Pitmaster John Atwell of Jousting Pigs BBQ in Liberty does a Texas-style smoked brisket that exemplifies the motto “competition meets craft.”

Weekend Possibilities | Kansas City BBQ Festival, Rock Island Trail Ribbon Cutting and Water Lantern Festival

Pitmasters will be parked at Arrowhead Stadium all weekend for the Kansas City BBQ Festival. And that’s just one of the appetizing options when it comes to what to do this weekend.

A crowd at recordBar

Kansas City Area Entertainment Venues Get More Than $40 Million in Economic Relief, More to Come

Live entertainment venues, among the hardest hit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, are finally getting some long-sought economic relief from the federal government.

WeekEnder Movie and Concert Series Begins Friday at Crown Center

Crown Center kicks off its WeekEnder series this Friday and will once again be showing outdoor movies after skipping that part of the program last summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The free, family-friendly outdoor entertainment series will feature a movie, live music, food and beverages each Friday evening in July starting at 6 p.m….

KC Tenants at Jackson County Circuit Court

Can Missouri Get Out Rental Assistance Fast Enough to Prevent Evictions?

Missouri has hundreds of millions of dollars in rental assistance available. But it’s unclear whether it can dispense those funds fast enough to help Missourians avoid evictions.

code enforcement officer DeJuan Carpenter removes screws from the piece of wood blocking entry to 2404 Monroe Ave., a vacant home in the Land Bank Program. (Cody Boston | Flatland)

Can $1 Houses Help the Unhoused in Kansas City?

The Land Bank of Kansas City is offering vacant homes for $1 to help address homelessness. It’s unclear how many groups will step up to fix the houses to be occupied.

Cycle City Rolling Into River Market with Second Location

By Kevin Collison Cycle City, a popular Parkville bicycle shop for 18 years, plans to open a second location in the River Market this October in the historic Water Building at 201 Main St. Owner Joe Fox and his partner Derek Braun decided a second operation made sense in one of downtown’s most dynamic neighborhoods….

Fermentation tanks at Crane Brewing Co. in Raytown.

Tap List | Collaborations Create Community

Alma Mader, Crane and Casual Animal are among the Kansas City area breweries that are embracing collaborations.

A dog available for adoption from KC Pet Project.

KC Animal Shelter Dealing With a Post-Pandemic Onslaught of Pets

Kansas City’s municipal animal shelter is dealing with an onslaught of pets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What you need to know for curiousKC this month. (Flatland)

Here’s Which Question Won in June and Your New Voting Round

The people have spoken. With nearly 30% of all votes during June, this is the question most folks wanted to learn about:  “I wonder who the Native Americans were that first lived in the KC area. What was their culture like?”  Our team will start to sift through research and reach out to experts in…

Dean Hotel was more than a 12th Street one-stop-shop for Della Reynolds. It was what she called home for her formative years. (Courtesy | Della Reynolds)

curiousKC: Home Sweet (12th Street) Hotel

The motorcycle trips run together for Della Reynolds.  It was around 1997 — or perhaps closer to 2000 —  at 1019 East 12th Street in Kansas City.  Looking back, she didn’t really want to be there.  But what if her return triggered a memory? Plus, she’d already stopped to survey a city map and locate…

Downtown Council Seeks Federal Grant to Advance South Loop Deck Plan

By Kevin Collison The Downtown Council is applying for a federal grant to continue planning an estimated $160 million South Loop Link that would create a four-block park spanning the busy freeway that divides the central business district from the Crossroads. The application is seeking $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation that would…

A scene from "Withdrawal."

Art House Extra | Exploring the Pain of ‘Withdrawal’

Art House host John McGrath talks to filmmaker Jacob Harding about “Withdrawal.”

Tap List beer enthusiast Cassie Niemeyer taste tests yard beers.

Tap List | Do KC Yard Beers Outdo the Classics? (Blind Taste Test)

Tap List beer enthusiast Cassie Niemeyer taste tests some local and national yard beers just in time for the Fourth of July.

The iconic Katz Drug Store opened in 1934 at Westport and Main streets.

Katz Owner Seeks Demo Permit After Redevelopment Plan Denied

(Updated July 1: The City Council voted 9-2 to reconsider the Katz redevelopment project and send it back to committee at the request of the proposal’s sponsor City Councilwoman Katheryn Shields. Shields said Councilman Eric Bunch, who sponsored the amendment to reduce the proposal’s property tax abatement and add a requirement for affordable housing and…

fireworks

Weekend Possibilities | Fireworks, KC Air Show and True Crime Podcast Festival

Between fireworks, the air show and a reggae music festival, Fourth of July weekend offers plenty of opportunities to make some noise.