First Fridays Successful Whatever the Temperature


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First Fridays Successful Whatever the Temperature
The Crossroads District in Kansas City is a buzzing place. There are art galleries, studios, and restaurants open their doors to the community. These free visits offer a chance for the community to learn to appreciate what a thriving art scene looks like. For the band, Brookside Express, the three men have visited the area many times and like the energy. The three men played their folk and acoustic tunes on the Aug. 1 event. Roland Marbeck, guitar, and Jay Noland, harmonica, work together at DST Systems. Dr. Tim Little, mandolin, is the health director at Cabot Westside Center. A mutual friend talked about a gallery in the Crossroads District and offered them a place to come and play. “We love to play and we are hoping to see a nice crowd,” Marbeck says. Little says his past experiences at First Fridays proves friendly audiences can be found. “The people who come here represent so much diversity. They are a friendly audience and a non-judgmental one,” Little says. The Crossroads District is a mile wide downtown area of Kansas City bounded by 15th Street, Interstate 35, the Freighthouse District, and Troost Avenue. The heart of the Crossroads Arts District sits along 20th Street and Baltimore. The Arts Incubator sits on 18th Street and also attracts a crowd. Alexander Volk, Leawood, Kan., and Ron Zoglin, Kansas City, Mo., visited a gallery after a waitress at Aladdin Café talked about a gallery opening. “What I really like is the urban renewal that has taken place here,” he says. “The life downtown is returning and that is important. It is nice to be home.” For Zoglin, owner of Brookside Antiques, the First Fridays events offer him a chance to see what new art is being created by Kansas Citians. “We usually try to find some place for dinner. There is Michael Smith’s and 1924 Main. Then there is a new vegan restaurant that I like called Café Seed.” For Cathy Bennett and Mike McGuire, Fairway, Kan., visit First Fridays whenever they get a chance. Bennett works for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and McGuire works as a sales representative and engineer. Some of their favorite visits are early spring or late fall. “It is a fun place to see cool local art and cool local people,” Bennett says. The couple says they often start with a glass of wine and then they visit galleries like Blue, Sherry Leedy and the Arts Incubator. “We collect artwork and look to decorate with cool furniture and accessories so we visit these stores too,” Bennett says. “The Crossroads District really is the place to appreciate art and appreciate people. It is such a great unified location to find both.” www.kccrossroads.org

The Crossroads District in Kansas City is a buzzing place. There are art galleries, studios, and restaurants open their doors to the community. These free visits offer a chance for the community to learn to appreciate what a thriving art scene looks like.

For the band, Brookside Express, the three men have visited the area many times and like the energy. The three men played their folk and acoustic tunes on the Aug. 1 event. Roland Marbeck, guitar, and Jay Noland, harmonica, work together at DST Systems. Dr. Tim Little, mandolin, is the health director at Cabot Westside Center. A mutual friend talked about a gallery in the Crossroads District and offered them a place to come and play.

“We love to play and we are hoping to see a nice crowd,” Marbeck says.

Little says his past experiences at First Fridays proves friendly audiences can be found. “The people who come here represent so much diversity. They are a friendly audience and a non-judgmental one,” Little says.

The Crossroads District is a mile wide downtown area of Kansas City bounded by 15th Street, Interstate 35, the Freighthouse District, and Troost Avenue. The heart of the Crossroads Arts District sits along 20th Street and Baltimore. The Arts Incubator sits on 18th Street and also attracts a crowd.

Alexander Volk, Leawood, Kan., and Ron Zoglin, Kansas City, Mo., visited a gallery after a waitress at Aladdin Café talked about a gallery opening. “What I really like is the urban renewal that has taken place here,” he says. “The life downtown is returning and that is important. It is nice to be home.”

For Zoglin, owner of Brookside Antiques, the First Fridays events offer him a chance to see what new art is being created by Kansas Citians. “We usually try to find some place for dinner. There is Michael Smith’s and 1924 Main. Then there is a new vegan restaurant that I like called Café Seed.”

For Cathy Bennett and Mike McGuire, Fairway, Kan., visit First Fridays whenever they get a chance. Bennett works for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and McGuire works as a sales representative and engineer. Some of their favorite visits are early spring or late fall. “It is a fun place to see cool local art and cool local people,” Bennett says.

The couple says they often start with a glass of wine and then they visit galleries like Blue, Sherry Leedy and the Arts Incubator. “We collect artwork and look to decorate with cool furniture and accessories so we visit these stores too,” Bennett says. “The Crossroads District really is the place to appreciate art and appreciate people. It is such a great unified location to find both.”