Pig & Swig & Other Weekend Possibilities
B is for barbecue. And it’s for bourbon. And it’s for bliss. Pig & Swig is Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m. in the Power & Light District. The outdoor festival features samples from Kansas City barbecue joints (Joe’s Kansas City, Plowboys BBQ, and Hawg Jaw Que & Brew, among them), as well as bourbon and…
Hello Atelier | Painting the Music
This week, we welcome Melissa McCracken to Hello Atelier. Melissa paints songs. Specifically, she paints the colors that she sees while listening to songs. Melissa has synesthesia, a neurological condition which, in her case, causes her to visualize colors when listening to music. Through her paintings, Melissa tries to share what she experiences. To grab…
About The Coffee | Catering to the ‘Coffee Curious’
Marty and Tooti Roe are “tools in the toolbox” for anyone in the Kansas City coffee scene. Their shop, About the Coffee, started as an equipment service and repair company, but has morphed into a go-to for the coffee-inclined across the region, whether that’s roasting, brewing or experimenting with new equipment. Marty points to our innate Midwestern…
The Weekend Starts Today
Sunday is National Honesty Day. Really. It is. The holiday was created expressly to encourage truthful communication, especially in personal relationships and politics. Which, pretty obviously, is a total pipe dream. Nevertheless, we at least promise to tell you the truth about what’s happening around town this weekend. Like the Royals. Their offense, honestly, stinks…
Son of Fallen KC Firefighter Speaks Publicly About Doubts Over Trial
All James and Tracy Kilventon want is for justice to finally be done. After almost 30 years of investigations, a trial, guilty verdicts, unsuccessful appeals and continuing questions, they say, justice still eludes them. But the recent release of one of the defendants convicted in the 1988 death of James Kilventon’s father and five other…
Residents In Kansas Town Say Water Rules Must Give — Or Feds Need To Pitch In
Pretty Prairie, Kansas, population 680, had a moment in the spotlight during the confirmation hearings for new Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran mentioned Pretty Prairie as an example of a community that’s struggling because of EPA regulations that Pruitt could ease. But residents of the tiny south central Kansas town…
Strange Days Brewing is Coming to the River Market
Strange Days Brewing Company (316 Oak Street) has secured a 4,500-square-foot building in the River Market and anticipates being open by year-end, if plans proceed on schedule. Co-owners Nathan Howard, Chris Beier, and Alec Vemmer will share duties as brewers. “The building that we were lucky enough to find is full of character and soul too…
A ‘Game-Changing Asset’
Kansas City’s prominence as a vibrant city for art owes a huge debt to the presence of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Under executive director Bruce Hartman, the museum has helped Kansas City keep its eyes on the new, through stimulating exhibitions of national and international artists….
No Public Inspections for Our Rail Bridges
The old Broadway Bridge, built in 1956 when Dwight Eisenhower was president, is “structurally deficient,” according to publicly available reports, and needs critical repairs. But right next to it stands a much older bridge for which detailed public records are not available. The rusty, century-old Second Hannibal Bridge, finished in 1917 when Woodrow Wilson was…
Tap List | Callsign Brewing Coming to North Kansas City
Callsign Brewing is getting ready to report for duty. Last week, brewer Steve Sirois signed a lease for a building at 1447 Gentry Street in North Kansas City. Remodeling begins in early May and while Callsign Brewing’s projected open date will depend on licensing, Sirois is “shooting for the end of October.” The brewery’s name is related…
The Truth About Ugly Foods: They’re Delicious, Abundant And Good For The Planet
Tim Wharton bristles at being called a “foodie,” with its connotation of lush, sumptuous “food porn.” He prefers “gastronaut,” a label popularized by late British television chef Keith Floyd, for its evocation of intrepid culinary exploration. Wharton’s provocative new book Ugly Food: Overlooked and Undercooked, written with fellow gourmet Richard Horsey, is a celebration of…
What Farmers Lobbying For The Right To Repair Their Tractors Could Mean For Your iPhone
A new tractor often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, but not included in that price: the right to repair it. That has put farmers on the front lines of a battle pitting consumers against the makers of all kinds of consumer goods, from tractors to refrigerators to smart phones. Modern tractors, essentially, have two…
It’s the Journey: Biking in the Metro
Kansas City has one of the highest rates of automobile commuting in the nation. So, what does that mean for the cyclists sharing the road? Public Works? The Cost of Our Aging Infrastructure is a months-long project taking you underneath the pavement to tackle the state of our water and sewers. We track the state of highways and…
Food Trucks Get Rolling & Other Weekend Possibilities
When the sun is shining and your lawn is calling, that’s when you should go for a Saturday afternoon beer. Underdog Wine (2980 Gillham Road) is happy to oblige. It’s hosting a Beer:30 tasting in Union Hill featuring Dogfish Head from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. You’ve got to be 21 years old to attend the tasting. Everyone…
The Entitlement We’re All Given
This week a White Privilege Conference comes to town. Although I’m sure it will be very instructive for many people, I won’t be going. Not because I’m against the conference in theory; I’m just incredibly self-protective these days about certain conversations. See, I’m as sick of hearing about white privilege as many white people are. Actually, it’s…