Best of August

Missouri State Fair, Grand Carnivale at Worlds of Fun, Butterfly Festivals, Apple Picking... these are just a few of the things we LOVE about August with KC kids!

Note: We are looking forward to each event on this list. They are numbered to correspond with their position on the map, not in order of preference. We love them all.

• "Step Right Up!" at Science City

  Science City is now home to a BRAND NEW carnival-themed exhibit, "Step Right Up!"

  "Step Right Up!" is the sixth exhibit produced at Science City through the Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains competition. The design was inspired by the 2019 Battle of the Brains grand prize-winning students from Tonganoxie Middle School whose idea was brought to life as an amazing new $1 million exhibit! Plan your visit to Science City now! Hours are Wednesday thru Sunday 9:30am-12:30pm and 2:00pm-5:00pm. With limited capacity, please purchase tickets online in advance in order to ensure admission. Masks are required for ages five plus.

• Apple and Pumpkin Season at Weston Orchard

  APPLE AND PUMPKIN SEASON: Aug. 1- Oct. 31. Open 7 days a week 9:00-5:00

  • U-pick Apple Orchard
  • U-pick Pumpkin Patch
  • Hayrack Rides
  • Apple Cannons
  • Apple & Cider Pies Gourmet Food
  • Mums, Jams, Butters and more!

• KCYA

  Arts al Fresco

  Arts al Fresco: Aug 28 from 10am-1pm at KCYA 3732 Main Street, Kansas City, MO. Celebrate our 60th Anniversary with us at a FREE family arts festival! This indoor/outdoor party is geared to the young audiences we serve and their families.

  Arts Al Fresco will include:

  • Performances by KCYA Teaching Artists
  • Arts activities for the young and young at heart
  • Mini workshops & classes giving a taste of Community School of the Arts offerings
  • Door Prizes, face painter, a photobooth and food trucks
  • Check out our new mural facing Main Street and meet Briana Mahan, the designer of the inspiring mural!

  We hope you can join us for a family friendly party in the KCYA Parking Lot!

• Auschwitz Exhibition at Union Station

  Auschwitz Exhibition is a groundbreaking exhibition bringing together more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs from over 20 institutions and museums from around the world. 

  Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz and its role in the Holocaust ever presented in North America, and an unparalleled opportunity to confront the singular face of human evil—one that arose not long ago and not far away.

  The exhibition explores the dual identity of the camp as a physical location—the largest documented mass murder site in human history—and as a symbol of the borderless manifestation of hatred and human barbarity.

  Featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs, the exhibition allows visitors to experience artifacts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, including hundreds of personal items—such as suitcases, eyeglasses, and shoes—that belonged to survivors and victims of Auschwitz. Other artifacts include concrete posts that were part of the fence of the Auschwitz camp; fragments of an original barrack for prisoners from the Auschwitz III-Monowitz camp; a desk and other possessions of the first and the longest serving Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss; a gas mask used by the SS; Picasso’s Lithograph of Prisoner; and an original German-made Model 2 freight train car used for the deportation of Jews to the ghettos and extermination camps in occupied Poland.

• Back to School Bash at the Legends

  Our Back-to-School Bash is BACK!

  Get ready to gear up for the 2021-2022 school year with photo ops, prize giveaways, entertainment, special deals and much more! It's all going down on The Lawn starting at 11 AM, so don't miss out!

  Free Activities & Entertainment include:

  • Live DJ
  • Face Painting
  • Airbrush Tattoos
  • Bubble Entertainment
  • Selfie Station
  • Prize Wheel
  • Games
  • Special Guest Appearances

  Plus, we'll be giving away over $1,000 worth of prizes like gift cards, backpacks, and more!

• The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

  Bridging the Gender Divide Exhibit at T/m

  Bridging the Gender Divide explores how STEM toys, once marketed primarily to boys, have evolved to encourage all children through play to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The exhibit also features engaging interactive elements, including an HO-scale working model train, arcade consoles, and a matching-game coloring book that highlights accomplishments by women in STEM over the past 200 years.

• Butterfly Festival at Colonial Gardens

  Butterfly Festival: Aug 21, from 9am-4pm at Colonial Gardens 27610 E. Wyatt Rd., Blue Springs, MO. 

