Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”
In this spirit, Heartland Conservation Alliance is leading a nature walk on Monday, January 18, to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from 1-3 p.m. Led by a community naturalist, the walk will begin with remarks and a prayer from a local pastor at the Brush Creek Community Center and conclude with refreshments at Martin Luther King, Jr., Square Park. Kansas City participants will be joined by hundreds of thousands across the country celebrating MLK Jr. Day.
Local residents are invited to participate in the casual, family-friendly walk for reflection and to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of peaceful demonstrations. The walk will take place on a paved trail and is appropriate for walkers of all ages and abilities. The 1.5-mile nature walk will begin at 1 p.m. at the Brush Creek Community Center, 3801 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., and conclude at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Square Park, a Kansas City, Mo., park. Walkers are encouraged to wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for outdoor weather, including hats and gloves. There is adequate parking, but no indoor facilities or restrooms will be available.
The walk is hosted by Heartland Conservation Alliance and its presenting partners Kansas City, Missouri, Parks and Recreation; the Missouri Department of Conservation; Hy-Vee; and Kansas City Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC). Dedicated to conserving natural areas, convening community members, and connecting people to nature, the Heartland Conservation Alliance is a nonprofit that works collaboratively throughout the Kansas City area.
“This is a great opportunity to enjoy fresh air and sunshine while focusing on the legacy of Dr. King,” said Heartland Conservation Alliance Partnership Coordinator Brianna Leiker. “It is important to keep in mind Dr. King’s commitment to working together and we hope this event will help build relationships to expand the problem solving capacity of the community.”
Off-Broadway’s hilarious hit makes its Kansas City premiere indoors, under cover, on Starlight Theatre stage Jan. 12-17
A trial run with an indoor production in its traditional “off season” proved successful enough last winter that Starlight Theatre has come back in 2016 with a four-show Starlight Indoors series.
Kicking off the fun in heated, indoor, intimate performance spaces at Starlight starting next Tuesday, Jan. 12, is Dixie’s Tupperware Party. The adult comedy makes its Kansas City debut for a limited engagement of eight performances Jan. 12-17.
Written by Kris Andersson, Dixie’s Tupperware Party stars Dixie Longate, a fast-talking Tupperware lady who packed up her catalogs, left her children in an Alabama trailer park and journeyed across America to entertain audiences – and to hawk the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a stage!
When Dixie first took her show and bawdy humor Off-Broadway eight years ago, she garnered a prestigious 2008 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. The touring production has since logged more than 1,000 performances worldwide. The show is produced by Down South LLC, directed by Patrick Richwood, and features costumes designed by Dixie herself and lighting designed by Richard Winkler.
Audiences will delight as Dixie shares her twist on a good old-fashioned Tupperware party, complete with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, free giveaways and lots of audience participation. A member of the illustrious “#1 Tupperware Seller in the World” Club, Dixie also educates her guests on the many “alternative uses” she has discovered for her plastic products.
Audience members will be sitting comfortably in Starlight’s climate-controlled, 12,000-square-foot Cohen Community Stage House with just over 500 seats available for each performance. “Patrons really enjoyed seeing a show (50 Shades! The Musical Parody) for the first time in the intimate, indoor setting of our stage house last winter, so we’re thrilled to expand the series,” said Rich Baker, Starlight president and CEO. “This is our invitation to Kansas City residents and visitors to experience the magic of live theatre at Starlight on more of a year-round basis.”
Performances of Dixie’s Tupperware Party on Jan. 12-15 begin at 7:30 p.m. Show times on Saturday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 17 are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Self-parking is free for all shows, and valet parking will be offered for $10.
Tickets for Dixie’s Tupperware Party at Starlight Indoors can be purchased at www.kcstarlight.com, by calling 816.363.STAR (7827) or at the Starlight box office at 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO 64132. Ticket prices begin at $30; a limited number of VIP ticket packages are also available. Discount pricing for groups of 10 or more is offered through Starlight’s Group Sales department at 816.997.1137 or groups@kcstarlight.com.
In addition to Dixie’s Tupperware Party, Starlight Indoors will present three more Off-Broadway shows throughout January. They are:
Late Nite Catechism (Jan. 13-31) – Part catechism class, part stand-up routine, this is one of the longest-running shows in U.S. theatre history. Catholics and heathens alike enjoy this interactive comedy.
Potted Potter (Jan. 19-24) – The world’s only Harry Potter parody, this show condenses all seven Harry Potter books – and a real life game of Quidditch – into 70 hilarious minutes.
One-Man Star Wars Trilogy (Jan. 26-31) – Canadian actor and writer Charles Ross singlehandedly plays all 40 characters, sings the music, flies the ships and fights the battles.
About Starlight Theatre Starlight Theatre, winner of the 2013 Venue Excellence Award from the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), is the largest and oldest performing arts organization in Kansas City and the second-largest outdoor producing theatre in the country. Opened as a theater in 1950 and as a not-for-profit organization in 1951, Starlight presents and produces Broadway musicals and concerts. It also offers extensive community outreach and educational programming, including classes, scholarships and Starlight’s Blue Star Awards, one of the largest high school musical theatre award programs in the nation.
