Oktoberfiesta & Other Weekend Possibilities

Life comes at you pretty fast, but this is why we have whiskey. The Linden Square Whiskey Fest (602 NE 70th St., Gladstone, Missouri) is from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. There are food trucks, bluegrass bands and a dozen regional distilleries that will sample whiskey. The tasting portion of the event is from 5 to 8 p.m. — A ticket with 10 tastings is $20, 20 tastings is $30.

[FLEX-CONTENT]

Always wanted your own blend of tea? Learn how to blend and take home your own custom blend with a Tea Blending class led by a member of Hugo Tea’s team at Tyler Kingston Mercantile (422 Armour Road, North Kansas City, Missouri) from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The workshop is $35.

The Louisburg Cider Mill’s Ciderfest has been rescheduled for this weekend and is from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Watch cider being pressed, try Lost Trails root beer (also made by Louisburg Cider Mill), take a pony ride, get lost in a corn maze, visit a pumpkin patch or snag a cider doughnut at the festival in Louisburg, Kansas.

Prairiefire’s fifth annual Oktoberfest (5661 W. 135th St., Overland Park, Kansas) is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. There will be pumpkin painting, a petting zoo, a pie eating contest (2 p.m.), and Oktoberfest beer, pretzels and sausage from Rock & Brews.

[FLEX-CONTENT]

Manila Bay Ihaw Ihaw (4800 E. Bannister Road), a Filipino restaurant owned and operated by Norma Thayer, celebrates its second anniversary in Kansas City on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a brunch buffet with fried chicken, lumpia (spring rolls) and halo-halo (the dessert featured in our Best Eat in The House series below).

[FLEX-CONTENT]

You can now snag a giant cinnamon roll across the street from Manila Bay at Big Momma’s Bakery & Café (4707 E. Bannister Road). Owner Joyce Brown recently opened the new spot after operating Big Momma’s locations in Raytown and Crown Center. They do breakfast (biscuits and gravy, egg sandwiches on house-made bread) and lunch (chicken salad sandwiches). The cinnamon rolls come in mini, little and Big Momma sizes, and can be topped with vanilla, caramel or chocolate icing. Big Momma’s is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Weston Irish Festival is Friday through Sunday. The festival is centered around O’Malley’s Pub (540 Welt St., Weston, Missouri) and the Weston Brewing Co. There’s traditional Irish fare — corned beef, bangers (sausages) and Irish stew — to go alongside local, regional and international acts. The Elders close out the show on Sunday night. Tickets are $5 for Friday night and $10 for Saturday or Sunday admission.

If you can’t make it Sunday, but are dying to see The Elders, Kansas City PBS and 90.9 The Bridge have you covered with a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Unity Temple on the Plaza. Tickets can be found here.

It’s the final weekend for the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Eat turkey legs, drink mead, and watch knights joust for your amusement. You can also sample whiskey, belly up to the Bloody Mary bar, or watch folks throw axes while you drink a beer in the Battle Axe Pub (there are clearly designated throwing lanes and drinking areas, if you’re wondering how that works). There’s also a root beer chug and sausage eating competition. The fest runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Oktoberfiesta is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Boulevard Tours & Rec Center (2534 Madison Ave.). The fifth annual benefit for the Mattie Rhodes Center features face painting, crafts, and a keep-the-stein glass. Check out a host of test berliner weisse (blood orange and tangerine popsicle, among them) and enjoy live music and games (bingo, stein-holding) in this mashup of Dia de Los Muertos and Oktoberfest.

Follow @FlatlandKC on Twitter and Facebook for all your food news.