  Join Colonial Gardens for our annual Butterfly Festival! Explore local vendors, learn more about local pollinators, and participate in or observe the release of over 300 butterflies over the course of the day!

  For the time being, we are hoping that the country will be back to normal by the time of the festival. If it is, the only reservation needed will be if you decided to release a monarch butterfly. Butterflies will be available for reservation on July 1st and will be $8 per butterfly.

  If we are still in pandemic mode, we will run our event as we did last year, which means attendance will be limited and spread out over the course of the day with proper safety and social distancing measures in place. 

• Cedar Cove: Public Tours

  Public Tours of Cedar Cove on Saturdays & Sundays: Come meet feline friends! Experience Cedar Cove Feline Conservatory with an experienced guide. See these epic animals and learn about their characteristics and behaviors! Cedar Cove is a non-profit conservation and education center committed to the care and preservation of wildlife species and their habitats while educating the public on the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and the impending dangers of ecological collapse.

• Dragons Love Tacos

  Dragons Love Tacos at The Coterie thru Aug. 8. Based on the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon!

  A boy and his dog are watching a TV show about dragons when a mind-blowing secret is revealed: Dragons love tacos! Chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, teeny tiny tacos, all kinds of tacos. So, the boy and his dog throw a taco party to end all taco parties for a flock of dragons. But what are the fiery consequences for eating tacos with spicy jalapeño pepper salsa?

  This hilarious, dance-filled journey into the field of Dragonology is equal parts ridiculous and delicious, and has all the ingredients for a fantastic time!

• JCPRD

  Evening in the Park at Theatre in the Park

  Evening in the Park, Aug. 8 at Shawnee Theatre in the Park: Join us for a free, laid-back party in the park as we say “thank you” for your support of JCPRD parks, programs, and special events. Bring your blankets, chairs, a ball or Frisbee, and enjoy time with your family and friends. Enjoy two hours of old timey, feel good, foot-stomping music from the Short Round Stringband and the Matchsellers. Then, settle in to watch a movie as the sun sets across the park. Food, wine & beer will be on location, so bring your wallet and ID. Visit JCPRD.com/eveninginthepark for details.

• Fun Farm's Bubbles and Butterflies

  Fun Farm Butterfly and Bubbles Release

  DATE: Aug. 21 - 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

  You're invited to the Butterfly and Bubbles Release event! This family-friendly event includes releasing hundreds of butterflies, jumbo bubbles and all day Fun Farm field activities. RSVP: Must reserve butterflies in advance. 

  Butterfly release at 11 a.m.

  Guests must pre-purchase tickets in advance up until the day of the event. Single Day admission ticket required for any person ages 2 and older. Please present ticket at admissions booth.

  Season Pass Ticket Holders- receive FREE Admission to August Butterfly & Bubble Event. Purchase Event Ticket & Reserve in Advance a Painted or Large Monarch Butterfly

  https://bit.ly/funfarmbutterfly

  The Farm will be open from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Admission includes access to over 300 acres of Fun Farm, apple orchard for apple picking, and flower fields for photo ops and create your own milk jar flower bouquets. Pet or feed barn yard critters and animals like our new baby pony, sheep and piglets. Guests are welcome to arrive dressed in butterfly or caterpillar costumes.

  Don't forget the barn will be open all day for all ages to enjoy -- like food, games, the barn gift shop and more.

  Butterfly Release Educational Background

  Butterflies will spend the rest of summer in the area while some may migrate further North. The butterflies are important pollinators for the ecosystem. They will pollinate the beautiful flowers along the farm, and the flowering plants in crops. They play a critical role in our environment. About one third of the food people eat depends on the work of pollinators such as butterflies.

  Let's celebrate the beauty of nature by releasing colorful fluttering butterflies!

• Gnomes, Clay and Painting!

  Toddler Thursdays: On Thursdays from 10-2, Toddlers (5 and under) get to paint one of our selected items for just $10.

  Sculpt Gnomes: Ceramic Cafe is already planning our Gnome Hunt 2022!. They will need thousands of gnomes next Spring. Girls Scouts, community service groups, church groups, sports teams, corporate groups, book clubs, neighborhood groups, YOUR GROUPS are invited to come make gnomes. Groups of 8 or more are invited to make gnomes (for FREE). Ceramic Cafe will keep the gnomes and use them in next year's Gnome Hunt! 