Located on 16 acres in Swope Park, Starlight’s venue includes rehearsal halls, gift store, club area for dining, concessions, gardens, fountains and a 10-story, climate-controlled stage. For more information, visit www.kcstarlight.com.
Do you want to help improve your community, parks, or rec center? Are you between 10-17 years old? Then apply for the KC Rec Center Youth Photovoice Project!
As part of a research project, KC Parks and University of Missouri are working on a new youth photography project to collect your ideas on healthy foods, food advertisements and park activities. Participants will complete a survey and participate in a group discussion, sharing ideas on what they like, want to change and hope for the future. We will be working at Brush Creek and Marlborough Community Centers over four afterschool meetings. At the end of the project, we will hold a gallery event that will display everyone’s photos. Space is limited to 15 youth per center. Participants can earn up to $40, a certificate, community service hours, and get copies of their photos. For project information, contact Sonja Wilhelm Stanis at sonjaws@missouri.edu or 573-882-9524.
To participate you must:
• Be a youth ages 10-17 years old.
• Fill out the application and have your parent or guardian complete the consent form. Space is limited so return the forms by the JANUARY 6, 2016 deadline!
• Commit to spending four afterschool sessions working on this project. The sessions should last about 2 hrs each.
• Be willing to take pictures and take part in group discussions.
• Share your pictures with the public, including at a gallery event that is open to local community members, civic leaders and others.
• Complete a survey or interview about the project.
Kansas City Zoo: The countdown is on! Before the clock strikes midnight on Thursday, December 31, head out to the Zoo for “noon year’s eve” festivities. We’ll have a polar bear sized ball drop you don’t want to miss.
Beginning at 10 a.m. we are getting in the New Year’s spirit by making party hats and noise makers in the lobby while a DJ counts us down to the noon hour. As the clock inches closer to noon, we will head out to the Polar Bear Passage and gather for the 12 o’clock ball drop. This won’t be any flashy Times Square ball; this will be one of Nikita’s favorite enrichment items. As the countdown begins in the crowd below, Zoo Keepers will toss Nikita’s ball down to his anxious and awaiting paws. Capture a priceless NYE memory in the Nikita photo booth!
The fun doesn’t stop there. Check out the Wings of Wonder bird show at 11 a.m. in the lobby then head to the Helzberg Penguin Plaza to our feathered friends enjoying festive enrichment items. Our otters are also joining in the fun. Watch them splish and splash their way into 2016!
Ring in the noon year with us and wish Nikita all the best as he prepares for his new adventure in the new year!
The Kansas City Zoo is throwing a BIG party to celebrate our BIG bear. With a larger than life personality, Nikita will certainly be missed at the Kansas City Zoo. Wish him well at his going away party on Saturday, December 19.
How much do you know about this bear that has called the KCZoo home for five years? Test your Nikita knowledge with our Nikita Trivia Quiz and then collect your prize. Create a polar-rific craft in the lobby and head to the Polar Bear Passage to hear from Zoo Keepers who know Nikita best. At 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. they will share their favorite memories with this rock star polar bear. To cap off the festivities, Nikita will be receiving a very special barrel. Since barrels are his favorite enrichment item, Zoo Keepers have covered the barrel with cards that Nikita’s biggest fans have given us. No party is complete without a take home favor. Be sure to grab the special Nikita souvenir before you leave the Zoo!
After you bid Nikita farewell, stroll to the Helzberg Penguin Plaza and see Santa dive with penguins. It’s the final weekend to see St. Nick don a wetsuit under his traditional red one and swim around with our feathered friends. Find out what they think of his stocking cap and fluffy white beard when Santa Dives with Penguins from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Capture a family photo with our underwater Santa!
We will be celebrating Nikita right up until the moment he heads South. Watch the “ball drop” to him at noon on New Year’s Eve and wish him well in the new year. On Saturday and Sunday, January 2 & 3, we are giving Nikita one of his favorite things, ICE! See him roll around in three tons of ice one final time before he says goodbye to Kansas City.
Celebrate our larger than life bear with us this Saturday!
Kansas City Zoo continues to break new ground and this year is no exception. In 2015, more than 900,000 guests have experienced an adventure at the KCZoo, shattering old records and breaking new ground. With the opening of the Orangutan Canopy and additions of the chimpanzee baby Milo, the gorilla baby Masika, and the 10-year-old bull elephant Tamani, 2015 marked the highest attendance in Kansas City Zoo history.
“WOW,” exclaimed Randy Wisthoff, Kansas City Zoo’s Executive Director/CEO. “It’s heart-warming to see how all of Kansas City has embraced the Zoo’s growth since I began here in 2003. That following year we hosted 469,471 guests and embarked on improvement plans. To imagine we’ve increased our attendance more than 90% and are heading toward one million guests is a tribute to all the support this city and surrounding areas have provided. Thank you Kansas City, thank you residents of Jackson and Clay County for supporting the Zoological District and thank you all for visiting the Kansas City Zoo time and time again. We hope every day at our Zoo is a new adventure for you and your families and friends.”
The Zoo has enjoyed a 9% increase in guests since 2012, with 882,194 guests in 2013 and 886,220 guests in 2014. We are still working towards the goal of 915,000 guests by the end of the year so make a visit to the Zoo and help us make history! Reaching the one million mark is on the horizon.
