Crossroads First Friday to Include Kids Scavenger Hunt, Rooftop Party, Sporting KC Flip Cup and Yes, Art

By Kevin Collison

Today’s First Friday in the downtown Kansas City Crossroads Arts District continues a growing trend of not just being a festive place for adults to congregate but families as well.

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., “C is for Crossroads,” an event promoting literacy for younger kids, will kickoff this month’s First Friday. Kids can pick up passports at the Missouri Humanities Council at 1800 Baltimore and go on a scavenger hunt at seven businesses in the area.

Each business will have an activity table that highlights a literacy-related subject. Once the kids do the activity, they get their passport stamped.

The first 100 families to complete and return their passports to the Humanity Council office will receive a free copy of “Our Home Kansas City,” a children’s book featuring Sly the Owl and landmarks of Kansas City.

Sly himself, in the form of Kansas City Mayor Sly James, will hopefully be there for awhile to hand out books, said Julie Johnson of the Crossroads Community Association.

“We’ve always stress First Fridays is family friendly and people are embracing that,” she said. “What’s so great about this event is you can walk the streets and its like a Royals parade, different ethnicities and yes, and it’s all free.

“It’s like a block party you’re exposing your kids to.”

Speaking of block parties, Sporting Kansas City fans will have a chance to set a new world record for the largest Flip Cup competition at a First Friday Block Party by the club’s Crossroads office at 2020 Baltimore Ave.

The event runs from 6-10 p.m. and includes free drinks, music, yard games and appearances by Sporting KC players.

The club also wants to break the current world record for Flip Cup of 200 people. The Flip Cup competition starts at 7:30 and people 21 and older wanting to participate can register at SportingKC.com/flipcup.

Not quite in the Crossroads, but an easy, fun streetcar ride away, the Downtown Central Library will hold its “Art Starts at the Library” event beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Jeramy Zimmerman and Catscratch Theater has created a dance that will take place throughout the library. Kids can also perform a Silly Walk with Clown Clarity Brown outside the library.

For grownups, a rooftop party is being thrown at 2101 Broadway. The On Broadway event at the four-story building starts at 6 p.m. includes food and beverages available for purchase from LaBodega.

The band “Not a Planet” begins performing at 8 p.m. Admission is $10 and the rooftop can accommodate 250 people.

A new parking area also is available for First Fridays. The 200-space Assurant lot at 20th and Grand will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. and spots will go for $5.