  About Ceramica Cafe: Pottery painting and glass fusing. Walk-ins welcome. Great for birthdays and group events too. Products include bisque, stoneware, clay and glass fusion.

• Grand Carnivale at Worlds of Fun

  Tip: Enter to win FREE Tickets to Worlds of Fun with our Giveaway!

  Back for another season of AMAZING in 2021 is Grand Carnivale (July 24- Aug. 8), Kansas City’s must-see international event! Come to Worlds of Fun during summer 2021 to experience how the world kicks up its heels at our day-to-night, larger-than-life cultural celebration. You’ll be transported to AMAZING locales far and wide with authentic entertainment, delicious tastes and sips, lively games, unique crafts and traditions from nations spanning the globe. Take in the extravagant sights and sounds of our nighttime Spectacle of Color Parade, a glittering sensory spectacular of lavish floats, interactive street performers and pulsing rhythms. As the parade concludes, thunderous music builds to a crescendo and the King of Carnivale kicks off a street party filled with entertainers, an interactive dance party, scrumptious eats and so much more. Grand Carnivale is a cultural event with AMAZING fun for everyone next summer!

  Spectacle of Color Parade

  Immerse yourself in the electrifying vibe of our Spectacle of Color Parade, a joyous procession of cultural traditions from around the globe during 2021’s Grand Carnivale. Extravagantly decorated floats, mesmerizing street performers and pulsing rhythms will enchant and delight -- especially as the day slips into night and the sky radiates with a dazzling array of lights that takes on a life of its own.

  Carnivale Street Party

  As the Spectacle of Color Parade winds down, let’s gear up for a party! You’ve never been to a bash quite like our Carnivale Street Party with international music, magic and merrymaking. Glimmering, shimmering lights, high-energy live entertainment, dancing in the streets and delicious food and drinks from around the globe make Carnivale Street Party the ultimate way to end a stellar night in 2021.

  Carnivale Festive Food Options

  What pairs best with a world-class party? World-class food!  At Grand Carnivale, not only will you see and hear how the world kicks up its heels, but you’ll taste extraordinary cuisine from global cultures. Foodies will rejoice at the wide variety of scrumptious flavors and enchanting aromas. Make sure to grab a 2021 Grand Carnivale Tasting Card so you can taste the world in one night!

• Jawsome Journey

  Jawsome Journey: Aug. 9-22: Take a bite out of Jawsome Journey and immerse yourself in several jawsome experiences and shark-themed adventures!

  During Jawsome Journey, interact with members from WOW's Education team at various activities throughout the Aquarium. These activities will be from 10-11am and 2-3pm each day during Jawsome Journey, with an additional time of 4-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

  • Exhibit Encounters
  • Lower Out to Sea: August 10, 15, 17, 22
  • Curiosity Crates
  • Sharks in Lower Out to Sea: August 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21
  • I Spy
  • Shark Alley: August 11, 13, 18, 20

  Jawsome Journey Animal Encounters:

  During Jawsome Journey, stop by Out to Sea every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1:00pm to watch our team feed the sharks!

  Social Media Giveaway:

  Take a picture with the megalodon shark jaws in Shark Alley and post a picture on Social Media during Jawsome Journey! Tag Wonders of Wildlife to be entered to win a prize! @WondersofWildilfe #WOWAquarium

• Jazzoo 2021

  Jazzoo 2021: Aug. 27

  While we weren’t able to have Jazzoo in 2020, we are looking forward to bringing it back in 2021! Jazzoo is our largest event of the year, and the Kansas City Zoo depends on this fundraiser to help us feed and care for more than 1,700 animals and educate Kansas City youth through our Zoo Learning Fund.

  This year’s Jazzoo will celebrate the oh-so-cute and cuddly koala. We are currently hosting two male koalas, Thackory and Chuckels, through November!

  To provide guests with a safe experience, we have moved the date of Jazzoo to Friday, August 27th.

  We are also limiting attendance to one-third the number of guests in a typical year and expanding the event area. This means that there will be no individual tickets for sale this year as all of the available tickets are expected to be part of sponsor packages.

• Johnson County Museum staff, 2020

  Johnson County Museum

  Featuring award-winning long-term and changing exhibitions as well as public and school education programs, the Museum is a great place to spend the day learning about our county’s history and having fun in our hands-on exhibit spaces.

