KC things to do: A guide to Earth Day activities, plus Symphony Designers’ Showhouse

Dan Kelly
·5 min read

With Earth Day set for April 22, activities all weekend in the Kansas City area will feature everything from collecting trash to learning about the planet.

Lakeside Nature Center will celebrate Earth Day with presentations about the habitats of Swope Park as well as performances by the StoneLion Puppet Theatre, and the Earth Beat Festival in the West Bottoms bills itself as the area’s “first ‘waste-less’ block party and green vendor market.”

On the other side of the state line, Legends Outlets’ Earth Day on the Lawn will include planting stations, face painting and screenings of the movie “The Lorax.”

The Lakeside Nature Center in Swope Park will play host to an Earth Day celebration April 22.
The Lakeside Nature Center in Swope Park will play host to an Earth Day celebration April 22.

Earth Day guide

▪ Kansas City’s Earth Festival, with fairs, workshops, volunteer opportunities and activities throughout the area and online, through April 23 (free). climategkc.org.

▪ Great Kansas City Cleanup, April 21-23, throughout area. kcparks.org.

▪ Chalk the Walk Celebrates Earth Day, April 21-23, Independence. westindconnection.com.

▪ Earth Day, 8 a.m.-noon April 22, Downtown Lee’s Summit Farmers Market. downtownls.org.

▪ Earth Day Cleanup, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. April 22, West Bottoms. hwbkc.com.

▪ Native Plants Earth Day Seedling Giveaway, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 22, Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center. mdc.mo.gov.

▪ Celebrate Earth Day, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 22, Powell Gardens (included with admission, $5-$12). powellgardens.org.

▪ Earth Day Cleanup, 9 a.m. April 22, Bethany Park, Kansas City, Kansas. cabakck.org.

▪ Earth Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 22, Lakeside Nature Center. kcparks.org.

▪ Go Native: Earth Day Edition, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 22, Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center (free). mdc.mo.gov.

▪ Party for the Planet, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 22-23, Kansas City Zoo (included with admission, $9.50-$22). kansascityzoo.org.

▪ Earth Beat Festival, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. April 22, West Bottoms. hera-community.com.

▪ Earth Day on The Lawn, 1-3 p.m. April 22, Legends Outlets. legendsshopping.com.

The 53rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse at 3681 Madison will be on display April 22-May 14.
The 53rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse at 3681 Madison will be on display April 22-May 14.

More entertainment

▪ More than 800 student musicians will take part in the 18th and Vine Jazz Festival, with up to 16 ensembles performing each day at the Gem Theater, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 20-22 (free). mcckc.edu.

▪ Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins will come to life in “Million Dollar Quartet” at New Theatre and Restaurant, opens 1 p.m. April 20; runs through July 2 ($39.50-$71.75). newtheatre.com.

▪ Newborn lambs, llamas, chicks and more will be the main attractions at the Barnyard Babies Family Festival at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 22 ($5-$10). aghalloffame.com.

Llamas will be among the animals that will delight children and adults alike at the Barnyard Babies Family Festival on April 22 at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs.
Llamas will be among the animals that will delight children and adults alike at the Barnyard Babies Family Festival on April 22 at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs.

▪ A 1906 example of Jacobean architecture at 3681 Madison will be on display for the 53rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse to benefit the Kansas City Symphony, April 22-May 14, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays and Fridays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays ($20-$25). showhouse.org.

▪ “Vilna: A Resistance Story,” a new musical about Jewish partisans who stood up to the Nazis, will play at the Jewish Community Center’s White Theatre, 7:30 p.m. April 22, 2 p.m. April 23, 7:30 p.m. April 27 and 29, 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 30, White Theatre ($18). thejkc.org.

▪ Kites big and small will soar above LaBenite Park in Sugar Creek at the Sky-High Kite Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 23 (free). eventbrite.com.

▪ Local director Cynthia Lukas will present a screening of her documentary “Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist” at the Nerman Museum’s Hudson Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. April 25 (free). jccc.edu/events.

▪ “Hits! The Musical” at the Folly will feature 29 young performers selected from a nationwide audition of more than 7,000 hopefuls singing pop, rock and Broadway hits, 7:30 p.m. April 25 ($14.50-$49). follytheater.org.

Classical music and dance

▪ Kansas City Ballet, “Second Company at Home,” 7 p.m. April 20, Todd Bolender Center ($30). kcballet.org.

▪ Kansas City Symphony, “Holst, Haydn and Hindemith,” 8 p.m. April 21-22, 2 p.m. April 23, Kauffman Center ($25-$95). kcsymphony.org.

▪ Bach Aria Soloists, “Händel in Love,” 7:30 p.m. April 22, Westport Presbyterian Church ($20-$40). bachariasoloists.com.

▪ Zofo, 2 p.m. April 23, Lied Center ($16-$30). lied.ku.edu.

▪ Musica Sacra, “Music of George Frideric Handel,” 7:30 p.m. April 23, Arrupe Hall Auditorium (free). rockhurst.edu.

More music

▪ Smokey River 4/20 Fest featuring Wiz Khalifa, Joey Bada$$ and more, 6:30 p.m. April 20, Smokey River Entertainment District ($69.50). smokeyriverentertainmentdistrict.com.

▪ Booker T. Jones, 8 p.m. April 21, Folly ($25-$60). follytheater.org.

▪ Marcia Ball and Tinsley Ellis, 8 p.m. April 21, Knuckleheads ($28.50). knuckleheadskc.com.

▪ Elevation Worship and Steven Furtick, 7 p.m. April 22, T-Mobile Center ($29.75-$189). t-mobilecenter.com.

▪ Los Temerarios, 8 p.m. April 22, Midland ($49-$250). midlandkc.com.

▪ Tia Fuller, 8 p.m. April 22, Folly ($25-$60). follytheater.org.

▪ August Burns Red with The Devil Wears Prada and Bleed From Within, 8 p.m. April 23, The Truman ($29.50-$60). thetrumankc.com.

▪ Trevor Hall, 8 p.m. April 23, Granada ($34.50-$40). thegranada.com.

▪ Sabrina Carpenter, 8 p.m. April 26, Midland ($29.50-$59.50). midlandkc.com.