Kansas City entertainment guide: Lyric Opera at Powell Gardens, country music at arena

Dan Kelly
·3 min read

Bloom Fest: Play Outside will celebrate the great outdoors from April 15 through May 9 at Powell Gardens.

Among the highlights will be members of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City performing at 1 and 3 p.m. April 17.

Bloom Fest also will include art displays, spring bloom tours (April 15-18), the Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair (April 23-25) and a Mother’s Day Picnic Brunch (May 8-9). All except the brunch are included with festival admission ($5-$12). Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; more information at powellgardens.org.

It’s another busy week of live in-person music. Among the shows:

Lauren Krum will play at Pints on the Patio at the Irish Center of Kansas City. Joining her will be Mike Stover.
Lauren Krum will play at Pints on the Patio at the Irish Center of Kansas City. Joining her will be Mike Stover.

▪ Lauren Krum with Mike Stover for Pints on the Patio at the Irish Center of Kansas City, 6 p.m. April 15 ($20). irishcenterkc.org.

▪ Tommy Tutone and The M80’s at Knuckleheads, 8:30 p.m. April 16 ($25). knuckleheadskc.com.

▪ Now and Then with K-Audic and The Faux Piano Man at the Uptown, 6:30 p.m. April 17 (free). uptowntheater.com.

▪ Connie Hawkins and the BluesWreckers, 7 p.m. April 17 ($20; $25 night of show). aztecshawnee.com.

Country singer Deana Carter will perform at Hy-Vee Arena.
Country singer Deana Carter will perform at Hy-Vee Arena.

▪ Deana Carter with Kyle Mitchell at Hy-Vee Arena, 8 p.m. April 17 ($33.50-$103.50 for tables of eight). hy-veearena.com.

▪ Kansas City Bronze handbell ensemble at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lee’s Summit, 4 p.m. April 18 (free). festivalsingers.org.

▪ Sixman and guests at The Black Box, 8 p.m. April 18 ($20). facebook.com.

Here are more four in-person activities this coming week:

▪ Quixotic will present a new performance art show on the Westin Crown Center rooftop deck, 8:30 p.m. April 15-17 and 29-30, May 1 and 6-7 ($75). quixoticfusion.com.

▪ Works from 140 artists and designers earning bachelor of fine arts degrees from the Kansas City Art Institute will be on display at the annual BFA Exhibition at the H&R Block Artspace and the KCAI Gallery: Center for Contemporary Practice, April 16 through May 15. kcai.edu.

▪ Lakeside Speedway will put on the Joe Berry Clash of the B-Mods, 7:45 p.m. April 16 ($5-$30). lakesidespeedway.net.

The KC Timber Challenge at Zip KC in Bonner Springs is a 5K filled with obstacles.
The KC Timber Challenge at Zip KC in Bonner Springs is a 5K filled with obstacles.

▪ The KC Timber Challenge at Zip KC in Bonner Springs will offer a 5K course with more than 30 obstacles ranging from cargo nets to bluff climbs, 10 a.m. April 18 ($44-$49). events.com.

Here six online ways you and your family can spend your coronavirus-induced stay-at-home time:

The Kansas City Ballet’s “New Moves: The Broadcast Series” latest episode, “Basie Land,” was filmed at the American Jazz Museum.
The Kansas City Ballet’s “New Moves: The Broadcast Series” latest episode, “Basie Land,” was filmed at the American Jazz Museum.

▪ “Basie Land” at the American Jazz Museum will be the eighth episode of the Kansas City Ballet’s “New Moves: The Broadcast Series,” premiering 7 p.m. April 15 (free). kcballet.org.

Steve Sitton, site administrator for the Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, will lead a program called “Art, Race, and Thomas Hart Benton.”
Steve Sitton, site administrator for the Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, will lead a program called “Art, Race, and Thomas Hart Benton.”

▪ Steve Sitton, site administrator for the Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, will lead a Zoom program on “Art, Race, and Thomas Hart Benton,” 7 p.m. April 15. mymcpl.org.

▪ The Johnson County Community College Theatre Department and the Midwest Trust Center’s Arts Education Department will offer a 30-minute filmed children’s performance of “El Tiburón” or “The Shark,” April 17-June 1. jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center.

▪ Pianist Zhu Wang will play from the 1900 Building in a Harriman-Jewell Series Discovery Concert via livestream, 7 p.m. April 17 (free). hjseries.org.

▪ The Youth Symphony of Kansas City will perform its Spring Virtual Concert, 2 p.m. April 18 (free; donations). youthsymphonykc.org.

▪ The World War I Museum and Memorial and the T.E. Lawrence Society will present a Lawrence of Arabia Legacy Lecture titled “Shaping the Modern Middle East,” 2 p.m. April 18 (free; RSVP required). theworldwar.org.