• Jumperoo at Urban Air

  Jumperoo Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Urban Air: This event is perfect for ages 7 & under to have some safe-fun in the park! You can join us every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 am - 12 pm for some fun! $9.99 per child. Parents get in free. Memberships are not valid with this event. Only valid during the school year. Not valid during school breaks or holidays.

  About Urban Air: If you’re looking for the best year-round indoor amusements in Shawnee, Bonner Springs and Lenexa area, Urban Air Adventure Park is the perfect place! Along with regular weekly events, fitness classes, corporate events and special occasion rentals our facility caters to birthday parties for kids of all ages. If your group is up for a little sweat and a lot of bounce, Urban Air is the place for you. We’re not just a room full of trampolines or another neighborhood park. We’re bringing families and friends together for a hyped up, healthy dose of jumping, climbing, swinging, crawling, building, flying and dunking. Check out our attractions including our Kidzone and Urban Air Warrior Course to learn more about the generous helping of frenetic fun Urban Air brings to you. Open Jump is held daily and perfect for any age, fitness level or athletic ability. Walk-ins are welcome anytime, just show up and we will get you in!

• KC Watersports

  KC Watersports is the best wakeboarding destination in the midwest. For beginners, we offer day camps and lessons to perfect your skills. For our experts, you won’t find a more challenging set of rails, ramps, and sliders anywhere in the US.

• Light Up the Lawn

  Light Up the Lawn Event: Aug. 20 and 27 at Nerman Museum.  These free, all-ages concerts will take place on the lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, on the JCCC campus.

  • Aug. 20 at 8:30pm: Kelley Hunt is known for her blend of roots, rock and soul in superbly crafted songs that blend timeless music with a contemporary perspective.
  • Aug. 27 at 8:30pm:  The Rainmakers' unique brand of Midwestern rock 'n roll has earned them a number of internationally charting releases, a spot on the Kansas Music Hall of Fame and headlining slots on major festivals

• Missouri State Fair 2021

  2021 Missouri State Fair, Aug 12-22. We are excited to partner with the Missouri Bicentennial Alliance for Our Missouri Celebration. The Missouri State Fair offers FREE professional performances, included in our low-price gate admission! You may also buy concert tickets for special performances. Enjoy a carnival, vendors, animal shows, competitions and more.

  Kids will especially love: 

  • PUPPIES OF PENZANCE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Three shows daily
  • PROFESSOR FARQUAR & POLECAT ANNIE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Strolling the fairgrounds from 9 am - 7 pm daily.
  • SEA LION SPLASH: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Three shows daily on the pad by the Agriculture Building.
  • KIDS ZONE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. All day.
  • SCOTT'S WORLD OF MAGIC SHOW: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. At least three shows daily.
  • BARTHOLOMULE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Strolling the fairgrounds daily.
  • STEVE GRYB THE PIED PIPER OF PERCUSSION: Thursday, Aug 12 - Monday, Aug 16. Aug 12-16, two shows daily.
  • ROCK-IT THE ROBOT: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-22, strolling the fairgrounds daily.
  • OPENING DAY PARADE: Thursday, Aug 12 at 6 pm.
  • BABY CHANGING & FEEDING AREA: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-21, 10 am - 8 pm. Aug 22, 10 am - 6 pm.
  • HEDRICK'S EDUCATIONAL PETTING ZOO: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-21. 9 am - 9 pm. Aug 22, 9 am - 6 pm.
  • HEDRICK'S RACING PIGS SHOW: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-21, five shows daily. Aug 22, four shows that day.
  • LET'S TALK LIVESTOCK: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-22, multiple times a day.
  • AGVENTURE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-21: 9 am - 8 pm. Aug 22: 9 am - 6 pm.
  • BUTTER COW SCULPTURE: Thursday, Aug 12 - Sunday, Aug 22. Aug 12-21, 9 am - 8 pm. Aug 22, 9 am - 6 pm.
  • CFM INSURANCE COLORING BOOK: Aug 14-20.
  • HAPPY MEAL PARTY: Saturday, Aug 14, 9 am - 5 pm.
  • FLYIN' HAWAIIAN: Tuesday, Aug 17 - Sunday, Aug 22.
  • PEDAL PULL: Aug 22, 10 am - 12 pm