Tap List | KC Bier Co. is Bringing Oktoberfest to Crown Center
There will be a little more oomph in the oom-pah-pah at KC Bier Co.’s Oktoberfest this year. The festival, now in its fifth year, is moving from the Waldo brewery’s bier garden to the plaza at Crown Center. “We ran out of space at the brewery,” KC Bier Co. founder and managing partner Steve Holle…
Poetry And Motion
For Isra Abdullah, art is a release — almost like the steam from a teapot. A native of Kurdistan, and a Sunni Muslim, Isra’s family escaped the sectarian violence in Iraq a decade ago. A relief agency in Turkey resettled the family in Kansas City, Missouri, when Isra was a third-grader. Along with her parents,…
Afterword Tavern Brings Fresh Food, Drink and Ideas to Crossroads
By Kevin Collison If there’s one thing Christian Overgaard would like to see happen when people visit his new place, Afterword Tavern & Shelves, its having their curiosity awakened. “We keep coming back to a theme of discovery,” he said. “A place where someone walks in and by the time they leave, maybe they know…
You can get great meaty, bold chili thanks to a multicooker
Great chili should have bold, long-simmered flavor, even if it’s made with convenient ground beef. The multicooker was the perfect way to achieve this with a minimum of hands-on time. A combination of chili powder, cumin, and garlic was all we needed to give the chili great spice flavor. We used crushed tomatoes plus chicken…
Long Lines in Kansas, Sanders’ Pension and Untested Rape Kits
KCPT’s Nick Haines, executive director of public affairs and Week in Review host, picks out the big stories of the week ahead and the interesting stories you may have missed. The First Votes Have Been Cast Election Day may not be until November, but the first ballots have already been cast here at home. Absentee…
Wiener Dog Derby & Other Weekend Possibilities
Strawberry Hill Blocktoberfest is from noon to 9 p.m. Friday on Sixth Street between Ann and Tauromee in Kansas City, Kansas. The festival, put on by Better Block, is meant to re-envision Sixth Street with bike lanes, pop-up shops, a beer garden and street art. The Liberty Fall Festival is in historic downtown Liberty, Missouri, and runs…
Nicholas Mahon | Becoming a Puppet Designer
Growing up in rural Quebec, Nicholas Mahon learned about the arts by watching “Sesame Street.” The more he explored the arts, though, the more he was drawn to the art of puppets and the variety of mediums — drawing, mechanics, animation — that go into making a puppet. Now, as the puppet designer for The…
Copaken Brooks Apartment Tower Starts Construction in November
By Kevin Collison Construction is expected to begin in November on the 14-story Copaken Brooks apartment tower at 18th and Walnut, with completion anticipated in spring 2020. The $40 million project will bring residential life in the Crossroads Arts District to a new level, adding 132 apartments to the neighborhood as well as additional retail…
Order Up | Doughboy’s Iced Donuts
Order Up is a regular series that takes a layered look at drinks and eats across Kansas City. You can see previous selections here. Got a dish you think we should feature? Drop us a note below or on Twitter @FlatlandKC. — Follow @FlatlandKC on Twitter and Facebook for all your food news.
Schools Tackling the Soft Skills Deficit
Educators around the region are implementing project- and career-oriented learning to engage kids. But in the Center School District, at least, another key constituency is excited too. Neal Weitzel is the director of college and career readiness in the district, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and he recounted parents’ reaction at a recent…
Liz Vandal | Becoming a Costume Designer
After making her first fashion drawing at 9 years old, Liz Vandal knew she’d become a costume designer. But she also knew it would take more than just innate talent to get her there. Now, as the the costume designer for The Kansas City Ballet’s world premiere of “The Wizard of Oz,” she gives her tips on how…
Tap List | Gluten-Free Beers, Ciders & Mead in KC
The narrative on gluten free beers is, at times, an unfair one. They are often relegated to the corner of the cold case reserved for non-alcoholic beer or seen as an oxymoron. But gluten-free, locally-produced options have increased dramatically in Kansas City over the past five years and that means we need to be having a conversation…
Event and Commercial Uses Planned for Longtime Eyesore Buildings on Grand
By Kevin Collison The last major blighted properties along an approximately four-block stretch of Grand Boulevard between 19th Street and Truman Road are slated for redevelopment as luxury event space and commercial uses. Matt Abbott, a prolific Crossroads Arts District developer, plans to convert the deteriorated building at 1616 Grand into an event complex he’s…
Early Childhood Educators Contemplate The School of The Future
Kansas City PBS recently hosted a professional development event for about two dozen early childhood education providers in Kansas City Public Schools. Held at Manual Career and Technical Center, the meeting introduced the providers to the children’s programming available through KCPT. Given the audience, we took the opportunity to ask participants about their vision for…
‘Feminine Energy’ Infusing Faiths
Well before this #MeToo era of unmasked sexual misconduct — with its appalling revelation that an admitted sexual predator can be elected president — faith communities began to recognize that they have been complicit in the sin of misogyny. Today that recognition is turning into constructive action as people of faith across the nation, including…