too. Saturday's give-away freebie is an old school ringer tee for the dudes and an old school halter for the ladies. Sweet!

One fireworks show that I thought for sure would be listed online somewhere is the Shawnee Mission Park display - it's kind of an old standby for people who don't have big plans, you can just mosey on over and check it out if you feel like it. I did finally find on the JoCo Parks and Rec site that they won't have it this year due to budget cuts. Bummer. I was also hoping to find a listing for a display at the Liberty Memorial, but found nothing there. Let me know if anyone knows anything about that - we were hoping to watch it from the Case Man's aunt's house. Perhaps we'll still be able to see the one's at the Riverfront? We'll see.

UPDATE: Neighbor Shane says there is also a display in Fairway - and there is! At Bishop Miege High School, 5041 Reinhardt Drive, at 9:30pm. Thanks Shane!